Coolest or weakest thing ever? Quarantine Backyard Ultra ends with controversial DQ after 250+ miles

Pretty lame, they stopped something that could have been even more epic over something trivial.

Incredibly lame. I can't take Wardian's "victory" seriously with such a minor technical issue being grounds for a dq.

This is why there is a warning system in sanctioned track & field events for errant mistakes. Just about as bad as Hardrock DQing Xavier Thevenard because his crew pulled up off course and handed him water.

I'm okay with the RD's decision. There are not many rules, but "start at the bell" is one of them.

I also would have been okay with the RD giving him a warning on that loop...but once the decision was made, I'm glad he stuck with it.

As for the thing about Wardian not starting on the hour every hour -- I was watching live and following the chat, and there were some people saying he started his 3am loop 9 minutes late. (I'm guessing this is the reason Brunner looked into this and mentioned it.) Look at his Strava and there is a run starting at 3:09am, but there is also a run starting at 3:00am. He started his run (on time), stopped his run, then his wife talked him into finishing his run. He followed the letter of the rule, which is why he was allowed to continue.

Looking back, the RD should have emphasized the strictness of the rules before the race started. (Maybe even gone into what starting "at the bell" means--is the grace period 10 seconds? 1 minute?)

Looking back, Brunner should have worn a watch so that he wouldn't be dependent on looking at a feed with thousands of viewers to know when to start.

It was a tough call, but the RD made the decision, and checked with Laz, the creator of the race format, who confirmed that decision.

To me it's like Usain Bolt's false start in 2011. Obviously it made the race less intriguing, and afterward the rule was scrutinized, but you can't just ignore a rule when it's inconvenient--even if it's inconvenient for everyone.

every lap was supposed to start on the hour, every hour.

I'm sure that the majority of people in the contest were just looking at their watches or clocks, but when all eyes are on the final two competitors, there's a bit more precision asked for.

it's a shame, but the RD made the right call and stuck by it.

nobody likes it, but the rules were written clearly enough.

this round goes to Iron Mike

I'm sure we will see Radek at Big's Backyard Ultra next year if he wants to come.

Unfortunately, rules are rules.

The RDs said two days ago that a few seconds (15-30) would be fine to get going, but he was vastly over that, as you saw, and he wasn't making any effort to start at the bell, or within a few seconds of it. Was he trying to gain an advantage? Seems unlikely. But maybe he just got tired and lost his focus. If so, that's the *whole point of the race.* You have to stay disciplined, and it's a race of attrition. And Brunner had company, why did they not warn him? Who knows?

Brunner points out the Wardian's Strava feed shows a few loops starting at one minute after the hour (and the 3:00 am drama when he was about to quit). But there's a massive difference: those one-minute lags were almost certainly lags in the software or hardware because Wardian was on live video starting his loops on time, per the race rules. In the 63rd lap, Brunner was on camera NOT starting his loop on time, or anywhere near it. Apples/oranges means Brunner's out.

Listen, that result sucked eggs. I could hardly watch the screen when I saw what was happening, and it made me sick to my stomach. But rules are rules, and this is a tough one. Also, your analogy to the steeplechase ruling isn't quite on. Brunner was almost 1/30 of an hour late for that particular "race"; would you also be permissive of Kemboi running 100 meters on the line (1/30 of the race), rather than just a step?

reed wrote:

I'm sure that the majority of people in the contest were just looking at their watches or clocks, but when all eyes are on the final two competitors, there's a bit more precision asked for.

I'm sure they will suggest runners have their own time keeping device next time, but the intent of the rule is they are moving at the top of the hour. I'd say he was.

That minute didn’t give him an advantage. He wasn’t sleeping or stretching. For all we know, his clock could’ve been a minute off or the livestream clock delayed

When I was watching some of the hourly starts earlier, the RD kept saying that they needed to get going within 10-15 seconds. "Backyard Rules" said he heard 15-30 maybe? Either way, everyone knew the rule. He probably didn't start late until the DQ, which suggests he had a mental lapse as he was getting tired. That's part of the race.

i havent seen it yet, but i was in the race, and the RD was absolutely clear in the notes and in the talks and at all times. YOU MUST START AT THE BELL. i was terrified about it. on lap 2 my garmin wouldnt lock satellites, i was about 20s late, i was really worried.

so you have to get to the line in your corral, and get over it as the bell goes.

