Do you get to see at the starting line of races slow runners who push their way to the front or nearly the front of the line, god knows why, only to be in the way of faster runners?
Do you get to see at the starting line of races slow runners who push their way to the front or nearly the front of the line, god knows why, only to be in the way of faster runners?
Are you complaining about this, or genuinely asking if this is something that occurs?
Fffffff wrote:
Do you get to see at the starting line of races slow runners who push their way to the front or nearly the front of the line, god knows why, only to be in the way of faster runners?
They do it to get on the photos. There's a guy that does this every year at the Shamrock races. Usually they wear costumes.
You don't have to push your way to the front. Do a bunch of stride outs until right before the start and then just stand a couple feet in front of the start line. The starter will make sure everybody is behind the line so those skinny little fast guys have to move over or back to give you room. I like to start right in the middle of the street so all the faster runners have plenty of room to go around me on both sides. I've always been considerate like that.
Fffffff wrote:
Do you get to see at the starting line of races slow runners who push their way to the front or nearly the front of the line, god knows why, only to be in the way of faster runners?
This has been going on since at least the mid-1970s when I first noticed it. The why is simple: some of these guys want the fastest possible official time and don’t want the 5 or 10 second delay from starting back where they should; some want to sprint off the front and claim they led part of the race, often getting in pics alongside the stars; and some just want to avoid having to weave around the other clowns like walkers and true hobby joggers who should be all the way back but rarely are.
You forgot us old guys who use to belong on the front line and can't give up the glory days of the past!!
I ran my first race in 1976. Even then there were rookies, or usually young kids, who took a place in the front despite pleas from the race director to line up according to pace. I don't know how much energy I wasted getting around the clowns or trying to keep from cutting off others who were also trying to maneuver around them. Nothing has changed.
I do remember a time when I was wrong however. It was at a low-key DSE race in The City. I saw this old woman lined up near the front and thought it was just another inconsiderate jerk, but it turned out to be Marion Irving (the flying nun) who was a 51 year old 2:50 marathoner. She ran most of the weekly DSE races and usually finished in the top three (females). The races attracted 100-200 runners. A $1 entry fee and ribbons to all finishers. Not clunky finisher's medals.
At most races i dont see it too bad. A few races i do have a lot of kids that race and nobody tells the 10 year olds to line up where they belong. I find this negligent and dangerous.
One race that i do every year runs down a road with 2 lanes going each direction. So the start is 4 lanes wide. A LOT of highschoolers do this race. They cross country teams like to start together and many teams line up in the front, including the 40 minute 5kers on the team. The first year i did it (and first year starting running again), i thought "ill probably finish towards the front but not top 10, all these highschoolers will probably start way too fast. I dont want to impede anyone. I'll let 3 rows of people start in front of me. " I swear there were like 8 high school girls running shoulder to shoulder taking up the entire middle of the street. I feel like they might have even been holding hands with each other, to look cute for pictures. With everyone else trying to pass them too, i was boxed in pretty bad. Never again
old guy 73 wrote:
She ran most of the weekly DSE races and usually finished in the top three (females). The races attracted 100-200 runners. A $1 entry fee and ribbons to all finishers. Not clunky finisher's medals.
Do they hold races like that anywhere anymore?? A $1 entrance fee without having to pay for post race snacks, shirts, medals, etc. where you can just race and get an official time sounds amazing. Now its hard to find a race under $30 unless you go to a track meet.
hard to be a middle packer wrote:
You forgot us old guys who use to belong on the front line and can't give up the glory days of the past!!
The reason older guys line up in the front is to secure a fair chance at an accurate gun time for masters/age group awards.
There are 40 minute 5k runners on high school xcountry teams? Surely that's not possible. That's like a 13 minute mile. That's almost my power hike speed up hills for crying out loud.
Uh, have you heard of Betty Blank?
Who remembers the Altra guy pushing his way to front and leading a marathon he had no business even being near the front. Proud moment, I guess, for team Altra. Lol! They even plastered it all over their website.
dopeee wrote:
old guy 73 wrote:
She ran most of the weekly DSE races and usually finished in the top three (females). The races attracted 100-200 runners. A $1 entry fee and ribbons to all finishers. Not clunky finisher's medals.
Do they hold races like that anywhere anymore?? A $1 entrance fee without having to pay for post race snacks, shirts, medals, etc. where you can just race and get an official time sounds amazing. Now its hard to find a race under $30 unless you go to a track meet.
We have a monthly 3k road race on Glasgow Green, just turn up and pay £2 get a number and off you go. Official recorded times.
http://www.3konthegreen.com/The real problem I find are small children, they sprint like mad for 50 meters then almost come to a standstill. Avoid them like the plague. My usual tactic (as a top 10% finisher) is to scope out the first 400 meters of the route. If it is all open road then there shouldn't be too much problem. If it turns onto a bike path after 100 meters then you probably need to go hard from the gun to avoid the bottleneck that is sure to form. The other tactic I use is to line up behind obvious fast runners and just hang on to their pace for the first couple of hundred meters. Another thing to watch out for are the sports teams. Because they play soccer, or whatever, they assume they are naturally more athletic than mere runners and so congregate near the front as a sort of phalanx. After about 200 meters this phalanx slows and becomes a mobile chicane. Finally, if the route goes round a corner shortly after the start, stay to the outside of the bend. Yes it's a longer distance, but you will have open road in front of you. The inside of the bend can come to a standstill.
I've gotten into arguments about this issue with hobby joggers. I just tell them they are not Bekele and I don't take kindly to their sort at the front of the start line.
