Early in Sunday's Chilli Half Marathon, I noticed the pack of runners in front of us moving from the right to the left side of the street. I wondered aloud about it to my sister, who was running beside me. Another runner commented that we should follow -- "it must be the way to the shortcut!". He was, of course, joking. Why would anyone, especially anyone from the mid pack, cheat in a distance race? It would be ludicrous. We actually WANT to run the whole thing.
News broke today that middle-distance runner Rashid Ramzi has been stripped of his 1,500-meter Olympic gold medal for doping. It is sad, but not too surprising that this happens at the highest levels of many sports. But when I hear reports of cheating amongst recreational runners, I just don't get it.
And yet it happens. There has been talk of several questionable results in the NYC Marathon. Not elites doping, but average runners taking shortcuts. The NYRR put out timing mats every 5K, and starting from mile 15, every MILE. If don't hit 5 of them in a row, it's kind of obvious what happened. Why would you do it? Sure there's plenty of temptation to give up in a race that long, but let me be clear: I ever leave the course before the race is over it will be to take the shortest route HOME.
OK, here's a thought. Imagine you get injured at mile 16 of the NYC Marathon. Say you twist your ankle, or pull a hamstring. BUT... your bag is trapped behind the finish line. You really need it. It has your ID and hotel room key. How do you get it? The finish area is completely inaccessible. The only way in is on the course as a runner. So, you grab a cab to Columbus Circle, duck back on to the course and cross the finish line, not thinking to take your D-Tag off. Your time is recorded with a fabulous negative split, and you have become an inadvertent cheater. It could happen to anyone! Mystery solved....
Toward the end of the race, we saw the same "shortcut" runner, and he greeted us by calling out "we must have taken the same shortcut!" I just laughed, but I was thinking "that was one crappy shortcut..."
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3 comments:
It's sad, but I'm sure it happens. There was a guy that printed a fake bib that I heard about too. (Check out runner 12345 on Brightroom.) I just don't understand what's in it for people like that.
Wow -- two runners with the number 12345. Since they both put their names on their shirts, it's easy to see which is the legit runner by looking at the results. It's one thing to hear about something like that, but to be able to look at multiple photos of the guy... how bizarre.
Thanks for the tip Robert.
So nuts...I tell ya, absolutely nuts! Considering that race entry fees cost so much these days and yet people are willing to pay, then cheat themselves out of the distance...why? I don't get it either.
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