Runner knew marathon leaders were running off course, doesn't stop them: "I’m not going to shout. It’s not my job.’’

llort_vbo wrote:

Only on LetsRun could this guy be criticized. .

That's not true. The reason why I started this thread is I saw the article in the Washington Post. The Washington Post article has 572 comments (almost triple LetsRun.com) and the #1 most popular post is as follows.

God has our country sunk low - real sportsmanship there Tyler Pence.

Trump wants your autograph.

The #2 most liked post is:

"Having been a runner for 60 years, Pence is an embarrassment to the sport. Even worse, he is a college coach! I have been in the same situation and have yelled to the runners taking a wrong turn. Once, when the lead runner out of shouting distance, a group of us backed off knowing the leader would rejoin us and let them have their rightful win.

Think about that a minute. The critics that don't like the messagebaord always say the problem is we don't require registration. Well guess what, they do at the Wpost and there are almost 3 times as many comments and many of them are brutal.

I just listened to the podcast where he talks about the controversy. It happened between the 13 and 14 mile mark as explained. He did say he told the biker riding next to him. Good for him. It now absolutely blows my mind that a biker wouldn't go ahead and track them down

I think on the podcast he comes across as a nice guy. I'm glad he talks to his team about character. No one is perfect but I still think he made a mistake.

That being said, if I was doing the interview, I would have 100% asked about quote in the paper, "But I’m not going to shout. It's not my job." That's why I started this shread. I don't care whether he could have been heard. I just want him to try and the podcast host never asked him anything along those lines.

And if I was the host of the podcast, I would have 100% also asked him about how did the biker respond when you pointed out the mistake? Did you encourage the biker to go notifty them? Did the biker ask you what to do? Or did the biker say something like, "Your lucky break."

I still think he didn't handled this correctly but sometimes it's hard to react in the heat of the moment. And if the biker acts like they shouldn't do anything, i can see how that might impact him.

While still wrong, depending on what the biker said, it would impact how bad I think the lack of sporstmanship was. Peer pressure is difficult to stand up to so if the biker acts like it's you are lucky day then it may be hard to stand up to him/her in the middle of the race.

But having listened to the podcast, everything is a little more disturbing in one key ways. We now know 2 people knew the leaders were running off course and no one did a damn thing about it. So instead of 1 person not doing the right thing - we now have 2. Crazy.

Get him on your podcast then! I guarantee he would openly answer those questions.

Let’s be fair here, it wouldn’t be letsrun if there wasn’t a misguided, overly emotional pitchfork-toting mob out to get a random joe, stoked on by the misinformed owner of the site.

Do I need to bring up the last poster who was targeted by letsrun, and what happened to him? Or does that take a backseat to clicks or lame arguments like “well some other people were saying the same thing so that makes it okay for us to go after him.”

Just the absolute tiniest bit of class is all I ask from those in charge here. Why is that so difficult?

sepreh wrote:

Bandofopoko wrote:

It really isn't the winner's job to say anything. If the two leaders are so stupid that they can't understand the obvious directions then tough luck. Of course now there will be howls of "racism" but the fact is that it's the fault of the goofs who ran the wrong way.

This is the hollow self centered US "I got mine" mentality in a nutshell.

Dude, it’s a race. It should be a “I got mine” mentality.

I comment on the WaPo and usually enjoy it, but sometimes the commentariat is flat out wrong., or just looking for something to be upset about. They were RUTHLESS when it came to Annemiek van Vleuten and the confusion over the Olympic women's road race. Completely different tone there -- it was all the Dutch riders' fault for not knowing who was ahead, it's the responsibility of pro athletes to be aware of what's happening on the course, van Vleuten was a pathetic sore loser, etc. etc. etc. None of them, of course, knew about van Vleuten's crash in Rio or otherwise cared about her reputation as a sterling competitor. No, far easier just to tear her to pieces because she was disappointed about the race confusion and gave one poor quote. I really wouldn't cite them as any sort of creditable opinion when it comes to sports.

They also like bashing Trump more than actually talking about sports. I like bashing Trump, too, but many of the comments on that article were just pointless "Pence" and "Trump" jokes, none of which actually related to the story.

Give the Pence guy a break. Given 15 seconds of fame, I would probably blow it, too. The guy's a runner, not a public affairs expert.

When Isaiah Jewett fell in the 800m, should the other competitors have waited for him?

Ffs, people on this form need to develop a bit more of a killer spirt.

Y’all need less colour fun runs, and more gobble gobble mf’er hard to line turkey trots.

Work Commute Track Club wrote:

What the F was the guy supposed to do. Not continue running? It cracks me up on this forum when Rojo has an evangelical view on something.

The guy wasn't that far back and might have won the race anyway.

