I'm gonna bandit the Chicago 26.2

be there wrote:

What do you all think about that? I am gonna make a fake number on my computer and sneak in the middle of the starting line!! I can't afford the entry fee plus it sold out pretty darm fast this year!

See ya in the Windy City soon! (Don't tell on me)

Sold out quickly? It did not sell out till the middle of August.

This is not a good idea. Take in consideration for others

be there wrote:

I am gonna make a fake number on my computer and sneak in the middle of the starting line!!

It will be interesting to see what happens if you get caught. Someone who runs without a number can always say they just happened to be out for a run during the marathon, or they didn't realize they weren't allowed to run on the course during the race without entering.

On the other hand, by making and wearing a fake number, you have conspired to defraud the race.

I wouldn't be surprised if they detain you indefinitely as an enemy combatant.

dukerdog wrote:

By making and wearing a fake number, you have conspired to defraud the race.

I wouldn't be surprised if they detain you indefinitely as an enemy combatant.

Hey dukerdog, on the flip side, I paid cash money to run a 10 km in Grayling this summer and was clocked in 52:18. Some would ask why I bothered to pay to run that slow. Ha-ha. (Got a real 'keeper' of a tee! I suggest you have a tee-shirt swap in conjunction w/your pre-Christmas run). Because I have no pride any more? That's part of it. The other part is I'm simply happy to be running regularly after so much down time in recent years.

Bandits detained indefinitely...it has promise!

Get a sack and print a good number, something in the single digits.

I bandited there last year. You will not want to start in the middle unless you don't mind running 9:00 pace for the first 5 miles. The mass of people doesn't break up until 8 miles. Until then I had to move by people with quick surges on the sidewalk whenver it opened up a little.

I can see the reasonong behind people being against banditing. You're not contributing to the well being of the sport and putting some money back into it and we should all do our part to support our sport.

I only drank four free beers at the finish line.

Which discman are you going to wear?

Quick Mike wrote:

I bandited there last year. ...You're not contributing to the well being of the sport and putting some money back into it and we should all do our part to support our sport.

I only drank four free beers at the finish line.

there is a lesson for us all, if you bandit, limit your consumption of the free beer.

Why don't you volunteer your efforts instead, then do a long run after you see the race and get inspired, that way you will contribute something positive to the race instead of just trying to rip it off. You'd be surprised how good it feels to give back to the sport.

If everyone bandited a race then there would be no race to run.

just what the chicago marathon needs: more runners to add to the congestion. if i see you out there, i'm gonna put you on the ground.

You buttmunch. How can you afford a computer, but not afford the entry fee?

Go back to Jr. High School lame ass.

When people complain about slow-ass charity penguin folks in the race, invariably they get a "What do you care? They don't stop you from running a 2:06 if you can." I feel that way about bandits. They don't detract from your time or your medal. F*** a $85 race. Line up and run, brother.

It's nice to see that running, like society, has its share of assholes, felons, and those with an IQ that runs pretty close to their shoe size.

you get a rush from banditing a race? stole three singlets? whoa...dudes, you really are livin' life on the edge! you guys are crazy!

just a question...i've never bandit a race before but what if you jumped in the race for an easy time trial...i don't want to pay for a 20 mile race that i'm going to do slower than marathon race pace..i just want the company of other runners...don't plan on using any of the water stop or even finishing in the finish line... all i want is the company of other runners to help me along and the splits....still haven't decided if i'm going to do it yet wonder what ya'll think about this.....

Why not just go out for a training run, on your own, or with friends, then contribute something to the race, or even just cheer along the sidelines. Granted you might think of yourself as one person among 40,000, so what harm is there of running in the mix, or even a drink now and then, or a gel or two, no harm there, or..... but you are one more person that didn't pay to play. Is that the rep that you want for yourself? I wouldn't be proud of that.

Running doesn't exist without 1) runners who pay for shorts, shoes, entry fees, etc. 2) sponsors that provide for extras, like prize money, 3) volunteers to hand you everything from a shirt to a water cup 4) race directors and their assistants, to plan it all, meet with various groups (the city, the police, etc.), 5) running clubs for a variety of purposes.

Running can and does exist without bandits, also known as Turkeys, and also known as cheats. When you take from a race without giving what is expected in return, that is all you are.

I hear the marathon has hired a team crazed Irish priests to sack people who bandit the race. Actually i know, since i am one of them.....

No matter how you try to rationalize it, it's still theft of services

- "The company ofother runners" in that place at that time is a service provided by the existence of an organized race.

- If you base any thought about the distance that you run, or check splits along the way, then you are also stealing the course-measurement service provided by the race.

And for the original guy who said he couldn't afford the entry fee, for the sake of your own supposed intellectual honesty I sure hope you live in the city of Chicago b/c the cost of travel from just about anywhere else in the world dwarfs the race entry fee.

I hope all you bandits suffer in your races, and ultimately "stop running early" (you can't "drop out" of a race you're not really "in").