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Bandit Pacing Views? (Read 1360 times)

    Let me start by saying I have never run even part of a race as a bandit.  Not one step.  However, here is my quandary.  I have been asked by a friend of mine help pace part of the Boston marathon.  I read in Runners World that Boston at least tolerates bandits.  FWIW, I have qualified for Boston several times.  I have also paid the race fee three times but due to illness/injury have never actually been able to run it.  What is the view here of helping out a friend for a few miles?  If I did this I would jump in well after the start and leave well before the finish.  This should be long after the course is congested and any additional runners are a problem.  Of course, I would not take anything from the aid stations.

     

    For those of you who plan to respond with, "What if everybody did it?"  That would, in and of itself, not be a problem in this case.  You are asking suppose everybody that was asked to pace a few miles with a legitimate Boston Marathon runner did so would that create a problem?  I doubt it since I suspect the vast majority of runners would not ask and/or would not have somebody they could ask.  So I think the number of people we are talking about here is pretty small.  Still, the running community may view even a few miles as a bandit pacer as a moral transgression.  If so, then it would not matter if the "What if everybody did it" argument did not hold water.  I still would not want to violate a generally held, even if unofficial, code of running ethics.

    Live like you are dying not like you are afraid to die.

    Drunken Irish Soda Bread and Irish Brown Bread this way -->  http://allrecipes.com/cook/4379041/

    Trent


    Good Bad & The Monkey


    Feeling the growl again

      If it were the right thing to do, would you need to write two paragraphs to try and justify it?

      "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

       

      I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

       

        The first paragraph was to set the situation up and avoid arguments about congestion and the aid stations.  The second paragraph came up because the Runners World article and my worry that what he was told applied to my situation.  At the same time a third of the second paragraph was devoted to the why not argument; social convention.  So, as far as I can tell whether doing a friend a favor by pacing them during a race is a legitimate question and is why this post is here.

        Live like you are dying not like you are afraid to die.

        Drunken Irish Soda Bread and Irish Brown Bread this way -->  http://allrecipes.com/cook/4379041/


        Feeling the growl again

          The first paragraph was to set the situation up and avoid arguments about congestion and the aid stations.  The second paragraph came up because the Runners World article and my worry that what he was told applied to my situation.  At the same time a third of the second paragraph was devoted to the why not argument; social convention.  So, as far as I can tell whether doing a friend a favor by pacing them during a race is a legitimate question and is why this post is here.

           

          My point was, if you have to think about it and ask the question, you are already well along to the answer. Wink

           

          Personally?  Yes, I look down on those I see banditing Boston.  Many people work years to earn their trip down that course.  BAA not dedicating manpower to expelling bandits, and banditing being allowed, are two different things.  It's against the rules.

           

          As for your friend needing a pacer...well...don't they have 26,000+ legitimate ones?  I've never run Boston without running with someone the majority of the race, and half of the time it is someone I did not know when the race started.

          "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

           

          I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

           

          dennrunner


            No, don't do that. You'll hate yourself in the morning.


            A Saucy Wench

              Most marathons I would say no big deal.   If you are only jumping in for a few miles  after the point the congestion clears and blah blah blah. 

               

              But not boston

              I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

               

              "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

                Most marathons I would say no big deal.   If you are only jumping in for a few miles  after the point the congestion clears and blah blah blah. 

                 

                But not boston

                 

                Why other marathons ok but not Boston? Just curious.

                running is somewhat like playing golf to me.   crappy shots all day long, ready to give it up & wondering why I'm trying so hard just to get this stupid little ball into a stupid little hole but then out of the blue comes a monster drive or a long putt that actually gets into the cup.  bingo! that one shot keeps me going for the rest of day no matter how crappy I continue to play & gets me back out again on another day.   strange. -- skyedog

                topdownlist


                  spam


                  Best Present Ever

                    Beware. This is a conversation that brings out the crazy sanctimony. I paced a friend at boston a few years ago. It's the most fun I've ever had at a race. do it if you want. But know that most of the responses here will stop just short of suggesting that bandits eat newborn babies as snacks.
                    Julia1971


                       

                      As for your friend needing a pacer...well...don't they have 26,000+ legitimate ones?  I've never run Boston without running with someone the majority of the race, and half of the time it is someone I did not know when the race started.

                       

                      This was the gist of my first thought from reading your post.  Why does your friend need a pacer for a few miles?  Seems pretty weak.  I can see wanting to share the experience of running a milestone race with someone or providing a struggling runner with moral support if they've hit a rough patch but I have to agree there should be dozens of people around him/her to help with pacing.

                       

                      But as a practical matter, as long as you don't cut me off when you jump in, I don't see why I should care if the BAA doesn't.  (Given how worried race organizers seems to be about getting sued, fairness, etc., I'm surprised they don't care more.)

                      MisplacedTexan


                      Crazy Runner

                        Do what you will...  As long as you are not a jackass in doing it.  Also know that if you talked to me while you were banditing another I might get pissed at the thought you can simply jump in for a few miles disrupt the mood and then duck out.

                         

                        I say go for it but only if you eat small children and such... hahaha

                        Marathons are easy... running one fast is where the difficulty comes!

                          Is there a question in that original post somewhere or are you just sharing an inner dialogue?

                          Runners run

                          xhristopher


                            Where is the course not congested, mid pack at least?

                            Turbolegs


                              OP ... i guess you are no closer to your answer from all the responses you have received. And i dont think you could have expected much because this is such an individual thing to do as its a moral/ethical question rather than a legal/yes-or-no question. If you believe, you will be practically invisible in the race as far as other runners are concerned, please pace your friend by all means. If you think you might hinder other runners, and if that is an issue for you, dont run.

                               

                              And i do really hope that you get to run Boston, the entire race yourself with a Bib .. seeing that you have qualified several times but have been laid low by injury and other stuff.

                              I dont sweat. I ooze liquid awesome.

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