Runner knew marathon leaders were running off course, doesn't stop them: "I’m not going to shout. It’s not my job.’’

For $3500 I wouldn’t say anything either

LRC reply. He would have still received $1500 for finishing 3rd in the 2:15 if he had said something and not overtaken the winners.

rojo wrote:

the Quad City Times wrote:

“It was pretty obvious where to go out there so I don’t know what went on,’’ he said. “I was about 20 seconds back so I kind of saw it happening but I’m not going to shout. It’s not my job.’’

I've purposely left names out of this as I don't want it following him forever but this really upsets me. Both modern day college administrators - with all of the conference realignments - and modern-day society has just taught young kids - take what you can, life is a money grab.

Well, not really that hard to find the guys full name and high resolution photo from that Washington Post article. Great anonymization, Rojo.

As he said, he was 20 seconds behind the pair and volunteer. Any shouting you do that far back will not be heard at all, if he could even say anything at all running and breathing hard. And that's if you are quick thinking enough in an unexpected race situation to properly assess what is happening and conjure up coherent words. I don't blame the guy, he stayed on the course and won fairly.

I agree with you Rojo....I wonder what an assistant coach makes?

1) Ridiculous to DQ the Kenyan runners when they were led off course by the volunteer on a bicycle. I see the race director gave them some money. Good show there.

2) Seems the Kenyans SHOULD have known they were taken off course and that other volunteers were there along with signage on where to go. Still, MOST of the blame goes to the guy on the bike, but they should have been familiar with the course. I bet they will from now on. They should have been here too.

3) They were "more than halfway", and the guy who ended up winning was just 20 seconds back when the two leaders were diverted. No guarantee they would have beaten him. They weren't minutes ahead of him.

4) He said it wasn't his job to yell at them. I agree, but it it were me and if I were 100% certain that the bicyclist took them the wrong way, I would have yelled. I do not ever make a moral mistake though, and it would be unfair of me to expect everyone to have achieved my level of morality. So, while I would not have stayed silent as he did (I'm assuming they might have heard him if he did yell based on what the winner said, but it seems likely they might not have as 20 seconds is a long way), I can't slam this guy for not having said anything. It IS a competition, and HE knew the course well enough to know they were wrongly diverted. THEY had the same chance to know the course as well as he did.

It comes off as a bad quote, but he’s not wrong in this instance — there’s a pace car/bike leading them astray and he would have to yell and wave wildly to get their attention from 20 seconds back.

I agree with your general sentiment, but you’re grasping at straws here.

How the hell does the lead bike not know the course?

No wonder the RD is paying them $2k each.

I agree with this boob inspector from UCI.

I can't see blaming the Kenyans AT ALL for not knowing they were taking a wrong turn. For starters, is knowing the course actually a requirement, and don't you think loads of major marathons have been won by runners who wouldn't have known the course without accurate guidance during the race? But anyway, at most you could maybe blame them if they took a wrong turn of their own volition, for no discernable reason. But they were following the fricking pace bike! What do you expect them to do - start arguing with the bike guy?

At 2:15 marathon pace (5:08/mile), 20 seconds is 104.5 meters. At that distance, yelling isn't going to do any good.

I edged out a guy in a race last weekend who missed a turn 400m from the finish line. Fortunately I was pretty close to him when he missed the turn so I could yell and get him back in the race. But if he had been 100m ahead of me, he would have never heard me, and he would have added enough distance at that point that he would have finished 100m behind me.

My first instinct after your headline and synopsis was to be angered and think the winner is a D-bag too.

But after reading the other posts I think I changed my mind. Can’t really fault him. If I were in his shoes and saw top 2 runners and volunteer veer off-course I’d wonder if I was even on the right course then. But that’s just me.

20 seconds back is too far to yell. His comment was distasteful and makes him sound like a d-bag but there’s nothing he could have done.

He should have said, “I definitely feel bad for them. I was about 20 seconds back and there wasn’t much I could do as by the time I got to the turn they were gone.”

iamcomfused wrote:

20 seconds back is too far to yell. His comment was distasteful and makes him sound like a d-bag but there’s nothing he could have done.

He should have said, “I definitely feel bad for them. I was about 20 seconds back and there wasn’t much I could do as by the time I got to the turn they were gone.”

