Forums >General Running>What's the funniest or most strange thing you've ever seen on a run or in a race?
English Villian
I'll have to give my answer some thought...
Chief Unicorn Officer
A guy crapped himself before the race. Like, shorts soiled, a drip line from butt to ankle inside the shoe. He ran the race (and beat me by 4 seconds). After the race he put wind pants on over his spiked shorts and stayed for the awards.
Mile 5:49 - 5K 19:58 - 10K 43:06 - HM 1:36:54
Are we there, yet?
Strangest? Anti-abortion protesters complete with graphic photos at a marathon.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
At a half marathon a year ago I watched a runner in front of me get run over by a deer, that leapt out of a corn field to cross the road. Some runners helped her up and I ran to the aid station 100 yards ahead to ask them to send an ambulance. I don't think she was badly hurt, but it was very strange to watch in real life and not just in a video.
Still kicking
This summer, we had a street bum, drunk off his ass, wander into the street, just before the start of a 10K. He even put his hand on his heart for the National Anthem. He was all set (in the front row) to kick all our asses (or so he said). About 10 seconds before the start, the RD noticed him, delayed the start, and got some help to haul him off the course. Darn. Boring ending to what could have been an interesting race start.
I'm also on Athlinks and Strava
Mother of Cats
A few contenders:
At Army 10 Miler a few years ago, a few of us got misdirected at the barrier to a construction site that abutted the course, and ended up dodging or climbing over a bulldozer of some sort.
At RNR DC last year I saw a runner (male) peeing in a firehose-esque manner while running in the first mile. It was impressive from an athletic perspective - he was maintaining sub-7 minute pace while using both hands to direct a substantial flow. Everyone gave him a lot of space.
At Shamrock this spring we had to run through a sand dune that was blown on course.
At CIM last year the Scientologists had a tent on course and were handing out orange slices.
Everyone's gotta running blog; I'm the only one with a POOL-RUNNING blog.
And...if you want a running Instagram where all the pictures are of cats, I've got you covered.
Could've been worse.
Dave
Loving these stories!
I was running on a bike trail up in Lincoln, RI. This part of the trail was bordered by a steep bank down to the Blackstone River, and a tall fence that ran alongside a railroad. I came around a bend and there was a mature deer in the middle of the trail. It saw me, and moved to go the other way, but someone was coming from that direction. It then tried to hop over the fence to the railroad but couldn't do it. I didn't want it to injure itself, or choose the river, so, I waved at it and put my back to the fence, hoping it would get the message. It looked at me for a moment, then started running at me, and it bounded right past me just a few feet away, with a leap in its stride. That was a wild experience. Felt like I actually communicated with a deer.
I lived in Atlanta and ran Peachtree 10K & 1/2 marathon for several years. With 60,000 runners on July 4 weekend, you can experience several off the wall moments.
Best single effort experience - man blowing bugle while running a 6:30 - 7:00 pace. This lasted 4 out of 6 miles & crowd went crazy when he sounded off
Best military recognition - Marine platoon running in full gear boots, 80 # backpack, long sleeve and hat. That day was 70-75 degrees with dew point in 60-70F range. I completely respect those dudes!
Best animal in race - Main carrying macaw bird on arm for 6 miles. ($1000 bird)
Best group song - Atlanta 1/2 marathon Alice's Restaurant - Arlo Guthrie This thing lasts at least 45 minutes.
We don't get much in the way of wildlife stories here in NZ, so this will have to do...
At the Auckland Marathon last month, at about the 30km mark just before the turnaround I saw a young guy running barefoot in the other direction (a spectator even yelled out "go barefoot guy!!"). The race is fully on-road - no trails or grass or anything like that.
He was in the news the next day, turns out he ditched his shoes at the 18km mark as his knee felt a bit sore. Ended up not being able to walk properly but he still ran 2:53!
3,000m: 9:07.7 (Nov-21) | 5,000m: 15:39 (Dec-19) | 10,000m: 32:34 (Mar-20)
10km: 33:15 (Sep-19) | HM: 1:09:41 (May-21)* | FM: 2:41:41 (Oct-20)
* Net downhill course
Last race: Waterfront HM, 7 Apr, 1:15:48
Up next: Runway5, 4 May
"CONSISTENCY IS KING"
Mmmm Bop
The weedy guy at the front is about to do a U turn....but the macho guy in the red shorts is ready to confront the animal and kick its ass off the road.
5k - 17:53 (4/19) 10k - 37:53 (11/18) Half - 1:23:18 (4/19) Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)
I saw a barefoot guy running Boston last April. I don't think he started that way though as he was carrying some sort of sandals or something. We traded places a few times as he seemed to be struggling as much as I was.
In the last hundred yards of a full I was going as fast as I could, but had to avoid being tripped up by some kind of mascot who was high-fiving runners. That's fine for the folks finishing up their 3 hour half marathon, but I was trying to get every second I could.
When will bandit entries realise that they *may* get away with it if they at least make an effort to remain inconspicuous!
probably not fast enough
The bib's on the left leg... and the bear has three feet off the ground, must be close to full gallop (do bears gallop?).... Might have been out of sight a few seconds later....