The tragedy is that they could have continued so easily had cooler heads prevailed... if I have it right?. Wardian was done his lap; Brunner was on his way.
When Brunner finished,, could have had a quick discussion to clarify the rule, shore up timing lags, issue a warning or whatever (Wardian was okay for the comp to continue) and continue on with the next lap ... but I think the RD was so influenced by Laz and understandably didn’t want to waver. Can’t go back now and it’s a shame.
zxcvxczv wrote:
It looks to me like the dq, while within the rules, didn't take account of technology freezes and malfunctions, which should not cause a dq where the guy was there ready to run and just waiting for the technology to tell him to start. He should have kept the watch to check when to go, but I would vote no dq. Laz loves to dq people, the more heart-breaking the better, but the fact is that Brunner was ready to go on, as was Wardian. Probably his screen froze and so he missed the bell. After that many hours, no dq should have come unless he hadn't showed up. He was moving a little after a minute into it, so he was getting no sleep advantage, to allude to Rojo's example.
I've seen a couple of people stating that he should have gone by his watch, and that misses the point.
You don't go at the start of each hour, you go when the bell goes. Earlier, the bell wasn't going in some cases for the best part of a minute after the hour.
If you go early, that's arguably more of a DQ.
Has he stated that his tablet was genuinely lagging by that much?
Sometime after 24 hours the RD lost power so all the rest of the laps started about a minute late. This was a mess for the competitors and their support crew.
Theoren wrote:
The tragedy is that they could have continued so easily had cooler heads prevailed... if I have it right?. Wardian was done his lap; Brunner was on his way.
When Brunner finished,, could have had a quick discussion to clarify the rule, shore up timing lags, issue a warning or whatever (Wardian was okay for the comp to continue) and continue on with the next lap ... but I think the RD was so influenced by Laz and understandably didn’t want to waver. Can’t go back now and it’s a shame.
This would have been the way to handle it.
Wardian should have called Brunner and said F the DQ. Lets keep going until one of us gives up.
Race Directors made a statement on FB
Personal Peak:
A message from the Race Directors:
We understand the upset. Over the past three days, these phenomenal athletes captured our hearts while we watched them overcome the most mind blowing physical feats. And what this race deserved was a fairy tale ending wherein one athlete reached their absolute limit, while the other achieved a new record. Both overcoming obstacles and coming out the other side triumphantly. That would have been the perfect ending to the perfect event. However, as it is in life, not everything ends the way you would like it to and no one wanted it to end like this. After weeks of preparation and 62 sleepless hours, Radek, Mike, the organizing team, and the world needed that fairy tale ending. And we (Travis and Ashley) took it away. It was our decision alone, and we made the call.
We fully believe it was the right call, but we also completely understand the disappointment and upset. Having never directed a race before, we were supremely naive and thus ill-prepared for that pivotal moment. As such, we did a terrible job of navigating it. The way we delivered the news to Radek was appalling. We robbed Michael of a proper celebration, and we put Lazarus and Sandra in a very awkward position. All while the world watched. And we regret it wholeheartedly.
And although we make no apology for the official decision, we would like to apologize for how we handled it. To everyone who watched, participated, and helped us throughout this event, we are deeply sorry. For 62 hours we were a community together, rather than a world apart. The level of love and support during those hours was unlike anything we’ve ever experienced and when it all came to an end, we did not know how to navigate it. We fumbled. We failed. We let you all down, and for that we are deeply sorry.
We have so much more to say about this event. The last few days have changed our lives in a very meaningful way, and we have so many people to thank. People who put in just as many sleepless hours with frantic productivity as we did. People we owe the world to. But this event has taught us many things, and we are committed to learning those lessons. Primary among them is not trying to celebrate someone’s win while you’re in the middle of regretting another’s loss.
As such, we will save those thank yous until tomorrow when we can give them the spotlight they truly deserve. Thank you all <3
Travis & Ashley
It’s rumored that Travis posts as Tron, the fanatically devoted Proctor mouthpiece.
