Run Run Away

Question:

Layne, believe me, I don’t know if I would have made it to this race in as good shape as I was without the help of the r.r. group. Thanks all! One boo boo which I will not do again is get into the race pack so far back (midway) any more. I used to do that when I wasn’t sure how good I was. But I guess since I can place in the top 50 or so consistently, I may as well move up… and skip all of this fighting through the crowd to get into my regular race pace. It just takes precious seconds off what could be a PR!   Cam – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, Cam, Howdy folks, I ran the Ottawa St. Pat’s Day 5K Race this morning… a sunny but very chilly morning. The thermometer only read -7 celcius, but windchill brought that down to minus 15 or thereabouts…brrrrr. [report snipped but appreciated] Whoa, now that’s the way to come back from an injury! Good run – and in Ice Age blizzard attire, too. I’m glad you got to meet other r.r folks. It keeps verifying that this Usenet group is exceptional. Way to go and thanks! Layne

Response:

Hi, Jenn, I think I got disqualified..

:- I came up that hill and decided to kick it a bit. I had no idea where the end of the course was so I was running very hard and ran right into the official. My brain is kind of foggy, but i think I told him that he shouldn’t be standing in the chute, that you can’t expect someone to staop dead after running hard.

Sounds logical to me. Anyway, I didn’t like it when he grabbed me and pushed me and ripped the number off my jacket and I think he told me I was disqualified.

Now, this ain’t rat (translation: this was inappropriate behavior on his part). I didn’t even tell me husband. I was determined not to let the guy bother me. I came in at 32:00 and change- I think the best 5k for me was about 34- but I haven’t run that many (this was my 3rd).

That’s a great run and wonderful improvement. The guy actually ripped my jacket. I think I may just write to sportstats and complain.

Complain my ass. Sorry. Complain loudly, long, and with large body motions. But, not to the jerk unless he was the RD. If he was the RD, complain to the folks at the Running Room. If he is associated with the Running Room, complain to, well, his wife – yeah, THAT’S the ticket. No num-nums for a month. Should I??

Well, I dunno. Seriously, this sort of behavior does a huge disservice to the other people who worked so hard to put on the event as well as a disservice to the people who ran the event. Maybe he was having a bad day or someone had just stepped on his foot but that still doesn’t excuse his behavior. Initiating a physical confrontation in that fashion is cowardly, at best. Hmm, send his butt down here in a couple of weeks when we’ll be running in the Okefenokee 10K – lots of things can happen in the Okefenokee to change a man’s outlook. I’ll be recovered from my cold and feeling a little feisty. He owes you, at a minimum, a heart-felt apology and a new jacket. Just my humble opinion, Layne

Response:

Hi, Cam, Howdy folks, I ran the Ottawa St. Pat’s Day 5K Race this morning… a sunny but very chilly morning. The thermometer only read -7 celcius, but windchill brought that down to minus 15 or thereabouts…brrrrr.

[report snipped but appreciated] Whoa, now that’s the way to come back from an injury! Good run – and in Ice Age blizzard attire, too. I’m glad you got to meet other r.r folks. It keeps verifying that this Usenet group is exceptional. Way to go and thanks! Layne This report has been added to the rec.running report archives at http://kinder.cis.unf.edu/rec.running

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I ran the Ottawa St. Pat’s Day 5K Race this morning… a sunny but very chilly morning. The thermometer only read -7 celcius, but windchill brought that down to minus 15 or thereabouts…brrrrr. Before the race, I met up for the first time with Jenn van der Schee and   Scott Broderson from our ng. Both very nice and well dressed runners  :) And the equally amiable John Deknatel showed up to watch the proceedings. Great to meet you all! When I crossed the line, I *thought* the clock read 23:48, as did my watch. When I learned my official time was 23:30, I was happier. A good race overall…. I’ll keep doing this one. There were over 800 people in the 5K and 10K combined, a turnout that is increasing each year for this event. Cam Hey Cam, nice race! But man, that is *cold*!! That is really great that you were able to meet some fellow ngs. I’m sure the next races (with it a bit warmer) will be faster! Teresa in AZ

thanks, Teresa. in hindsight, i am thinking of things i could have done to get an even better time, but there’s no use dwelling on them. i’ll just make a mental note (and on paper) to do them next time. Cam

Response:

I think I got disqualified.. <snip The guy actually ripped my jacket. I think I may just write to sportstats and complain. Should I??

