I didn't want to sound biased in the original post, so here
is the rest of the story, the runner in question is my daughter. About an hour
before the race, she and I walked a portion of the course and I pointed out that this
was a point where leaving the line would make sense. We discussed how most if
not all the other runners would likely stay close to the chalk line and I left
the discussion telling her that as the race was still an hour away that cones
could be added but if they weren’t, she should cut straight across. It was a
quad meet and her team was hosting, after the race I was talking with my
daughter, her coach, who in this case was also hosting the race, came up and
told my daughter they were discussing whether or not she would be DQed. My
daughter asked for an explanation and the coach explained that rules were that
she had to remain close to the line. This is where I interjected insisting that
there was no rule regarding proximately to the line and the coach insisted
that it is a rule. I said I was 100% certain that there was no such rule, I had
been certain prior to giving my daughter the advice but while she was warming up,
I reviewed the rules because I knew it was a bold move that was likely to
garner attention. The coach and I went back and forth for several minutes her
insisting that she had been involved in XC for many years and knew the rules
and that if my daughter did that in the larger race this weekend, she would be
DQed. I asked the coach about this “rule”, I asked “how close is close? Can she
be 10 feet off?”, “yes”, “Can she be 15 feet off?”, “15 is kind of a lot”, “so
like 12?” “yes, 12 feet is the limit, she just has to stay close”. Eventually
we agreed to disagree and I said that while my daughter is on this team, she
will follow the coach’s instructions. Lastly though I said “hey you’ve got
another meet in three weeks, how about I buy some cones, and donate them to the
program to be placed around that field and the problem is solved.” The coach
said that was not necessary or desired because everyone except my daughter knows
and obeys the rules regarding the line, as it was clearly an intentional move, I felt she was insinuating my daughter and I were dishonest cheaters. I insisted that running the tangents is smart racing and common practice, coach feels it is a dishonest, un-sportsman like practice and actually cheating. I feel bad about getting into the discussion, I emailed the coach last night and apologized for disrespecting her but the idea that I am so certain about the rules and she is equally certain is still somehow eating at me. I just wondered, does the community in general believe there is a rule like this? Is this coach woefully misinformed or is her
belief a commonly held one within the sport?