Race bandits

I do it multiple times a year. I pay for races I plan to compete in, when I'm helping a friend reach their goals I just get in the pack and run. I cut the course with 200m to go. I don't give a shit if I don't have a time, that's not why I ran.

Never been yelled, even if someone noticed, as if they could catch me.

In college my buddy and I went bandit in road races sometimes. We were known in the running community (especially him, he was a local and I was known as his friend) and tolerated up to a point. That was a long, long time ago.

I wouldn't do it now, but strictly speaking I'm not opposed to people who do. If they take refreshments I consider that to be theft, but otherwise they are running on public roads.

runnningjourno wrote:

Hello - I'm looking to talk to someone who has been a race bandit. No judgement here! Just want to talk to people who have done it about experience and motivations. Will also search the archives so apologies if this question has been asked before, but please let me know if you would be prepared to talk. Anonymity guaranteed!

Please contact Marilyn Wann.

You need to contact Rachel Dolezal.

ex bandit wrote:

they are running on public roads.

If you don't understand why this is an idiotic argument, you are too dumb to understand why banditing would be a problem

Carry on.

people argue its fine if some poor kid doesn't cough up the outrageous $50 entry fee for a 5k, and sure one or two bandits don't hurt, to an extent, but if we see one or two as fine it'll get to the point where the lead pack has a bunch of bandits and it'll just keep increasing, not cool

why don't all the people who can't pay the entry fee meet up beforehand and just run a time trial over a different course

I bandit every now and then. One time I even won the race. Just didn't cross the finish line. I was in college and didn't have a lot of money and I knew the race director.

Now my wife enters and runs races. I just hop in and run along with her or move about the crowd. If I see a street that is interesting I'll go off and adventure that. The neat part is, on a longer race people will start to recognize me and then tell me what direction my wife is when I come back from the side trips.

ex bandit wrote:

In college my buddy and I went bandit in road races sometimes. We were known in the running community (especially him, he was a local and I was known as his friend) and tolerated up to a point. That was a long, long time ago.

I wouldn't do it now, but strictly speaking I'm not opposed to people who do. If they take refreshments I consider that to be theft, but otherwise they are running on public roads.

Sure, let's talk about running on public roads. A race director is required to get a permit to use public thoroughfares for a race. In most cases, police detail is a condition of that approval, as is liability insurance. This costs money, significantly more than 10 years ago. Nothing is free. Unregistered runners don't grasp this concept, or don't care. Either way, jumping into a race without a # is nothing to be proud of.

I bandit 4-5 races a year. Usually, it's when I want to get in a 5-10K to see what shape I'm in to tailor my training. I've never messed up results, never interfered with other runners (usually help them in pacing/racing), don't cost the race extra money, never had a medical emergency, or any of the other excuses people use to not bandit.

It's not a big deal. Most people on here over-react to something that, in the grand scheme of things, is pretty insignificant.

Does it cost the race more if I bandit?

Bandito wrote:

E. Bonix wrote:

Sure, let's talk about running on public roads. A race director is required to get a permit to use public thoroughfares for a race. In most cases, police detail is a condition of that approval, as is liability insurance. This costs money, significantly more than 10 years ago. Nothing is free. Unregistered runners don't grasp this concept, or don't care. Either way, jumping into a race without a # is nothing to be proud of.

Does it cost the race more if I bandit?

Will you be using the hydration tables, or bringing your own? Can you ensure that you will be the only runner with an aversion to paying their own way, or will you bring along like-minded friends? Will you go through the chutes? Are you on welfare or experiencing financial distress? If the event is a fundraiser do you support the charity in other ways? Are you physically able to lend a hand as a race volunteer afterward? Ever direct a road race? Were you able to keep it affordable?

Thank you very much for all the replies. I stupidly forgot to put any contact details. Anyone who wouldn't mind, please do email me - I just want to ask a few more questions. Thank you very much for your help.

runningjourno@gmail.com

runnningjourno wrote:

Hello - I'm looking to talk to someone who has been a race bandit. No judgement here! Just want to talk to people who have done it about experience and motivations. Will also search the archives so apologies if this question has been asked before, but please let me know if you would be prepared to talk. Anonymity guaranteed!

Done it to help pace a buddy.

1. On one hand, if you run the route alongside others and don't drink their water / eat their food, there really shouldn't be a problem.

2. On the other hand, what would happen if everyone else did the same thing you did? Clogged roads, no room for the real participants (if the race even took place, since in this scenario, EVERYONE is banditing...)

So, not the end of the world if you do it once or twice, but there needs to be a fairly good reason for it.

Yes, it sucks to be a race director. But you took it on for some reason, and it doesn't mean everyone there owes you $50 or whatever you charge. There are a certain number of bandits at races, and there always have been. I haven't noticed much downside.

Star wrote:

You need to contact Rachel Dolezal.

Or C. Thomas Howell or Robert Downey Jr.

Eddie Murphy also tried it once.

It's lame. Bandits act like it's no big deal to free ride on what others are paying for and for what the organizers are donating their time to achieve some financial purpose, oftentimes charitable.

For the same reason you'd get tossed or arrested if you get caught sneaking into an NFL game, it's wrong and the fact it takes place on the streets doesn't change anything. There's a reason you're out on the race course and not running alone down some other road. Maybe you like the energy of the pack, or the crowds cheering you on, or having people to pace with, or the fact you can run 10K or whatever as a time trial and not be encumbered by the usual pedestrians, dogs, cars, and traffic signals. You are benefitting from the race, whether you want to admit it or not, so have some class and pay, or else run somewhere else.

I've done it twice at a race where there was no race day registration. But I don't want to use that as an excuse. One time I was just pacing a friend and the other time I was 23 and just being cheap. I regret my actions.

A few years back a story came out about how for one of the biggest races in the city the race director made a lot more money than people thought she should and charities got a lot less. For this reason some runners have skipped the race ever since, a few have run as bandits. One bandit told me he writes a check to the charity for what the race and shirt would have cost. His way of sending a message.

runnningjourno wrote:

Hello - I'm looking to talk to someone who has been a race bandit. No judgement here! Just want to talk to people who have done it about experience and motivations. Will also search the archives so apologies if this question has been asked before, but please let me know if you would be prepared to talk. Anonymity guaranteed!

I never even knew such a thing existed. Clearly gotta get out more.

Don't understand the bringing up an NFL game at all....

The fact a race is on the streets which are open to public, most times, has everything to do with it. I've ended up running through 5k's just doing my normal loops on the roads, in a park or whatever. No malicious intent, and nothing bad happened. Obviously people have different motivation for banditing, when I purposefully do it, its so I can help pace friends... Not everyone has the funds to, or WANTS to pay $50 for a 6 mile training/tempo run... I advocate banditing in these cases.