It took over 24 hours to find the times posted for the 17th Annual Sheltering Arms Turkey Trot. Initially, only clock times came up and I was disappointed to see mine at 1:07:23. A couple hours later the chip times came up and I was listed at 1:05:46. That was what I thought I ran, so I was happy to see it.
In the time I was waiting for the times to post, I logged onto active.com and watched the comments start to come in. The negative feedback far outweighed the positive around the race and honestly, I agreed with most of it.
The organizers obviously weren't prepared for the large crowd, or they didn't seem to be. The pace markers at the starting line were set very close together and we couldn't hear the announcer. Chip collection at the finish was immediately after we crossed over the line and created a bit of a bottleneck at that point.
But the real problems, the REAL problems...
...walkers, and strollers, and pets, oh my!
Sure, it's a great morning for families to get out and enjoy time together, but for the love of all that's good and safe, get the heck out of the front of the pack and get out of the way! There is no reason on earth that people who are walking need to be standing in the 8, 9, 10, even 11 minutes/mile sections. They're in the way and they're dangerous. Thousands of people were trying to take off and run yesterday morning and they had to navigate past toddlers, people pushing strollers and even dogs on leashes. Not cool, not cute, not sweet. Not. Not. Not.
I know some will say we're grouchy. Some will say we're not friendly. Too freaking bad. I'd rather be grouchy about this than grouchy about a sprained (or broken) ankle on one of us. I'd rather not accidentally knock over your little darling. I like kids, I really do. It would ruin the day for all of us if someone was injured. It's just common sense. You're slower, you don't need to be in the front. Is this that difficult?
Good. Thanks. See you at the next event. Have a great day - and give your kids and dogs a hug from Auntie Michelle.
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I understand your frustration. I would have my family to the back for many reasons. It was for a good cause though, right?
ReplyDeleteoh, great cause. It's the same at all the races I run. I'm trying to get some words out to a bigger audience so I also posted at a sports site. We'll see how much play it gets.
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