It's called taking quotes out of context. The Washington Post likes nothing more than to smear a white guy that did better than two black guys.

If the Kenyans are struggling so much financially, try getting a job and forget about trying to win a race for a couple of thousand dollars. McDonald’s is paying $18 an hour, use that training time to work and you can bring home $3500 every month instead of just with a few races.

It says there are other volunteers there when they made the wrong turn. Shouldn’t they tell the Kenyans to go the right path?

Someone check the bookies' logs. Reminiscent of the notorious Venice marathon incident from a few years back.

https://youtu.be/eus7d9imPHE

https://www.espn.com/sports/endurance/story/_/id/21251060/how-italian-runner-stayed-course-win-venice-marathon-leaders-went-wrong-way

Flagpole wrote:

...

It IS a competition, and HE knew the course well enough to know they were wrongly diverted. THEY had the same chance to know the course as well as he did.

This says is perfectly. He new the course and didn't do anything wrong, it's a race and usually its up the the runner to have a good understanding of the course beforehand.

iamcomfused wrote:

20 seconds back is too far to yell. His comment was distasteful and makes him sound like a d-bag but there’s nothing he could have done.

He should have said, “I definitely feel bad for them. I was about 20 seconds back and there wasn’t much I could do as by the time I got to the turn they were gone.”

Who even knows how accurate the quote is. The press is notoriously bad at being factual.

Rojo’s new attempt to be all woke and judgmental is really getting annoying. Especially since he’s so inconsistent and hypocritical.

Give the guy a break. 20 seconds back is too far combined with the mental and physical exertion the guy is putting out.

Stuff it Rojo you poser.

HITHEREYOU wrote:

Flagpole wrote:

...

It IS a competition, and HE knew the course well enough to know they were wrongly diverted. THEY had the same chance to know the course as well as he did.

This says is perfectly. He new the course and didn't do anything wrong, it's a race and usually its up the the runner to have a good understanding of the course beforehand.

I think it's unfair to expect people 30km into a marathon to know the course well enough that you would ignore the lead bike. It's pretty hard to memorise an entire marathon course if you haven't had the opportunity to run it multiple times before. Having said that, I don't think the winner did anything wrong, the lead bike rider is solely to blame. Well done to the organisers for paying out the additional $2000 each.

Leaving aside the post-race generosity of race director Moreno, this “human interest story” raises a lot of unanswered questions. The Washington Post is not really clear about what happened. Can’t blame them, of course, since this was not sports reporting, and apparently their source was the Quad City Times, covering the race.

Just a few of the questions:

Race director says route was “clearly marked.” We need more detail. Is that a continuous blue line on the pavement? Or a computer-printed arrow on a piece of letter-sized paper taped to a lamp post?

Race director says runners were briefed about the route the evening before the race. If the “volunteer” on a bike was at the briefing, probably s/he should have paid more attention. But just imagine a “briefing” for a race that advertises that the course runs through “4 CITIES, 3 BRIDGES, 2 STATES…” Do you think any runner could memorize that course from a “briefing” any more than a runner could imagine the New York City Marathon course from a briefing?

The WaPo: “Saolo and Kibet (the two Kenyans in the lead) …spotted a marathon volunteer cycling through Arsenal Island, in the middle of the route… The pair followed the cyclist, who instead of turning in the direction of the path, biked straight ahead.”

Who was this “volunteer”? Was it a race official or simply someone who was following along the course with the leaders? Or, is it possible that when s/he left the route, s/he was just taking a break from following the race and cycled off the course to get out of the way?

Was there a lead car? If not, why not? Race results show that just under 2800 runners finished the race. Were they all being guided by a “lead bicycle” ridden by a volunteer who didn’t know the route?

And, when they missed the turn, did the two Kenyan runners cut the course to get back in the race, or simply backtrack from the wrong route to the right route? If the latter, it seems like a really cheap shot to disqualify them for “not following the course.”

All in all, it sounds to me like the race organization was far from perfect, and with very sorry results. If you look at the extensive list of marathon sponsors (

https://www.qcmarathon.org

) it would seem that there was more than enough budget to hire competent and experienced officials.