running tangents in race for wussies?

They'll get over it.

Running the tangents was what Cosmas Ndeti used to do. I remember wintessing at one Boston where he pointed out to the younger runners which line they should pay attention to: the blue stripe on the road.

Good enough for him, good enough for me.

I ran tangents at Peachtree too, it's way too twisty to try and stick to one side of the road.

But the last 3/4 mile is straight as an arrow. Your "tangent" wouldn't have mattered there.

actually, i didn't say it right, it wasn't at mile 6, it was at 12th street before the left turn on 10th.

Gosh...I'd suppose that the goal of any roadrace is to run the course as measured and get the fastest possible time. The question of wuss or not wuss doesn't even come into it.

if a course is measured correctly, the tangent is the correct distance PLUS some fudge factor. you are already running extra distance, so why add any more?

It's "wuss" not "wussy."

Tangents are advisable.

sin/cos

I once almost got in a shoving match with a dork on a winding course 10K over this. He seemed to think I was "cheating". Moron.

Craig Virgin once said that he was able to negate the kick of a world class miler (Rod Dixon) at Peachtree by taking tangents.

i know wrote:

It's "wuss" not "wussy."

Tangents are advisable.

sin/cos

both wuss and wussy are acceptable...

so the teacher becomes the student

Pythagoras wrote:

You are either a troll or someone who has just discovered geometry.

I vote troll

Euclid wrote:

Pythagoras wrote:

You are either a troll or someone who has just discovered geometry.

I vote troll

Do you even know what a troll is Euclid?

This is a guy asking a question, not someone 'trolling' the boards. It's not a ridiculous or silly question either.

I doubt this thread will get many more responses that have to do with the thread and trolls usually like to keep baiting along to prolong the thread as much as possible.

Basically, I think you need to get a better handle on your internet vocabulary.

um yeah he is a troll. you need to get your head out of your ass and realize that. it seemed legit until the part about his buddy's wife being pissed off and his buddy not returning emails. not returning emails because he was trying to run fast???? lol, worst possible bait line ever.

Pythagoras Plus wrote:

Euclid wrote:

You are either a troll or someone who has just discovered geometry.

I vote troll

Do you even know what a troll is Euclid?

This is a guy asking a question, not someone 'trolling' the boards. It's not a ridiculous or silly question either.

I doubt this thread will get many more responses that have to do with the thread and trolls usually like to keep baiting along to prolong the thread as much as possible.

Basically, I think you need to get a better handle on your internet vocabulary.

===================================================

"Internet" is a proper noun and so you need to capitalize it.

I don't believe the question is serious. You appear to be more gullible than I. Since I have concluded that the post was not a serious question, and I am right btw, he is a troll.

No casual "fun runner" who is not smart enough to run the tangents, as is common sense, would ever conclude it is for "wussies." On the other hand a letsrun troll would use the word wussies to describe a person doing exactly what they should in a RACE and imply that the person was not tough.

A fun runner, MIGHT (though I doubt it) ask if he was wrong to be running the tangents when that caused him to miss seeing his family. He would NOT ask if he was a "wuss" for doing so.

The poster is a troll and you are a gullible fool (assuming you are not the original poster).

trolls try to stir up controversy. No real controversy here.

My take on the subject matter is that tangents are common sense when running a road race. If there is not a cone or some kind of 'out of bounds' marker (curbs do count) then run the straight line.

I don't believe the question is serious.

----------------------

no it is a serious question which i am trying to ask in a humorous way. (well fairly serious, i mean, i really like running and getting faster, but i'm not likely to break any records.)

i am not a troll. although i don't get why everyone is so uptight about identifying trolls. it's not like this message board isn't full of other ridiculous threads or anything.

Pythagoras wrote:

I don't believe the question is serious.

----------------------

no it is a serious question which i am trying to ask in a humorous way. (well fairly serious, i mean, i really like running and getting faster, but i'm not likely to break any records.)

i am not a troll. although i don't get why everyone is so uptight about identifying trolls. it's not like this message board isn't full of other ridiculous threads or anything.

There are a ton of other goofy threads. You went about it by playing the troll. And so you are. Now you have been called out on it, you initially deny it, then ultimately admit it.

And no, it is not and was not a serious question.

Lets re-phrase your question:

"In a race, are you a wussie, wuss, wussi, if you run the shortest possible legal length or is it better to run a longer distance?"

I am not sure of the proper spelling of "wuss" or how to make it plural, but I can spell troll.

One last point, another way we know you are a troll, you went to the effort to create a fake email address. If you really wanted serious answers you would not have done that.

wow, glad you are keeping the trolls honest. what would the message board do without you.

obviously, on a certified course, running the tangent is not cheating or being a wuss, it is simply running the distance.

if i was in the lead elite pack, i would expect everyone would run the tangent.

but i ran a low 39 minute 10k. i'm proud of my time and it was a PR. but running the tangent caused me to miss my family and not to run with my buddy.

i ran my tangents sensibly. it wasn't like "nothing's going to stop me from running the shortest path, even if it means cutting people off or running them over." i didn't kill myself at every possible moment trying to maintain the tangent.

i was simply wondering if given my place in the race, if it would just be more "normal" to run in the flow of the pack which naturally develops.

given all the responses, it seems that running a tangent is fully acceptable.

i will now return to my bridge. sheesh!

Pythagoras wrote:

if i was in the lead elite pack,

if I WERE in the lead...