My wife lost a place on the podium to someone being pulled by a dog, can we complain?

Exactly. The victim will never get over the trauma of her loss after her epic 27 minute 5K.

phew ...just price checked a pair of hoka one one supershoes and a couple of pairs of hoka bone bone superpaw shoes ...pricey sport this? ...

Bruhhhh....it just a race...really? C'mon. Wayyyyyyyyyyy too deep in the weeds

It's your wife so defend her and make a complaint. You live with her so don't take into account how others may view it. Make a complaint.

It was a waist harness

Pulled?

Sounds like a new spin on the Trevira 10 Mile Twosome

But was she holding hands with the dog? If so then it's a clear DQ.

She should be in non-binary category.

Parkrun changed the rules last year. No more 12:24s. Dogs are still allowed, but canicross-style assistance is not. This rule is enforced, even at Barking Parkrun.

"One dog on a short, handheld, non-extendable lead by the side of the participant, and within reach at all times. Care must also be taken to avoid tripping other parkrunners."

Unfortunately, the hobby joggers movement has taken over running. Real competition is meaningless and you would be mean if you complained and I'm sure everyone thought the dog was cute and that was so cool!

It's frustrating, people have no clue. In my area, people are always claiming the certified course is wrong because they and their friends got 13.29 and 13.36 etc etc so they MUST be faster than the actual time.

I think running clubs have to educate the hobby joggers.

Why was my post about the dog’s gender deleted? Is Rojo a transphobe?!

If she broke the rules someone should go to Marathon Investigation or the local channel...bring the heat a bit.

FB and the mob rule (and liberal reddit blogsnark) agrees. It's about groupthink and making everyone feel good, not what's right. I see it in my local run club too.

Best post among many good ones.

In my faster days I ran with my large fast dog (running beside my car on a dirt back road he broke 3 minutes in the mile) and it was not so simple that it assisted. I had created a waist harness, but still...maybe. One squirrel one day and he went round a street sign and we collided. Other times he nearly pulled my hip out of socket. I preferred when he could run off-leash.

sometimes i do strides with my dog because he forces me to run faster than i otherwise could. golden retrievers are beasts.

I did a parkrun with an old woman getting towed by a dog who ran an age-graded time of 107.1%

(i.e. faster than the world record).

Damn near killed me staying ahead of her.

No shame whatsoever. If I was her I would not have crossed the line to avoid getting an official time.

I think that's the most annoying part, the audacity to know you've been competing unfairly and yet still take your podium place/finish position as a runner being literally towed by a dog... I would feel guilty for even wearing super shoes at a low key race! Yet others have absolutely no shame about being towed by a dog, or skipping a section of a marathon, or competing in the wrong category etc. A definite lack of shame going around.