But - a treadmill has to be fired up, and you dontwant to fiddle with it o a stupid slow rolling treadmill.

surely the line is the back of the treadmill, and when you step on it, you go over the line?

two more thoughts, now i have read the whole of the rest of the thread.

1) The 3.00 am issue is false. Mike clearly started, gave up, walked the rest of the lap home. Wife gave him a kick up the arse. he restarted strava at 3:09 and completed - ok.

2) not impressed by Laz' cowardly post; 'happy someone else has to make a call on my crappy rules - im not going to back them up'. ok, he was sleep depraved, but....

3)

ok, three things, noone expects

3) Radek has a point about at least two of Mike's laps starting at 01. I trust Derek will be on the case. I guess strava ticks over at 30s to the next minute. well, thats a dq.

4) (more spanish inquisition things). i feel really sorry for Radek. Inevitably (and forgiveably) the whole thing was so biased towards Americans. When they only had two left, they should have reached out to Radek more. Radek went into the critical night early, when Mike was still playing in the sunlight with his friends. Radek had broken the back of it - Mike was about to enter the extra hell. I feel sorry for Mike too - he did nothing wrong.

But it was a great event, i really enjoyed it, really sorry for all it turned out this way - humans make mistakes.

I was sleeping, but checking the full commentary now, I certainly found SteelTown to have the best handle on it as usual.

Also Radek Brunner has served notice & I hope & believe he will benefit from the publicity. Well done, Radek, make them remember the name!

Congrats as well to the champion Wardian. Such a driven, hard working runner.

There are many angles one could make on the DQ. Defending champion Linford Christie (as an example from non-virtual races) being DQ’d at ‘96 Olympics and wasting everyone’s time by sulking about it & temporarily preventing the others from getting on with it, that was weak! T & F has no high ground here.

This is run under different rules to the "standard" Backyard Ultra, so it is worthwhile looking at what exactly the rules say...https://personalpeak.ca/quarantinebackyard/

At home on your treadmill (or in your hallway if need be),

+Connect in to Zoom call using a computer webcam, or smartphone with the Zoom app – this will allow you to interact with other racers and the live feed while running

+ At the bell you will start your treadmill and run 6.706km/4.167miles

+When you finish the distance, point your camera at your treadmill to prove you completed the distance, and then you are free to relax, eat or do any other things you need to prepare for the next lap

+You must be back on your treadmill when the bell rings to start the next loop

He was on his treadmill when the bell rang.

If the requirement was to start the treadmill rather than to just be on the treadmill - why have the extra line stating you must be on your treadmill?

This is why Ultras get no respect.

The elitist white male becomes his own worse enemy.

Over-analytical, over-thinking, over-stepping, losing sense.

What a waste of time and I was following every step.

Thanks for shearing this info.

What a dumb end of this event.

If nothing else, Laz needs to get DQ from being a race director.

Class action lawsuit wrote:

What a dumb end of this event.

If nothing else, Laz needs to get DQ from being a race director.

reposted from steelrunner in the other thread;

/repost

Indeed. For those who care - perhaps not RoJo - Laz's final update:

maybe i am the only person who is glad not to be in charge.

not this time.

people tend to see the world in black and white,

and with the screen of not having to make decisions when things go grey

deal in absolutes.

being here in quarantine in the house on the hill,

and handcuffed by a near total absence of technological skill,

i dont know how many people saw the events that unfolded at the start of hour 63.

but here is what i saw....

with the caveat that i had finally gotten to sleep for a couple of hours.....

i did not realize it at the time,

thinking i had just taken a nap between the start of hour 61 and the start of 62

i actually slept thru hour 62 and it was time for 63.

i got to the computer during the countdown.

as the final minute counted down i just saw radek's treadmill standing alone.

it got under 30 seconds and still no radek.

i thought he must have quit.

then with just seconds left here is radek.

he gets on his treadmill and is just standing there.

i am yelling at him,

which is useless because he cant hear me.

by a minute after the start i think he is done..

almost 2 minutes in, he starts running.

the race management disqualified him.

maybe in the world of people who are absolutely certain they know the right answer i am the only one

who is glad to not be in charge today.

mike did his 63rd hour,

and now he is the winner.

radek was left with the taste of ashes.

/unrepost

it seems to speak for itself

rojo wrote:

Brunner doesn't speak English very well

his English was FINE. We heard him talk plenty. He owns his own business making farming equipment, bought his treadmill last week, doesn't have a sponsor, his home was about 21 degrees... All things he said in ENGLISH without translation