It was his comment that bothered me. What part of, "I’m not going to shout. It’s not my job," is sportsmanlike?

Yes he may have won - that's not the point. Now I've since learned he didn't have to shout. All he had to do was tell the volunteer on the bike next to him to go tell them to turnaround and he didn't even do that.

Free_the_thigh wrote:

When Isaiah Jewett fell in the 800m, should the other competitors have waited for him?

Ffs, people on this form need to develop a bit more of a killer spirt.

Y’all need less colour fun runs, and more gobble gobble mf’er hard to line turkey trots.

Like Chelimo, right?

under a bridge wrote:

Free_the_thigh wrote:

When Isaiah Jewett fell in the 800m, should the other competitors have waited for him?

Ffs, people on this form need to develop a bit more of a killer spirt.

Y’all need less colour fun runs, and more gobble gobble mf’er hard to line turkey trots.

Like Chelimo, right?

There is a rule which forbids impeding another runner(which somehow they concluded Chelimo didn’t break), there is no rule that you have to help another runner.

Free_the_thigh wrote:

under a bridge wrote:

Like Chelimo, right?

There is a rule which forbids impeding another runner(which somehow they concluded Chelimo didn’t break), there is no rule that you have to help another runner.

Oh, so you don't think we need more competitive spirits in distance running like Chelimo. Weird.

From a race director.

35 seconds is too far to shout.

(I decided to re-write my Post from Tuesday to include additional information from Sunday’s marathon)

When I left post-race events Sunday at the TBK Bank Quad Cities Marathon I did feel as though sportsmanship prevailed. The elite runners, race officials, and athlete representatives all understood that a human error occurred, but our race did what was fair and right given the circumstances.

Since Sunday, many media outlets have twisted this story and it is sad and extremely unfair. These media outlets are throughout the country and the world. The vast majority of these reports contain very little factual information or accuracy. These media outlets range from the Associated Press to other national outlets, to media entities in Asia, Africa, Europe and beyond. I am the elite coordinator for this race and have been in this position for 20 years. I have run marathons and am very familiar with what can transpire over the course of 26.2 miles (or 42K). We have a well respected race director, Joe Moreno, hundreds of volunteers and great race sponsors. Events don’t survive 24 years without these key components.

We have welcomed runners from around the world, we have had overall winners from six different countries and Sunday’s field had five countries represented. We are proud of the diversity of our field and how our community welcomes these individuals.

On Sunday, I was in a vehicle with another volunteer and two Kenyan representatives. We, as we always do, checked on the race at six locations (Miles 5, 7, 9, 13, 20, and the finish). In an effort to set the record straight I have listed some key facts from the race:

• Luke Kibet and Elijah Saolo led early in this race. They were running together when we stopped to view the race at M. 5, 7, 9, and 13. Chip timing had the two athletes at 1:06:11 (5:02 pace) at the half-marathon point (13.1 miles).

• Tyler Pence was running alone in third during the first half of the race. Pence ran 1:06:46 (5:04 pace) at the half-marathon point (13.1 miles). The two Kenyans led by 35 seconds halfway through the race.

• At 13.5 miles, the marathon course turned Right onto Rodman Avenue. At this point in the race, the marathon course splits to the left (towards the Mississippi River). As the pace car maneuvered around a welcome banner, onto Arsenal Island, the cyclist/escort for the Kenyans took over the course lead for the athletes (elite runners are instructed to follow their cyclist if the pace car is not able to maneuver through certain areas).

• The cyclist with the two Kenyans directed the athletes straight on Rodman, instead of the left towards the river, a human error occurred. The Kenyans followed the cyclist straight across the island on Rodman, the net result had the athletes running approximately four miles short.

• The Kenyan athletes lost out big-time at this point, no doubt about that.

• Pence, who was trailing by 35 seconds, or approximately 180-meters ran onto Rodman and followed the Pace Car (which was now on course) with the left turn towards the River.

• This 35 second gap is clearly defined at the 13.5-mile mark. I would think most marathoners would agree with me that Pence was too far behind to shout or impact anything course related with the Kenyans. That said, he definitely wasn’t “far out-paced” as many news outlets have reported. That time gap can easily be closed in the final 10K of a marathon, let alone over the course of 12+ miles. Yes, the Kenyans led and had an excellent chance of winning, but so did Pence. They are all accomplished athletes. For non-runners, this lead would be similar to trailing in baseball by a run mid-way through a game, or trailing by three points at halftime of a basketball game. I am very confident these athletes would have occupied the top three positions at the finish, but to say what order they would have crossed the line is impossible at that juncture.

• The Kenyans ran through the finish, of approximately 22+ miles, in 1:53.

• Pence ran alone to the finish at 2:15:06 (5:08 pace overall), a personal best.