I would have actually punched him. It’s clear you should complain. Absolutely. Don’t give up until you get the cost of the jacket (when it was brand new), as well as entry into their next 5 races, at the very least. Tell them you trained for six months for it, and are totally devastated at the behavior. — David (in Hamilton, Ont) "This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment; remember, we are eternal All this pain is an illusion."                                           Tool – Parabola http://www.angelfire.com/nc/swstudio/home.html –

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I think I got disqualified.. I came up that hill and decided to kick it a bit. I had no idea where the end of the course was so I was running very hard and ran right into the official. My brain is kind of foggy, but i think I told him that he shouldn’t be standing in the chute, that you can’t expect someone to staop dead after running hard. Anyway, I didn’t like it when he grabbed me and pushed me and ripped the number off my jacket and I think he told me I was disqualified. I didn’t even tell me husband. I was determined not to let the guy bother me. I came in at 32:00 and change- I think the best 5k for me was about 34- but I haven’t run that many (this was my 3rd). The guy actually ripped my jacket. I think I may just write to sportstats and complain. Should I?? Glad to hear you guys had great runs! Jenn

Jenn, Jenn….. I know you must have a different way of handling things than me… maybe you can brush this off and be happy with your good race time…. but if that were me, i’d have made an incredible fuss! that dude should never have been in your path. he should never have grabbed and pushed you, nor ripped your number and jacket. nor should he have disqualified you (can he really even DO that?). you did nothing to him or anyone else. given the fact that this guy did something akin to assault, i think you should report it. unfortunately, the fact that it wasn’t addressed at the time it happened MIGHT make it harder to straighten out. but you never know. it’s worth trying. you can simply say you were exhausted and were stunned by the whole incident. and i’m sure you were. contact the race organizers first – i think THEY would be very interested to know about this story, and maybe they can guide you as to the course of action you could take, or maybe they’d handle it themselves – since it reflects badly on them. if that doesn’t help (which i’d be surprised at), then go straight to Sportstats. make the case that you aren’t even that concerned about your race time being posted, but want an apology for the treatment you got and i think a repaired or new jacket would be in order. please don’t back down on this…. it might lead to another similar incident at another race – if this guy has this sort of attitude at the events. he should be seriously reprimanded. anyway, great to hear that you raced well (despite the incident). best of luck with this! Cam

Response:

I ran the Ottawa St. Pat’s Day 5K Race this morning… a sunny but very chilly morning. The thermometer only read -7 celcius, but windchill brought that down to minus 15 or thereabouts…brrrrr. Before the race, I met up for the first time with Jenn van der Schee and   Scott Broderson from our ng. Both very nice and well dressed runners  :) And the equally amiable John Deknatel showed up to watch the proceedings. Great to meet you all! When I crossed the line, I *thought* the clock read 23:48, as did my watch. When I learned my official time was 23:30, I was happier. A good race overall…. I’ll keep doing this one. There were over 800 people in the 5K and 10K combined, a turnout that is increasing each year for this event. Cam

Hey Cam, nice race! But man, that is *cold*!! That is really great that you were able to meet some fellow ngs. I’m sure the next races (with it a bit warmer) will be faster! Teresa in AZ

Response:

I think I got disqualified.. I came up that hill and decided to kick it a bit. I had no idea where the end of the course was so I was running very hard and ran right into the official. My brain is kind of foggy, but i think I told him that he shouldn’t be standing in the chute, that you can’t expect someone to staop dead after running hard. Anyway, I didn’t like it when he grabbed me and pushed me and ripped the number off my jacket and I think he told me I was disqualified. I didn’t even tell me husband. I was determined not to let the guy bother me. I came in at 32:00 and change- I think the best 5k for me was about 34- but I haven’t run that many (this was my 3rd). The guy actually ripped my jacket. I think I may just write to sportstats and complain. Should I?? Glad to hear you guys had great runs! Jenn

