Running Group of Hobby Joggers in Boulder, CO gets all Running Groups banned

Arse'sholes wrote:

Alvin Lee and 10 Years After wrote:

uhh, "this Troop guy" is a former Olympic runner and it is my understanding his running group is a handful of elite runners. Is there Congressional or state legislation somewhere that a user of public property must pay a fee if they get paid for what they do?

That doesn't give him the right to control who uses the track and who doesn't.

Idiot, read the Twitter and posts here, he's not trying "to control who uses the track and who doesn't" because he can't, he's trying to get them to use it appropriately.

Precious Roy wrote:

The group in Boulder has real athletes working as coaches and should have known better than to abuse public access to the track.

Idiot, read the Twitter and posts here, it's not the "real athletes working as coaches" and their groups who are the problem, it's the big jogger group who don't use the track appropriately that are the problem and won't listen when told.

That drive is not an hour each way. I have good friends making the drive from Green Mtn to North Boulder for work, and that takes an hour or less.

If anyone, hobby joggers or potential Olympians want to hit their goals, they will do what it takes to get their workouts done! This is unfortunate that a school is blocking them from using the track, but complaining about the lack of facilities is annoying. Stop wasting your energy on complaining. Use that energy to find a solution.

The RevRun group is a nuisance because they've grown so large. When they run near my house, their cars take up both sides of the residential road for several blocks, making it damn near impossible for oncoming traffic to pass safely. I've actually been thinking of taking the issue to the city council meetings. Apparently their overcrowding affects other public resources as well.

There should be a law against hobby jogger groups larger than seven. The whole point of running is to get AWAY from other people.

Misanthrop wrote:

There should be a law against hobby jogger groups larger than seven. The whole point of running is to get AWAY from other people.

This thread is Golden.

After reading this and hearing banter from runners here in Boulder, I have come to some conclusions:

Lee Troop is front and center in every Boulder running controversy. He talks trash about everyone, except to their face of course. He resorts to behind-the-back name calling and social media attacks such as this. Biggest drama queen in the local running community. He claims to have done work to get a public track so he can look like a hero to people. The reality is, he hasn't lifted a finger to get a track in Boulder. I local runner girl did all of the organization and work. He is a wolf in sheeps' clothing. He is the type of guy, like the RevRunning people and Hudson Elite, who will leech off of all the resources without contributing a single thing. Until, of course, they lose their privileges!! Now this is a big problem!! Reactionary little bitches, all of them.

My question is what track workout is feasible or beneficial with 80 people on the track? As distasteful as the "elite runners" gripes are about hobby joggers, it sounds like the Run Rev group is doing workouts that would be better suited to a public park or soccer field.

My guess is that there are permit fees for a group that large at those places and the only reason they head to the track is to avoid paying for those.

How many of the athletes in the program vermillion is running are training for a track race? My guess is zero. Now they have apparently ruined it for people who actually training for TRACK. There are other options in Broomfield, superior, niwot etc, but as many posters have pointed out, most of those tracks are closed during school hours. Before and after hours they have to wait for the hs teams to do their own practice.

It's a terrible situation that hopefully the Fairview AD and some of the more responsible running groups can find a solution that suits all parties.

The solution for this problem seems to be that people should not be able to use free public tracks for their own profit. If you are making profit off people using a free public service then you owe those providing the service some of that profit. If you are using the public track as a way for runners to pay you then you must pay for the track or not charge your runners for that session. It's the same reason my company can't hold our conference meetings in the public library next store to us. We would have to pay to use the space for that.

Two issues - public access and management

To solve the public access issue - why don't the runners of Boulder petition the City Council to build a track at the East Boulder Rec Center? There's plenty of land and demand for such a facility.

Management of the track would be handled by a specialized management group.

Ideas -

Install pop-up rails in an outer lane. Most walkers/joggers just want to follow a rail. Give them one. If there was a rail in an outer lane that was 3 laps to a mile, I'm sure they'd use it.

Access is by booking only.

People pay to use a designated lane for a set time.

That's a crock.

No not so wrote:

That's a crock.

You didn't finish the saying:

Thanks for your input @rmvermillion.

proposition wrote:

To solve the public access issue - why don't the runners of Boulder petition the City Council to build a track at the East Boulder Rec Center? There's plenty of land and demand for such a facility.

Why doesn't someone just buy a measuring wheel and run intervals in a park or the field you're talking about?