• All three athletes looked strong at all six locations we viewed the race.

• In the end, the Kenyans lost out on a chance for the win and a great result.

• Pence ran the course correctly and was the only leader to complete the entire 26.2 miles.

• We provide all athletes with course maps weeks in advance of the race. Also, we have a special elite runner meeting the day before the race. We review the course in detail. All three athletes were in attendance. The majority of the course review centered on the Half and Full split in the 9th Mile and this course split on Rodman.

• A mistake occurred on the course that had nothing to do with Tyler. The two Kenyans were misdirected by a volunteer. A human mistake that the volunteer feels terrible about.

• The race compensated each Kenyan with $2000. All parties agreed this was fair and were satisfied. Both Kenyan athletes displayed great sportsmanship and understanding given the circumstances.

• Tyler received the winning $3000 amount after running the full 26.2 mile course. He ran the third fastest time on our course in 24 years.

Yes, no doubt, the Kenyan athletes lost out.

As for Pence, it is sad and extremely unfair how the media outlets have twisted this story. Tyler’s reputation has been tarnished by the hundreds of false accounts that have surfaced online. Tyler is a former NCAA Champion, Olympic Trials qualifier, and University head coach. This wasn’t a “fluke win” by some recreational runner. Running a 2:15 marathon, basically alone, is an amazing accomplishment. He is well respected and accomplished. He ran the best race of his life Sunday and should be allowed to celebrate and be satisfied with his great accomplishment.

Again this should be a story of sportsmanship, being human and trying to do what’s right.

I am simply trying to help improve this situation. I want everyone to know we tried our best to make things right and be proud of Tyler at the same time. I hope others are able to do the same. What has transpired over this past week is a prime example of what is wrong with our media outlets in this day and age.

rojo wrote:

Work Commute Track Club wrote:

What the F was the guy supposed to do. Not continue running? It cracks me up on this forum when Rojo has an evangelical view on something.

The guy wasn't that far back and might have won the race anyway.

It was his comment that bothered me. What part of, "I’m not going to shout. It’s not my job," is sportsmanlike?

Yes he may have won - that's not the point. Now I've since learned he didn't have to shout. All he had to do was tell the volunteer on the bike next to him to go tell them to turnaround and he didn't even do that.

Rojo isn’t even man enough to admit he’s publicly shaming a guy based on a purported quote from a newspaper. And he’s certainly showing he’s not man enough to admit he’s wrong in publicly shaming someone without all the facts.

This should have been posted by the Brojos.

But yet again they like clickbait better.

rojo wrote:

But having listened to the podcast, everything is a little more disturbing in one key ways. We now know 2 people knew the leaders were running off course and no one did a damn thing about it. So instead of 1 person not doing the right thing - we now have 2. Crazy.

Rojo, all trolling/kidding aside, you're just way off here.

1) Don't compare the LetsRun message board to the Washington Post website. The digital version of the Post gets over 2.5 million unique visitors per day. There are another 500,000 people per day that get the print circulation. You have about 2M visitors per month. Throw in the fact that the readership of LetsRun is much more informed about competitive running and you'll see that the average basement dweller is at least 30-100 times more likely to comment here than at the Post.

2) I have a hard time believing or understanding that it didn't occur to you to check it out more before commenting, Your posts carry the imprimatur of LetsRun, what are you thinking when you do stuff like this?

3) We now find out that Mr. Pence's estimate of how far he was behind was a little less than twice what he estimated 35 s. Maybe in your position you could have called up the RD and did some fact-checking.

Like it or not Rojo, you were part of making this guy eat a sh!t pie that he didn't deserve. You could have helped and you went the other way. He PRd and won a big marathon. Regardless of the circumstances not in his control, he deserved to enjoy it.

2) Thinking is never part of the plan.

3) Fact checking is never part of the plan.

The only thing LRC is good at, is deleting posts they don't like to see.

under a bridge wrote:

Free_the_thigh wrote:

There is a rule which forbids impeding another runner(which somehow they concluded Chelimo didn’t break), there is no rule that you have to help another runner.

Oh, so you don't think we need more competitive spirits in distance running like Chelimo. Weird.

I’m not sure what your point is.

I assume you are referring to Chelimo drift. I really don’t see how that is comparable to this situation.

One is a situation of a person arguably breaking a rule. The other is a situation where there is no arguable case whatsoever of a rule infraction.

I'm saying it is irreconcilable to want people with a fighting, competitive spirit that want to win and to also be anti-Chelimo.

Well said.

Sad day if Rojo doesn’t issue this guy an apology.

It wasn't his job to correct the runners in front of him it would have been nice and the right thing to do but he didn't send them off course and wasn't responsible for fixing someone else's mistake