Response:

Hi Cam, sounds like you had a very nice run yesterday,  way to go! Like you I pigged out on fat food afterwards (grilled chicken and pasta with a really heavy alfredo sauce!). mmmmmm

Scott, if only I had eaten as well as you did, i wouldn’t feel so guilty today!  :)  beer, a whole bag of nacho chips – nachos dinner then the rest with salsa, a Mars bar…. but i took a few vitamins and ate a kiwi fruit so i might tip the scales a little back into the healthy zone… not by much. i tend to do these mini binges to celebrate after races. but only after races. I found it a very interesting run since it was my first St Pat’s race and didn’t know the course at all. I ended up meeting my goal of 10k in less than an hour (56 and a half minutes) so I’m happy about my run. I kept my eye out for you after the race, but it was so crowded…..geeziz I wasn’t prepared for the crowd that showed up!

that’s great that you met your time goal. nice race! yeah, that was a lot of people crammed into that little gym. It was nice to meet you (and Jenn) before the start, hope to see you around in future races. Keep up the training. ps. How did Jenn do? I couldn’t find her in the race results.

i didn’t think to check on other folks’ results…. I was so happy to see that my official time was better than what my watch told me. see you at the races, Cam

Response:

    Just hang in there.  By the time you are 54 like me, you can be there also.  However I would guess it will still be cold up there. — Joseph E. Meehan

well, global warming might take care of the cold here, and maybe the chemicals in the drinking water will cause us to evolve into faster runners. Cam

Response:

Roger, you need to find out what she’ll be wearing for the race so you can easily pick her out of the crowd!  :) Better luck next time…. ah, the challenges of single runners….

Actually the girl I was looking for does have real distinctive hair and last year she started behind me.  I sort of expected her to do that again, but I was wrong. What was even neater was at the awards ceremony when the girl that won first place female was saying she was looking for me to run with before the race. That was the same girl that I ran with December 31st and the one I beat by 2 seconds in 3200 meter race last February 23rd.  I pointed out to her that I was wearing socks today and that was probably why she beat me so bad.  ;-) BTW I am starting a list of foods I will not eat the day before a race. Foods like big cinnamon rolls, cheesecake or rice crispy treats. Roger

Response:

Howdy folks, I ran the Ottawa St. Pat’s Day 5K Race this morning… a sunny but very chilly morning. The thermometer only read -7 celcius, but windchill brought that down to minus 15 or thereabouts…brrrrr.

…  But I summoned up enough fuel to get me over the line in 23:30, what I consider pretty good for a first race of the season and for such a chilly and hilly race. The back of my throat and lungs were burning from the cold.

Hey, Cam, great race! Sounds like you had fun. Congrats. Dot

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Howdy folks, I ran the Ottawa St. Pat’s Day 5K Race this morning… a sunny but very chilly morning. The thermometer only read -7 celcius, but windchill brought that down to minus 15 or thereabouts…brrrrr. …  But I summoned up enough fuel to get me over the line in 23:30, what I consider pretty good for a first race of the season and for such a chilly and hilly race. The back of my throat and lungs were burning from the cold. Hey, Cam, great race! Sounds like you had fun. Congrats. Dot

Thanks, Dot. Man, I dwell on things too much…. this morn I woke up realizing that if only I had started the race closer to the front of the pack, I wouldn’t have had to waste time fighting my way through the crowd… and could’ve possibly beaten last year’s time. Ack! But it’s behind me. Cam

Response:

Howdy folks, Then another friend and I went for a leisurely jog to warm up. I then stretched for a few minutes and hopped around a lot to keep warm. I had to don some of my warmest running gear this morn…. the *hot* gloves, my toque, and 3 layers on top. Running tights were good enough today.