OllieOllie wrote:
Race Directors made a statement on FB
Personal Peak:
A message from the Race Directors:
And we (Travis and Ashley) took it away. It was our decision alone, and we made the call.
Just gross. Clearly Laz was foaming at the mouth calling for the race to end. Sandra tried to stop him. Laz bounded off the camera to call Travis on his flip-phone from 2004, and Travis came on camera crying because Laz yelled at him and forced him to stop the race.
Just gross. Gross.
jesseriley wrote:
It’s rumored that Travis posts as Tron, the fanatically devoted Proctor mouthpiece.
Ha, ha. Tron was already unreasonable last time around.
He has no clue about ultrarunning and he certainly proved this weekend that he should never give an ultrarunning advice again ever.
What a joke.
rojo wrote:
So the Quarantine Backyard Ultra turned into a mano v mano slugfest between Radek Brunner of the Czech Republic and Mike Wardian of the USA. They got to lap 63 (that means 63 hours of running 4.167 miles every hour - 262.521 miles). Now one of the rules is you have to start on the hour every hour. The rationale for that is simple - they don't want people banking sleep.
The whole point of the Backyard ultra is to equalize faster and slower runners. They don't want someone running 4.167 miles in 30 minutes and then sleep for an hour and run 4.167 miles in another 30 minutes.
Anyway, at the start of the 63rd lap, Brunner got on his treadmill and was fiddling with his ipad. He didn't start running until 1 minute and 45 seconds had passed and the race organizers DQd him instantly. I couldn't believe it. Couldn't one argue that he walked one inch? But Laz - who is the organizer of the most famous backyard ultra in the world and invented the genre- was on the stream and immediately called for a DQ around the one minute mark.
The race commentator did try to warn Rodek after 40 seconds but it was clear he couldn't hear anything.
After the lap was over, and by the way Wardian crushed it in 31 minutes and change - his fastest of the whole thing, Wardian got on the live stream and was confused to see his competitor still running (Wardian's family told him if he finished the loop he was he was the winner). It bothered me that the race commentators didn't tell Wardian 100% what fully had happened. They told him his competitor didn't start the loop on time but they didnt' tell him that he was protesting the decision (Brunner doesn't speak English very well but I believe a translator called him in the middle of his loop and he could be seen wildly protesting). Wardian repeatedly asked why Brunner was still running.
So what does everyone think? It really cool that rules are enforced no matter the consequences ? Or was this a grave injustice?
For me, this seems weak. The intent of the rule seems to be forgotten. This reminds me of DQing someone in the middle of a steeplechase for stepping on the line on lap 3 of a 7.5 lap race as was the case with Kemboi in 2016.. It's not like Brunner was sleeping at the start. He was there working on his ipad.
If he had taken one step, which he clearly would have done if he had been in a normal Backyard Ultra, it would have been fine. But since he was quarantined at home and on a treadmill, he's out. Plus it appears that there was a technical snafu involved. After the event was over Brunner wrote on the race's facebook page, ""My tablet was delayed and I wait for the start. Btw. If I looked for strava.com for confirmation Mike’s run. He not start evevy loop directly in start hour. It is ok???"
So you've got a technological glitch, the computer on mute and a language barrier. To me, he should have been given a pass.
https://www.facebook.com/personalpeakendurance/videos/204153144371066/?t=12[/i]
Also, the 3rd place runner had to quit because a snowstorm created dangerous conditions on the frozen lake she was running over. So great, the guy beats 2 people who have to tap out due to technicalities. This is not good for the sport.
https://www.runnersworld.com/races-places/a32046996/quarantine-backyard-ultra-results-michael-wardian/?utm_medium=social-media&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=socialflowTWRWI have read all the replies but if you are standing in the treadmill you aren’t banking sleep. It should’ve been ok.
Still, why not start the treadmill at a 0.1 walk?
