Photo by Kristin Wainwright
That's right, I hate to lose and who doesn't? I believe that running is all about putting it all on the line and when the gun goes off it's about how much pain you are willing to endure to beat the guys near you. Yeah there will always be people much better then you, but they are also running their own race against people near them. So it's all about the group your running against.
I think that Chip timing is a good idea when it comes to qualifying for Boston but other wise it has no place in racing. For years runners have been self seeding themselves at races without much direction from race organizers. Of course you will always get the weekend warrior who will try and get up front and go out hard for the first 100 yards of a race but is soon shat out the back side. Other wise self seeding has worked.
Last weekend I ran the Big Lake Half. I've run this race every year since it's inception 8 years ago. It's a "Scenic Race" these are code words for NH races meaning, hilly with the possibility of mountains. So I knew the course was tough and I would be challenged. The race was chip timed, which I know makes it easier for the race officials to post the results but I was unaware that chip times were going to be used to give out awards. To me this makes no sense.
As you can see from the picture above I was clearly ahead of the 2 other guys in the photo as we approached the finish line. However in the results it shows that both of these guys beat me. The guy just behind me #734 challenged me in the last 50 yards. I kicked with everything I had left and just beat him by a second or two. Yet the results show that he beat me by 9 seconds. WRONG!!! I out kicked him. The guy further back in the photo I beat by about 7 seconds yet in the results it shows that he beat me by 4 seconds. WRONG AGAIN!! I beat him to the finish line fair and square. What I really think is funny is on race day he was listed as 50 years old. Yesterday he was listed as 49 years old. As of 10 minutes ago he was listed as 50 years old again. WTF!!!!
My question would be what if the winner (first across the finish line) of the race beat the 2nd place guy by 1 second but the guy in 2nd place crossed the starting line 2 seconds after the gun. Would they give the win the the 2nd place guy? I don't think so!!! So why would they use chip timing for awards in the age categories? It just doesn't make sense.
So if you want to race me, line up next to me and don't rely on chip timing to stealth in for the win. I want a chance to beat you man to man.
I'll get off my soap box now. I feel much better.
Scott, I agree with you 100%. First guy across the line wins. Period! End of discussion.
ReplyDeleteI agree also. Remember this from Chicago? Perfect example...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.iaaf.org/LRR08/news/newsid=48031.html
I totally agree with you. I was involved in this arguement in the past. In a money prize race in the early days of chip timing, the woman who finished behind me, but with a faster chip time, argued that she should have the prize. My feelings were that if chip time started determining the winner of a race, we might as well all just show up and run seperately and compare times later in the day to determine the winner. How ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteDan, Jim, Laurel,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the support. JJ I set the web link to the race director and he agreed that gun time should be used for awards in the future. Laurel, I love your analogy. I hope in your case the race director gave you the W.
Also, the thing is, with the guy in Chicago, 4th place was 15k. The whole saga was around paying him out...
ReplyDelete1st - $100,000
2nd - 55k
3rd - 30k
4th - 15k
5th - 10k
There are a ton of posts and writeups on this out there... my opinion is that if he tried to get into the elite field and they denied him, it's the race's fault and they should do something about it (i.e. give him and the 5th place guy, the 4th place money). It sounded like he attempted to get in the first group and something happened. He was legit beforehand and they should have known that. If he purposely didn't attempt to get into the elite group, then that's a different story. You can definitely have an advantage (as the article states)
With regards to Big Lake, Scotty, you toed the line right up front, where you should have been. Anyone that had any clue about where they should finish, should have been right up there with you. Ultimately though, I think the ownership of responsibility at these large races should fall on the race director to clearly state how placement is going to be awarded. I personally think it should be gun. As a runner, you absolutely need to seed yourself accordingly on the line. If you miss the start accidentally, that is too bad. I want to say that is how USATF-NE does it. I remember Matt Ely missing the start at Newburyport last year, and he didn't wizz by me until like 4 miles in (so I knew something was up). He finished 5th (placement-wise) and that is where he stayed... but I'm pretty sure his time actually was good enough for 2nd or 3rd.