No, your local high school won't let you use the chem lab or the kitchen. But historically they never would have and no other school in the US would have allowed it either. On the other hand, traditionally school's outdoor athletic facilities have been open to the public and in many municipalities still are. We have no public high schools that don't allow public use of their track if the school itself is not using it and it used to be that way pretty much everywhere.

So this is a tough change for Troop's athletes and very unfortunate for them if I follow the story correctly because their own actions had nothing to do with getting the track closed.

Don't be such a pu55y. If you need a track to run intervals, you aren't a runner.Lace em up and run. Anything but that is just an excuse.

Boulder runner wrote:

Rocky flats non toxic wrote:

Bummer for Boulder. There are also open tracks in Fort Collins and in the Denver area, so all is not lost. Also check Golden and School of Mines.

You are talking about 45-60+ minute drives. Might work to get through the trials but it's not viable.

I know that none of the trolls on letsrun actually like the truth but here it is...

1. Fairview HS has always required permits but now they are no longer turning a blind eye. Why you ask? Well, it was because there were 8 teams at the track one morning with around 200 runners there who unfortunately made it impossible for the students at the HS to park. The students complained and boom...there you go. Unfortunately there were about 60 people from the "hobby jogger" group there, but they don't park near the track. Thus you see why their names were run through the mud. Easy to blame because there are more of them. Where were the remaining 140 people? Well that's from Boulder Track Club, Boulder Coaching, Boulder Striders, Hudson Elite, Roots Running, a triathlon group, and a College Team visiting the area.

2. There are big-mouths in the Boulder community that just are not nice people. Plain and simple.

3. What defines "a runner that should be running on the track"? Many from the "hobby jogger" teams actually run faster than many in the local sub-elite groups but don't want to take it so seriously. So... What about the HS students on the JV team? What about a 7 min mile? What about a 6 min mile? What about a 5 min mile? What about a marathoner? What about a 65 year old woman who is nationally ranked? What about an 8 year old? What defines a runner that "deserves the privilege to use a track more than anyone else"? And who are YOU to decide who is a runner or not. Where is that line? It's just so offensive in SO MANY WAYS for someone else to say who deserves to be classified as a runner and who is more worthy than someone else. You know who gets to decide in this case who gets to use the track? Right - a permit does. The problem is that every group in the area has been flocking to this one track that turns a blind eye. But when 200 people show up of a morning and all of the HS parking spots are taken...there is a problem for sure. It doesn't matter that x group has 10 and y group has 25. Added up you could have literally hundreds of runners showing up.

4. All of the above groups take money from their members to fund the club. Even "non-profits" pay their owner. There isn't a single group listed above (with the exception of the visiting college) where the athletes don't pay their coach - plain and simple.

5. Oh...and no body jumped fences or broke into restrooms that morning from Boulder Track Club or Revolution Running. I don't see Mrs. "55 year old retired teacher" spouting profanity and being disrespectful to other athletes or "Mr. 40 year old engineer" trying to crack a lock on a bathroom". Don't trust everything that comes out of someones mouth. It's easy to make up lies to hurt others for sure.

6. It's actually a really easy process to get a permit so everyone just needs to suck it up and do it the right way. I really don't understand why everyone is griping so much.

7. People who are petty, hurtful, and disrespectful to others are just horrible. A community is important and I don't understand why people have to be so mean over something that literally isn't a big deal. There are clubs in other parts of the country with 500-1000 people. No one gets their panties in a wad there and everyone can get along. Stop the trash talk and get on with life.

8. Rule of the day - just be nice to others. Why the hate, why the anger? It is at the end of the day - running.

What is the value of a runner wrote:

3. What defines "a runner that should be running on the track"? Many from the "hobby jogger" teams actually run faster than many in the local sub-elite groups but don't want to take it so seriously. So... What about the HS students on the JV team? What about a 7 min mile? What about a 6 min mile? What about a 5 min mile? What about a marathoner? What about a 65 year old woman who is nationally ranked? What about an 8 year old? What defines a runner that "deserves the privilege to use a track more than anyone else"?

And here we have another one, just a lot more long winded, FFS it's not about "what defines a runner", it's about using the track appropriately, what is it about that that some of you people can't understand?

What is the value of a runner wrote:

8. Rule of the day - just be nice to others. Why the hate, why the anger? It is at the end of the day - running.

Yeah, why?

What is the value of a runner wrote:

2. There are big-mouths in the Boulder community that just are not nice people. Plain and simple.