I'll write a race report later after I see if there are any great pictures, but one of the most memorable parts of the HM I ran was the collision.

I wanted to use this race as an opportunity to try running only on what was supplied at the water stations, and find a good balance between gatorade and water.  I haven't hit too many water stations in the past, and figured this would be good practice.  What I learned is that some people stop as soon as they get their water.

The man in front of me just STOPPED.  I had my gatorade, and he had his almost to his mouth.  I couldn't stop.  I'm 6'4".  So, by the time I looked down I was looking over his shoulder at the full cup that was about to smash into his face.  The contents of the cup shot from the cup as it crushed into his face and splashed me.  I stumbled a bit, and kept running.  I don't know if he remained upright or not, but it was a mess.

I had a similar collision last year at my first HM when they put water tables on each side of the road.  I ran directly down the middle to avoid them, and still ran into someone who stopped.

Also during my first HM, I ran into two females who stopped at the finish line right in front of me.  I managed to hit in between them, and split the two.  That was fortunate for all involved.

3 HM's, and 3 collisions.  All involved people who stopped on the course, or right at the finish line.  Who have you run into, or over?

Yes, the water stops sometimes are STOPS for people - cluster!  One reason why I bring water for any distance where I think I will need it.

Most of my accidents are between me and inanimate objects, like rocks, trees, curbs.... lol

Sometimes water stops are dangerous, not because someone stops in front of you, but because someone decides at the last minute that water would be nice. This goes all the way back to the 1991 Broad Street Run. I'm cruising at sub-6:30 pace as I pass the water stop at 8 miles into the 10 mile race. The water stop is on the right and there's a guy running on my left stride for stride. All of a sudden he makes a right turn and tries to run through me so he can grab a cup of water. I was knocked off stride, lost my rhythm, and very nearly made a face plant. To this day I still wonder how I refrained from cursing him at a minimum and didn't trip or push him off the course. I managed to regain my composure and my stride and finished the race in 1:04:18, 322nd place and a top 10 masters finish. BTW he never said so much as excuse me or I'm sorry.

Wow I never considered colliding with a person.  I have too much fun with the rocks and the dirt.

In the 2012 Leadville "Heavy Half" Marathon I was running down a steep rocky jeep road and caught my toe.  I went flying forward so fast NWIH could my feet catch up.  Somehow as my face was approaching the rubble, I managed to tuck into a ball and do a perfect sommersault. I came right back up on my feet with just enough forward speed to keep running.  Not a scratch or bump anywhere, and I ended up half a stride or so further ahead.  Glorious!

My races tend to be pretty crowded so for the most part I expect and am able to avoid a wide variety of stupid behavior around water stations.  But one 15K I ran in December, it was quite cold, and there were ice slicks created by people spilling/pouring out their water.  Someone in front of me got their water, and was running a few paces with it, when they suddenly stopped short.  I tried to, too-- but the road was coated in ice and I slid forward about a foot or two.  It wasn't quite a collision but it nearly was.

Maybe I just need better breaks.

While it's not a fool proof plan, I usually try to wait until one of the last tables at the water stations, as there is usually less congestion.

I haven't had any real bad collisions, but I am still ashamed of myself several years later for flying through the middle of 2 runners at the beginning of a race where there was clearly not enough room for me to get through without making contact.

Once I almost ran over a photographer for the local newspaper who decided a great place from which to photograph the winner, me, was crouching on the finish line as I was sprinting directly at him. He caught me in the photo leaning back, putting on the breaks, and putting my hands in front of me to ward off an impending collision.