A Hungry, Violent Mob wrote:
OllieOllie wrote:
Race Directors made a statement on FB
Just gross. Clearly Laz was foaming at the mouth calling for the race to end. Sandra tried to stop him. Laz bounded off the camera to call Travis on his flip-phone from 2004, and Travis came on camera crying because Laz yelled at him and forced him to stop the race.
Just gross. Gross.
+10000000000000
A guy broke a rule ... the rule was enforced. On cue, people come here and whine but don't have any valid points, just a bunch of mean spirited picking on an old guy (Laz) for being old.
I'd say "why is this even a conversation", if it were a conversation.
Good job RDs.
I really don't care so my opinion is worth squat but ... what was that idiot crying about? DQ him or don't DQ him but man up next time. Your girlfriend had to change your tampon for you.
MatthewXCountry wrote: So great, the guy beats 2 people who have to tap out due to technicalities. This is not good for the sport.
This literally has zero bearing on the sport (I assume you mean ultrarunning). Backyard / Last Man Standing races are a relatively new phenomenon and occupy a small niche of a broad and varied landscape within ultrarunning. This was a one off, 11th hour event, hosted by first timers, that had 2,500 entrants, with no entrance fee, and the shoestring operation pulled together something incredible. Sure it had its faults, but under the circumstances, a host of people here took interest in an obscure virtual ultra turkey trot. So, all in all, it was a win. To beat a dead horse, if either runner was truly interested in a real multiday record, they'd have to enter an actual multiday, on a certified course, in a sanctioned race, where they'd both be capable of far more mileage than the mandated 4.1667 miles / hour of a Backyard race.
So, to repeat, this has literally no bearing on the sport.
Not that i agree with the decision but in a weird way maybe it's for the best for the sport ultimately.
Just think about if it had ended normally then there would have been no coverage of the event except among the people who were watching it and Brunner would have got much less coverage
Now everyone is talking about the event and the ending, so the actual spread and coverage of the race is probably triple what it would have been.... Maybe that's what Laz knew would happen and why he wanted a controversial story
Anyway at least we can also be happy that there wasn't prize money involved ... Would have just made everything twice as bad
It's lame because the whole thing is lame.
Rhodium Nights wrote:
A Hungry, Violent Mob wrote:
Just gross. Clearly Laz was foaming at the mouth calling for the race to end. Sandra tried to stop him. Laz bounded off the camera to call Travis on his flip-phone from 2004, and Travis came on camera crying because Laz yelled at him and forced him to stop the race.
Just gross. Gross.
+10000000000000
The RD isn’t an ultra runner, an unusual situation.
Points for originality, Travis, in the overall concept. But without having done anything like this yourself, it will be hard to justify your decision. Also, it will be impossible to believe it was yours alone.
Renato Corona wrote:
A guy broke a rule ... the rule was enforced. On cue, people come here and whine but don't have any valid points, just a bunch of mean spirited picking on an old guy (Laz) for being old.
I'd say "why is this even a conversation", if it were a conversation.
Good job RDs.
instead of complaining yourself about people whining and calling people "mean spirited", you could respond to their points with some points of your own. Clearly people on this thread have typed some very detailed thoughts about the matter. You however, have none.
By saying "its not even a conversation", you admit that you have absolutely nothing to add to the discussion.
this x billion wrote:
Rhodium Nights wrote:
+10000000000000
Agreed. Laz's incoherent ramblings in the background were a little annoying but still cute early on during the event. Once Jamil and Dave Proctor dropped and stopped providing commentary / answering questions, Laz became a little more grating. By the end, he was cutting off competitors that we actually wanted to hear from during break time to babble randomly, often about himself. His very obvious influence over the RDs and their high opinion of him based on his contribution to backyard racing ended up making this whole thing about him in the end.
The biggest positives (beyond the fun distraction) is the competitors getting exposure, and maybe this opening people's eyes to Emperor Lazarus having no clothes.