WOW.  If it wasn’t for the wind, all we would have needed in this town was shorts.  39F with a 12 mph wind out of the East.  As a matter of fact, we did see one runner that didn’t have a shirt on at all!  He might have had second thoughts headed toward the finish because we had to run right into the wind on that part. But I summoned up enough fuel to get me over the line in 23:30, what I consider pretty good for a first race of the season and for such a chilly and hilly race. The back of my throat and lungs were burning from the cold.

Too bad about that.  I am starting to hate cold weather runs myself.  If I run too hard I’ll cough for days afterwards. When I crossed the line, I *thought* the clock read 23:48, as did my watch. When I learned my official time was 23:30, I was happier. A good race overall…. I’ll keep doing this one. There were over 800 people in the 5K and 10K combined, a turnout that is increasing each year for this event. I hope everyone else ran a good St Pat’s Day race…. thanks for reading.

Thanks Cam.  I think my only mistake today was, I wanted to run with a particular girl and never did find her.  I gave up looking for her after the first mile but it turned out after the race I finshed just seonds behind her!  I probably could have run with her the whole thing!  Oh well maybe some other race. Thanks for the report,         Roger

Response:

In article <snipped some stuff for brevity BTW I am starting a list of foods I will not eat the day before a race. Foods like big cinnamon rolls, cheesecake or rice crispy treats. Roger

oh, i hear you on the subject of food. for the first time ever, i broke many of my race week food rules… french fries, beer, and somewhat junky snacks. gotta whip myself into shape again! Cam

Response:

Hi Cam, sounds like you had a very nice run yesterday,  way to go! Like you I pigged out on fat food afterwards (grilled chicken and pasta with a really heavy alfredo sauce!). mmmmmm I found it a very interesting run since it was my first St Pat’s race and didn’t know the course at all. I ended up meeting my goal of 10k in less than an hour (56 and a half minutes) so I’m happy about my run. I kept my eye out for you after the race, but it was so crowded…..geeziz I wasn’t prepared for the crowd that showed up! It was nice to meet you (and Jenn) before the start, hope to see you around in future races. Keep up the training. ps. How did Jenn do? I couldn’t find her in the race results. cheers scott – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Howdy folks, I ran the Ottawa St. Pat’s Day 5K Race this morning… a sunny but very chilly morning. The thermometer only read -7 celcius, but windchill brought that down to minus 15 or thereabouts…brrrrr. Before the race, I met up for the first time with Jenn van der Schee and Scott Broderson from our ng. Both very nice and well dressed runners  :) And the equally amiable John Deknatel showed up to watch the proceedings. Great to meet you all! After about a quarter of an hour of yakking, we began to get into our personal pre-race rituals, the bathroom being my first one. Then another friend and I went for a leisurely jog to warm up. I then stretched for a few minutes and hopped around a lot to keep warm. I had to don some of my warmest running gear this morn…. the *hot* gloves, my toque, and 3 layers on top. Running tights were good enough today. I decided I was going to go *nearly* as fast as I could for the whole race, just to get out of the cold. My race was uneventful, not much to report besides a few hills (one of which was quite steep – very close to the finish line), but I passed a lot of people, even on hills. Those last few weeks of hill training paid off! I truly felt like I was sailing the whole way…. but that last hill took a lot out of me. As I neared the chute and saw that the clock was proceeding past my time from last year in this race, I felt a little bummed. But I summoned up enough fuel to get me over the line in 23:30, what I consider pretty good for a first race of the season and for such a chilly and hilly race. The back of my throat and lungs were burning from the cold. John D. shouted encouragement to me as I neared the chute. Thanks, John! When I crossed the line, I *thought* the clock read 23:48, as did my watch. When I learned my official time was 23:30, I was happier. A good race overall…. I’ll keep doing this one. There were over 800 people in the 5K and 10K combined, a turnout that is increasing each year for this event. I hope everyone else ran a good St Pat’s Day race…. thanks for reading. Cam

Response:

Trying to break my record for most r.r people met?

