Is this rude? (Read 1336 times)

I wish someone would run back for me.

I'd run back for you, Bugs, except that you'd end up finishing before me.

Also, most races I compete in are not in my neck of the woods, so I'd rather stay where I know I won't get lost.

Good point!

This came up on RW also today. Must be the question of the day. I probably don't have any problem with (1) someone coming back to run someone in or (2) running back to start (point-to-point race, no shuttle) to get car - IF there is adequate space in both cases and person yields to racers still on course. This can be a major issue in trail races, esp. if narrow trail at the end. There's also an issue of providing an advantage to some runners and not others. Cheering from finish line and sidelines is fine. I think sometimes people may not realize the impact they're having on other racers when racers are running as hard as we can for the finish and suddenly there's oncoming traffic. I guess I have a hard time imagining a place so limited in running opportunities that a cooldown would have to be run on the course and why mileage markers are needed for a cooldown. (The need for mileage markers came from people I consider experienced both here and on RW. We don't even have mileage markers in our races. So color me puzzled.) I've only run trail races, and usually there's other trails available for the cooldown - or the folks are sufficiently pooped that a little walk works well for cooldown. Note: Most of my races are over 1 hr. Depending on the race and where I am in training, I may add mileage to the race, but wait until everyone is off the course, even if there's only about 1/2 mi overlap of where I'm headed on wide track. I'm using DFL or close, so it's not that long a wait in most cases (can be 30 min or more) and I do believe in cheering the last runner in if it's not me. It's what I was taught early on.

I was running an early season Good Times 5K, and had gone out too fast. I was laboring at about the 2.5 mile mark when I saw a very fit woman trotting toward me. She had gone back onto the course to warm down, and gave a nice smile and encouraging "finish strong" as she passed. I remember thinking "who the hell is that?" After the race, it sunk in just how fast she ran it. If it was about the 2.5 mile mark, she had run the 3.1 and trotted back 0.6 for 3.7 miles to my 2.5 miles. It turns out she's a local star, if she shows up at a 5K there's a pretty good chance you know your women's winner. Guess she does distance too, I just saw her on the homepage for the Baystate Marathon with her 2007 winning time of 2:55:23. I love seeing gifted men and women at races, and personally have no problem at all with them returning to the course.

I don't think it's rude at all. I started running to surprise my son who was an elite runner in the area while in college. the first race we ran in together, he didn't even know I was running until he finished and my wife told him. He came down to encourage me. He did that a number of times over the years and I always appreciated it and he admired my dedication and effort. But even if it's not someone I know and they're doing nothing more than doing their cooldown or encouraging everybody, I see nothing wrong with it.

The only time it's rude is when the faster runners ignore the slower runners who are still racing and make a point of waving and greeting the faster runners. That happened to me about a mile from the finish during a 10 mile race last April and I'm still pretty steamed about it. I was running my tail off, dealing with my asthma kicking-in (no thanks to the tool mowing his lawn at 9am and kicking up dust), and still felt obligated to be cordial to other runners. These club members were done, enjoying a relaxing cool-down jog, and wouldn't even make eye contact with us back-o-the-packers, much less return a wave.

The truth is I have had that "OMG - I'm dying here & they look so spry (?sp) - why do they need to do that?" feeling at races BUT over the years, w/ experience and really learning to focus on myself, my race, & in general not take what others do to heart...I don't have any + or - feelings on it either way. It's just kinda part of things sometimes.