Ran half today, people got mad at me for running behind them and "drafting", is there some etiquette I'm missing?

Dude, you shouldn't be way back with the ladies. Man up and get up there where you belong.

If woman 1 beat woman 2 it explains their contrasting attitudes after the race.

"That led to some gamesmanship between Kipchoge and Gebremeskel. Shortly past two miles, Kipchoge signaled to Gebremeskel to take over the lead. The Ethiopian refused, continuing to run just behind Kipchoge. Then when Gebremeskel was only a few steps from the end, he pointed to the finish line, indicating that he was the winner."

Refusing to lead is a fantastic race tactic, and the Ethiopian elites are somewhat notorious for it. It is easier mentally and physically. People do tend to get annoyed, but that's some tough luck for them. Run faster and drop the drafter or slow to a crawl. If you can't or won't manage either, it's your own fault.

http://www.runblogrun.com/2011/04/2011-carlsbad-5000.html

Drafting is a part of strategy. Good runners do it.

I don't look back and pay no attention to those behind me in a race. Surge!

Drafting in a race is almost impossible to do - from a physics point of view. Everyone is over-analyzing that word right now in this thread.

The ladies probably meant "Stop running behind me, using me as a pacer or effort reliever" I get it, first half marathon and you wanted to run well - who wouldn't? Someone is running your pace, so why should you feel obligated to run in front of them or 30ft back? 98% of us on LR are "Hobby Joggers" or "Hobby Runners" or "Runners", so I can't automatically assume you were running this race to win and set an AR. That's why the concept of drafting is ridiculous in this context.

It is strange that a) you paced off of two women, and b) you were explicitly told by both to stop drafting.

I hope you ran well. Unless you are in a large group or duking it out for the win, don't just run directly behind someone...if you want to be "etiquette." When you are actually racing and the people around you want to beat you, by all means sit behind them and let them work. They will be pissed, but it's a race - not a fun run. The person leading you may get irritated that they can hear you breathing and foot steps falling all while struggling to run within their limits.

In your next race, try running BESIDE someone. Use your peripheral vision to gauge how fast you are running. That way, they can do the same thing and feel more comfortable seeing a partner/competitor rather than a parasite.

TJR25 wrote:

If this is a race, and the other person was smart, they would slow down a lot. There was a really windy local 5k I was running in and it was a rust buster so I just wanted to race and place well, some guy starts drafting off of me and I said, F that and started running like 6:00 pace, which lasted a good 3/4 of a mile. Tried a surge and he caught back up, then I just dropped him in the final 400.

Or she could have farted right in his face to get him to stop drafting if she really cared that much

I was in a race with Megan Kimmel (trail racer- just one north face 50 mile nationals) once. She came from behind and passed me. I caught on and paced behind her. After a few minutes I asked if it was ok to pace behind her. She said, "hey, it's racing man". Nuff said.

Haile Gebrasalassie was trying to draft behind me in a half marathon race a couple years ago. I told him to get lost. I put on the after burners and left him in the dust. I can't deal with runners drafting behind me looking at my ass.

Drafting is perfectly acceptable. Stepping on someone's heels which always seems to happen when someone is drafting behind me is completely unacceptable.

Precious Roy wrote:

If it is just two runners, it is better to run alongside instead of just behind. Being drafted is annoying in a road race. Hearing the breathing, foot falls, and occasional lugie right behind you for mile after mile with out any pacing benefit gets old fast. There is an extra creep element drafting off a female runner.

It takes .000000001% more effort to just run alongside and get into a nice grove where both runners are pulling each other along without even feeling it.

This.

At the Toronto Waterfront Marathon I once had two French-speaking guys sit behind me for miles, right on my heels and never leading or alongside. I believe they were in the full, not the half like me, and presumably running more more comfortably (miles 1-12 = same course). This just made it more obnoxious, with me doing a PR half effort and these guys just enjoying the 5:45 mile train ride.

Usual course-clogger types.

Some of you just sound like you don't like racing. Why race if you don't like racing? Go do a time trial by yourself. Guy above me is whining because two guys ran behind him in a RACE? Get over it. I understand being mad if they clipped your heels, but if you find it "obnoxious" that some guys are running behind you in a race, you need to go find another sport or just go run alone.

If I have someone sitting on me and I want them gone, I make a surge and lose them. I don't sit on a message board and whine about it. It's all part of the sport.

Keep whining. It's good for the sport.

She sounds cool, but she respects you probably because you asked honestly and didn't quietly creep up or do anything to startle her. We need more runners like that.

It's interesting to see how effective drafting would be for a mid-pack runner. I agree with others that if you do draft:

1) Don't be weird about it and breath heavily. I have had that happen to me--runners come up fast behind me and sit behind me, breathing heavily, during the race.

2) If you draft within a big group, use nonverbal communication and switch often so they know it's a team effort. The pack will then be more likely to switch places and have different leaders (similar to Indian runs).

3) If you have to draft at the end switch small groups so nobody gets freaked out--ie if you are in a 3-man pack at mile 24 draft a bit, pass them, find another pack at mile 25 and draft, but don't stay too long?! (this particular strategy is something someone told me today actually).

Are you sure you just don’t have bad BO? Did you eat a bunch of garlic or curry before the race? That would upset me.

The correct word on this case is not ”drafting”, its ”stalking”. Be grateful you didn’t get pepper sprayed.

Running Boston a few years ago, I had a guy running behind (drafting off me), and he yelled at ME that I was “ALL OVER THE ROAD!” So I yelled behind “it’s called running the tangents! Sorry you’re having a bad day!!” And sped up. I didn’t see him again.

I don’t understand how someone running at 2:30 marathon pace doesn’t know about running tangents.

and at the same time be critical of the person he’s drafting