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jrjo
Gone Fishin
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Joined: 15 May 2002
Posts: 16451
Location: Lake Wobegon, MN
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 Posted: 11/21/05 - 01:00 Post subject: JeansMarines come to Wobegon
Let me say that again
I've been wanting to scream all afternoon and night long. The local running club here helped out a new 5km race get off its feet. My job was to figure the course and set it up. Check and check. There were signs galore and getting lost would take a real effort. Right  There were maps at the registration and plenty of chit-chat about the course by the race director ahead of time. So today at noon, the gun went off and the race was on. I was able to hang in the top 5 or so through the first couple miles and be confident we weren't going off course. 2 more runners were with the strung out lead pack and 7 of us followed the course pefectly. But somewhere behind us 7 there was a no-man's gap and the 8th place guy couldn't see us. Unfortunately one Y in the road had it's arrow sign blown over and with over a half mile to go the 8th place guy took a JeansMarines shortcut down a business' road that was about 100m to the finish area. Then, like mindless lemmings, the next 100 runners did too. So here us 7 leaders took the laid out course and come to the finish area mixing in with runners well behind us before the Y. And we were the only ones to run the full 5km.
As I was running back to the Y from the finishline, I realized the damage was done and too many runners had finished a short course to turn them around.
Why don't runners learn the course? Why follow like lemmings? In 200+ races, I've seen plenty a runner go off course, but damned if I'll follow them. This was just insanity.
Fortunately, this was billed as 'fun run', so the seriousness of it all was pretty low. But for a racing snob like myself it was absolute
/vent off 
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MechEngDropout
Member
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Joined: 27 Jun 2003
Posts: 10474
Location: Off the grid
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Posted: 11/21/05 - 01:05 Post subject:
Major bummer. I'd be smacking my head against a wall too, fun run or not.
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Kimba90
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Joined: 03 Dec 2003
Posts: 3594
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Posted: 11/21/05 - 06:37 Post subject:
Oh that's awful. But we runners are...lemmings. We assume the person in front is going the right way.
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purple hayes
Frightened Inmate #2
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Joined: 14 May 2002
Posts: 14462
Location: ON YOUR LEFT!
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Posted: 11/21/05 - 06:55 Post subject:
NEW PRs FOR EVERYBODY! 
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rolling rock
The Pinball
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Joined: 15 May 2002
Posts: 16218
Location: unknown zone
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Posted: 11/21/05 - 07:44 Post subject:
| purple hayes wrote: | | NEW PRs FOR EVERYBODY! |
let's look at it that way!
seriously, i ran a 5K recently when half the field turned around too soon on an out and back leg of it...and it's true, they all followed like lemmings. i ran the full course but it was "odd" finishing after people i knew were behind me and i never saw them pass me.
i know exactly why that rural route 9 mile race i do uses flares. if a runner would make a wrong turn out there, it would literally be miles before you'd even realize you were "off and running"  signs blow down, runners miss painted arrows on roads and being a constant "midpacker" myself, it is a complete and total pack mentality out there; if one goes, it's a domino affect.
sorry that happened jrjo. the best laid plans.... 
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RangerG
Bounty Hunter
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Joined: 13 Mar 2003
Posts: 7301
Location: Gmail Server Number 126
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Posted: 11/21/05 - 07:54 Post subject:
Humans for the most part..ARE lemmings...
Sad commentary for our species...
Only time I ever went off course was during a trail race...but only for about 30 sec...turned around..found the marker and finished.
I like to try and walk the course the day or weekend before, when I can.
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Noley
AZhat
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Joined: 16 Aug 2003
Posts: 10494
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Posted: 11/21/05 - 08:05 Post subject:
What a pain!
Are you sure there were no shopping malls on that cut through?
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RangerG
Bounty Hunter
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Joined: 13 Mar 2003
Posts: 7301
Location: Gmail Server Number 126
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Posted: 11/21/05 - 08:09 Post subject:
| nolefan85 wrote: | What a pain!
Are you sure there were no shopping malls on that cut through? |
If it were only female runners, you might have a point...
Unless there was a Sears Hardware or a Woodworkers Warehouse....
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Noley
AZhat
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Joined: 16 Aug 2003
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Posted: 11/21/05 - 08:11 Post subject:
| RangerG wrote: | | nolefan85 wrote: | What a pain!
Are you sure there were no shopping malls on that cut through? |
If it were only female runners, you might have a point...
Unless there was a Sears Hardware or a Woodworkers Warehouse.... |
Both great points!!!!
I'm sure there was the smell of them in the air...
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jrjo
Gone Fishin
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Joined: 15 May 2002
Posts: 16451
Location: Lake Wobegon, MN
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Posted: 11/21/05 - 10:42 Post subject:
| Kimba90 wrote: | | Oh that's awful. But we runners are...lemmings. We assume the person in front is going the right way. |
That's just it, the front 7 runners DID go the right way. It was the 8th guy that decided 2.5 miles was enough and when confronted with a Y in the road took the 100m to the finish area rather than realizing the other way would be more logical to get to 5km. Don't people have some kind of feel for how far they've run? The 2-mile marker was just passed not too far before the Y so it seemed so obvious that taking the shortcut wouldn't even come close to 5km? It's just crazy that no one had the wherewithall to go the 'right' way after the dope that cut the course.
I'm still steamin'. 
| MechEngDropout wrote: | | Major bummer. I'd be smacking my head against a wall too, fun run or not. |
I told the race director today I'm a running-perfectionist, elitest racing snob and this makes me crazy. She's got nothing but thanks for my work on the course, but I'm still
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runaroundsue
Member
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Joined: 18 Sep 2002
Posts: 6629
Location: supporting GREENer pastures
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Posted: 11/21/05 - 11:22 Post subject:
with my history.....I have no comment, except that I haven't gone off course this year 
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gretriever
Hipster Doofus
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Joined: 16 Jul 2003
Posts: 19385
Location: A moving target in a firing range.
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Posted: 11/21/05 - 11:48 Post subject:
Jacked and I were in a race in my town couple years ago (this is the one she alleges I pushed her in front of a truck  ) - simultaneous 5 and 10 K. Volunteers on the course pointed a bunch of people in the wrong direction at an intersection, and as a result, someone who was doing the 10 wound up winning the 5. Of course, the ones who ran the 5 because they signed up to threw a fit. But still - you don't know the diff between running 5 and 10 K? Your watch alone.... 
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