I'm still kind of dumbstruck that this even happened.

The race started and I was cruising into a subdivision at around 5:30 pace.  The lead 7-8 of us were spread out more or less single file, hugging the curb on a sweeping left hand curve.  I hear some guy directly behind me call "On your left".  Now, I'm right on the curb, nobody to my right, so I figure whatever, if he wants to go by he can swing wide.  He calls out again, and at this point it struck me as a bit odd....really, who expects someone in front of them in a race to move off their line of progress following the shortest path to let them by, especially when they have a clear route on the other side to pass?

The guy jumps up on the grass to the left, puts both hands into my left shoulder and pushes me hard.  I'm knocked off balance, call out "hey!" or something similar in protest as I reach out to deflect another shove from him as I try to get my feet back under me.  A couple other guys behind me start yelling at this dude to knock it off.  The guy yells something about not getting out of his way...at this point I thought he leaned into me and shoved again, but what I was told after the race by another competitor was that the guy wrapped me in a bearhug and threw me to the pavement.  My pride says that this explains why a 130lb guy was able to take me out    

I got up and kept pace for another mile, but whether it was the adrenaline from the encounter or the banged up from the fall, I was pretty much out of the race after that and found myself unable to get into a rhythm.  I struggled through a few 5:40ish miles then slogged a bunch of 5:55ish miles (no 6+, at least).  Someone tried to pass me over the last couple miles and I managed to throw down an uphill 5:38 at the end.  So it wasn't just going out fast that hurt my race.

There were a couple other competitors and a few spectators who were outraged when I reached the finish line...one of the spectators caught the offender getting into his car and bullied him into confronting the RD.  One of the other competitors told his version of the story, which actually sounded more dramatic than mine.  This dude apologized but claimed "It took two to tango...he's not sure what he could have done differently, I would not get out of his way...".

Anyways, the RD was in a difficult position so I won't hold it too much against him but given that the guy admitted to what he did and there was a witness, I'm disappointed he wasn't immediately DQ'd.  I got him to admit he deserved it, though, so we will see if he is.

So I'm pretty banged up...adrenaline is apparently a good painkiller so I did not realize it until I finished.  My right hip is bruised and the muscle was cramped up quite awhile, right knee aches, road rash all up and down my right side and back.  Worst of all my right wrist is pretty messed up (bad bruising and sprain, I think) and I could not even hold onto my post-race Yazoo with it.  At the very least this cost me sub-1:15, now that I realize the magnitude of the damage (I may need a few days off) I wonder if it wasn't more like a minute or two when it was all said and done.

Damn Spaniel, That has to be one of the strangest things I've heard.

I'm guessing he doesn't have much racing experience.

Get healed up soon!

Damn Spaniel that sucks ass! People are idiots!

Congrats Nads on an AWESOME race!!! Nice PR!

I finished in 8:43x (can't remember the seconds)  Anyway I almost cried when I found out my time. This race definitely deerves more said about it but I need to wait until my brain wakes up.

Wow Spaniel. Now i really wish I'd been there so I could've kicked his ass.

Spaniel, I hope you are not hurt, but I do have to say this is much better than you running a good race.  You just got a lifetime of a hysterical story out of this one.  

There is that.  

It would have been better had there been a secluded section of the course later on, where it was just him and me, and I had planted a forefoot firmly into the back of his knee to bring him down before powering his face into the pavement.  A good kidney punch would have capped off the message.

Damn spaniel!  That's just freaking unbelievable!  

After viewing my wrist ~12 hrs later, I am regretting not approaching one of the cops working the race while I had my witnesses handy and asking to press assault charges.  Seemed kind of an a-hole move at the time but now, not so much.