i’m working on it, David. Nice job and report, Cam – it’s the first of the season, and you had a lengthy layoff with injury. I know you’ll be right back where you were last year very soon.

thanks very much…. i felt totally at home out there today. i guess i’ve done enough races that i know exactly how to do things, so that there isn’t THAT added stress. funny how i still get pre-race excitement to the point of losing sleep over it, though. last night was a restless night, me waking up constantly, and then getting up quite early – 3 hours before racetime, and the site was only 15 minutes from home! i rewarded myself with a big bag of chips, some Guinness, a Mars bar, and flaked with a couple of movies this afternoon. I’m *wiped* now. in a good way. the real pressure will be on late next month, when i try the same race course where i set a 10K PR last year. it’s nice and flat, so there’s a chance i could do something there. g’day, Cam

Response:

Congratulations on the run, Cam!  Great results, and I’m glad your recent "knot the calf!" didn’t prevent you from getting out today.  Very nice report, too.

thanks, Diane! yes, i nursed the calves all week… got massaged a couple of times, and did the Ozzie-type treatment. still feel great. db (in Ottawa) P.S. Yes, I also ran today, in the 10K.  Same last hills, though, and my throat is still sore from the cold air!

that’s great to hear…. you happy with your time? yeah, that cold air! i’ve had a cough lately and after my very intense run in that race, the throat is not feeling good. must be careful with that. take care, Cam

Response:

    That makes me feel good.  I thought our 0 to +1 Celsius was cold in Dublin Ohio USA this morning.  I had a good time and finished well enough to be first in my age group.  I have always said, the way to win is to out live all the other guys who are faster.

nice job, Joseph! the drag about my race was that my age category was 20-39, and i’m nearly at the top of that range! that isn’t fair, is it? — Joseph E. Meehan 26 + 6 = 1  It’s Irish Math

i sure hope you had forgiving teachers in school!  :) Cam

Response:

    Just hang in there.  By the time you are 54 like me, you can be there also.  However I would guess it will still be cold up there. — Joseph E. Meehan 26 + 6 = 1  It’s Irish Math – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –     That makes me feel good.  I thought our 0 to +1 Celsius was cold in Dublin Ohio USA this morning.  I had a good time and finished well enough to be first in my age group.  I have always said, the way to win is to out live all the other guys who are faster. nice job, Joseph! the drag about my race was that my age category was 20-39, and i’m nearly at the top of that range! that isn’t fair, is it? — Joseph E. Meehan 26 + 6 = 1  It’s Irish Math i sure hope you had forgiving teachers in school!  :) Cam

Response:

Thanks Cam.  I think my only mistake today was, I wanted to run with a particular girl and never did find her.  I gave up looking for her after the first mile but it turned out after the race I finshed just seonds behind her!  I probably could have run with her the whole thing!  Oh well maybe some other race. Thanks for the report,         Roger

Roger, you need to find out what she’ll be wearing for the race so you can easily pick her out of the crowd!  :) Better luck next time…. ah, the challenges of single runners…. Cam

Response:

Howdy folks, I ran the Ottawa St. Pat’s Day 5K Race this morning… a sunny but very chilly morning. The thermometer only read -7 celcius, but windchill brought that down to minus 15 or thereabouts…brrrrr.

<snip report Trying to break my record for most r.r people met? Nice job and report, Cam – it’s the first of the season, and you had a lengthy layoff with injury. I know you’ll be right back where you were last year very soon. — David (in Hamilton, Ont) "This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment; remember, we are eternal All this pain is an illusion."                                           Tool – Parabola http://www.angelfire.com/nc/swstudio/home.html –

Response:

Congratulations on the run, Cam!  Great results, and I’m glad your recent "knot the calf!" didn’t prevent you from getting out today.  Very nice report, too. db (in Ottawa) P.S. Yes, I also ran today, in the 10K.  Same last hills, though, and my throat is still sore from the cold air! Howdy folks, I ran the Ottawa St. Pat’s Day 5K Race this morning… a sunny but very chilly morning. The thermometer only read -7 celcius, but windchill brought that down to minus 15 or thereabouts…brrrrr.

<… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I hope everyone else ran a good St Pat’s Day race…. thanks for reading. Cam

Response:

Howdy folks, I ran the Ottawa St. Pat’s Day 5K Race this morning… a sunny but very chilly morning. The thermometer only read -7 celcius, but windchill brought that down to minus 15 or thereabouts…brrrrr. Before the race, I met up for the first time with Jenn van der Schee and   Scott Broderson from our ng. Both very nice and well dressed runners  :) And the equally amiable John Deknatel showed up to watch the proceedings. Great to meet you all! After about a quarter of an hour of yakking, we began to get into our personal pre-race rituals, the bathroom being my first one. Then another friend and I went for a leisurely jog to warm up. I then stretched for a few minutes and hopped around a lot to keep warm. I had to don some of my warmest running gear this morn…. the *hot* gloves, my toque, and 3 layers on top. Running tights were good enough today. I decided I was going to go *nearly* as fast as I could for the whole race, just to get out of the cold. My race was uneventful, not much to report besides a few hills (one of which was quite steep – very close to the finish line), but I passed a lot of people, even on hills. Those last few weeks of hill training paid off! I truly felt like I was sailing the whole way…. but that last hill took a lot out of me. As I neared the chute and saw that the clock was proceeding past my time from last year in this race, I felt a little bummed. But I summoned up enough fuel to get me over the line in 23:30, what I consider pretty good for a first race of the season and for such a chilly and hilly race. The back of my throat and lungs were burning from the cold. John D. shouted encouragement to me as I neared the chute. Thanks, John! When I crossed the line, I *thought* the clock read 23:48, as did my watch. When I learned my official time was 23:30, I was happier. A good race overall…. I’ll keep doing this one. There were over 800 people in the 5K and 10K combined, a turnout that is increasing each year for this event. I hope everyone else ran a good St Pat’s Day race…. thanks for reading. Cam

Response:

    That makes me feel good.  I thought our 0 to +1 Celsius was cold in Dublin Ohio USA this morning.  I had a good time and finished well enough to be first in my age group.  I have always said, the way to win is to out live all the other guys who are faster. — Joseph E. Meehan 26 + 6 = 1  It’s Irish Math – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Howdy folks, I ran the Ottawa St. Pat’s Day 5K Race this morning… a sunny but very chilly morning. The thermometer only read -7 celcius, but windchill brought that down to minus 15 or thereabouts…brrrrr. Before the race, I met up for the first time with Jenn van der Schee and Scott Broderson from our ng. Both very nice and well dressed runners  :) And the equally amiable John Deknatel showed up to watch the proceedings. Great to meet you all! After about a quarter of an hour of yakking, we began to get into our personal pre-race rituals, the bathroom being my first one. Then another friend and I went for a leisurely jog to warm up. I then stretched for a few minutes and hopped around a lot to keep warm. I had to don some of my warmest running gear this morn…. the *hot* gloves, my toque, and 3 layers on top. Running tights were good enough today. I decided I was going to go *nearly* as fast as I could for the whole race, just to get out of the cold. My race was uneventful, not much to report besides a few hills (one of which was quite steep – very close to the finish line), but I passed a lot of people, even on hills. Those last few weeks of hill training paid off! I truly felt like I was sailing the whole way…. but that last hill took a lot out of me. As I neared the chute and saw that the clock was proceeding past my time from last year in this race, I felt a little bummed. But I summoned up enough fuel to get me over the line in 23:30, what I consider pretty good for a first race of the season and for such a chilly and hilly race. The back of my throat and lungs were burning from the cold. John D. shouted encouragement to me as I neared the chute. Thanks, John! When I crossed the line, I *thought* the clock read 23:48, as did my watch. When I learned my official time was 23:30, I was happier. A good race overall…. I’ll keep doing this one. There were over 800 people in the 5K and 10K combined, a turnout that is increasing each year for this event. I hope everyone else ran a good St Pat’s Day race…. thanks for reading. Cam

Response: