Want to Bandit a Race Tomorrow. Good or Bad Idea?

Great idea! Go shoplift a Gatorade when you finish.

As soon as I graduate college and do not get into races for free anymore, I plan to start banditing. And yes, I will be taking all of the bananas, bagels, and gatorade that I can.

i've been in races before where they're like "If you're banditing today, make sure to tell the people at the finish not to record your time." sometimes it's tolerated

Your parents raised you to be a freeloading leech, did they?

If you don't want to shell out the $30 race fee, don't run the race. If you're really so cheap that you are willing to stoop to thievery over such a small sum, just win the race and you'll probably get more than your money back in prize money or gift certificates.

Clearly there are both sides to this topic. My opinion is as long as you don't interfere with anyone in the race, and don't take prize money, go for it. You never know, maybe you banditing the race will help a runner near you to run a faster time. And that's always a good thing.

And taking something you haven't paid for is theft. Paying to enter the race that's run on a closed course that somebody paid to have closed supports the sport. Not paying and using it anyway takes away from the sport. Your presence isn't likely to help anyone else run a faster time.

By the way, you can't "take prize money" for any race you didn't register for, idiot. You never know, period.

bump bump

Do the right thing and just pay the damn fee like everybody else. Support your sport. You think you're the only one who dislikes or has a hard time paying the fees? You're not, but the rest of us suck it up so that we can continue to have races.

being a race bandit is always a good idea. i've bandited several marathons and a couple 5/10k's. thing is, you CANNOT cross the finish line. if you cross the finish line then you're an asshole cuz you screw up the results. so yes to banditing, its way fun. but make sure you pull off the course just before the finish line.

Thanks guys. I've decided to bandit!

Bandito wrote:

Thanks guys. I've decided to bandit!

You're clearly just ignoring the small percentage of posts who are advocating banditing, while completely ignoring the majority who are against it. Swallow the fee like everyone else. Races can't survive on bandits.

if you pay the fee for any race, your a dirty communist. races that charge a fee are just trying to get your money so they can pass that money on to "the man" who will keep working to take down our economy. bandit the shit out of the race, just dont cross the finish line

Today I ran in a race for which I paid only $10--the price of preregistration by March 10 (race day registration, I understand, was $25).

Granted the price of races is going up and there are some fees that are getting out of control. It's more and more expensive to hold those heavily marketed bells and whistles kind of races.

But why run those if you can find some smaller neighborhood races with fewer frills and more of the money going to some running clubs or other worthwhile groups?

Or try some all-comers' or development track meets. The price per event is pretty minimal, the distance is accurate, and they focus on what you're there for: racing.

Think of it--it's kind of like, "I'll go into Starbuck's and steal their expensive coffee" OR "I'll go into Starbuck's and buy their expensive coffee." But what about that all-important third option. "I'll bypass Starbuck's, go somewhere cheaper, pay for it so as to keep it honest, but not go broke."

Since when is profit motive a communist ideal?

banditos wrote:

if you pay the fee for any race, your a dirty communist. races that charge a fee are just trying to get your money so they can pass that money on to "the man" who will keep working to take down our economy. bandit the shit out of the race, just dont cross the finish line

Non-bandit wrote:

But why run those if you can find some smaller neighborhood races with fewer frills and more of the money going to some running clubs or other worthwhile groups?

Or try some all-comers' or development track meets. The price per event is pretty minimal, the distance is accurate, and they focus on what you're there for: racing.

Think of it--it's kind of like, "I'll go into Starbuck's and steal their expensive coffee" OR "I'll go into Starbuck's and buy their expensive coffee." But what about that all-important third option. "I'll bypass Starbuck's, go somewhere cheaper, pay for it so as to keep it honest, but not go broke."

Thanks for that, refreshing. Good man.

banditos wrote:

if you pay the fee for any race, your a dirty communist. races that charge a fee are just trying to get your money so they can pass that money on to "the man" who will keep working to take down our economy. bandit the shit out of the race, just dont cross the finish line

I think you're confusing communism with capitalism, the system upon which our society is based. I know you're a troll, but I feel I need to point out that races are a logistical nightmare to put on. They need the fees to 1. pay for everything so that the race can go smoothly (road closures, fuel stations, permits and insurance, timing mats and chips, renting a speaker system, etc.). Further, if there is no profit (i.e. race fees don't cover all that, or there is no net gain for the people in charge), why would race directors be incentivized to continue on next year? Races have to be profitable in order to continue. Races only lose money on bandits.

Wow, I had never heard about the whole "Bandit" thing prior to this thread. Thanks for letting me know and outlining the process- I will definetly make use of the information I've obtained here.

Bandito wrote:

Thanks guys. I've decided to bandit!

You're a monster!