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

Why is this site promoting a GoFundMe for a guy with a 1:06 half marathon PR, who might have run 2:13-2:14, living in American to support his family by running races, but Americans at that level and even higher are expected to work full time jobs to support themselves and still get sh!t on for not runner faster?

Rojo, although I have shanked you in the past. I could not agree more with the concerns here. American society is nearly devoid of any ethical framework at this point. There are many reasons behind this but the neoliberal, put-others-down-to-get-the-win mentality that is given tacit and even active approval in higher education, and college sports in particular, has a massive role to play here. This college coach has the maturity of a 5-year-old fighting for a bucket in a sandbox. This crxp will be our undoing.

support the locals. wrote:

Are you really that naive about the sport Rojo? 3rd tier marathons have been wasting their sponsor’s money to fund 3rd tier no name Africans for years, many who dope (like the woman who).

Most or all

rojo wrote:I've purposely left names out of this as I don't want it following him forever but this really upsets me. Both modern day college administrators - with all of the conference realignments - and modern-day society has just taught young kids - take what you can, life is a money grab.

This is all nonsense

This is more like you show up for work on your first day bc HR tells you come to 100 fake street at 9am.

Turns out the real address was 100 main street at 8am.

You even got in writing from the HR person. However you missed and now you're fired.

I have been on both ends of this issue.

During a half marathon I was battling it out with another who gapped me on a hill and I was trying hard to close the gap with about a mile left to no avail. The runner was well over 100 yards ahead of me and he easily heard me yell at him when he veered off course. He turned around and we raced in together until he outkicked me. No money was involved and it actually helped me hit my intended time. I didn't think twice about it.

I was leading a local 10k by about 50 hard earned yards with a half mile to go when I went off course. None of the followers said a word. I had to double back and ended up 4th. Certificate for new shoes were involved. I didn't think twice about it.

I think attempting to shame the winner, regardless of his perceived "true character", is in poor taste. The other runners got paid and the winner got paid. This attempted shaming is predicated on an injustice that just isn't there. We shouldn't be thinking twice about this.

If they were truly 20 seconds ahead, I don't know. it's almost too far ahead to yell and be heard. Definitely within 20 to 40 meters you say something to help your fellow competitor. I don't imagine the breathing is too far gone at that point in a marathon.

but you don't just keep quiet because it's not your job to let them know.

i do understand that everybody is in a different financial situation in life. this is not exactly a black and white scenario.

Foul play, Rojo. As others alluded to, you can't say you left someone's name out, and then post the article with his name listed within 60 seconds of reading, along with him plastered on the front of it at the top.

Poor taste. It was pretty late in the race, in which he ran a hard effort for his PB, and to his defense, if he was that far back, it is difficult to have enough energy to sprint and yell from over 100 meters back to flag down people where their first language is different from his. To boot, they are also racing a marathon, and likely dialed in.

Appropriate comment relative to the other comments on here. 20 seconds back running at that pace while the 2 runners are moving quickly, good luck yelling. Should have had a kinder response, however.

Thanks. I was about to post this. Even at 50m, it would've been tough to hear and especially given it's the end of the marathon (with the exhaustion). Nice anecdote, too.

colder and wiser wrote:

At 2:15 marathon pace (5:08/mile), 20 seconds is 104.5 meters. At that distance, yelling isn't going to do any good.

I edged out a guy in a race last weekend who missed a turn 400m from the finish line. Fortunately I was pretty close to him when he missed the turn so I could yell and get him back in the race. But if he had been 100m ahead of me, he would have never heard me, and he would have added enough distance at that point that he would have finished 100m behind me.

Ridiculous. What's he supposed to do, go run them down and force them to get back on course? It's the responsibility of every runner to know the course. Do most take time to study it? No, but that doesn't absolve them of that responsibility. The post will earn some virtue-signaling woke points though.

He compared a coach in the middle of the field yelling 200m splits, standing there mind you, not 30km in to a marathon PR effort, to being 100 meters behind the leaders during referenced marathon effort at the 30km split. To be clear, a random coach standing in the middle of the field would be roughly 50m from either 200m mark, maybe as much as 60m depending on where they are positioned. Again, NOT 30km in to a marathon PB effort. Why in the world does Rojo not use an objective analysis? Or fair comparisons?

That's great.

We as runners like to fight but we want to win or lose properly.

anti.marxist wrote:

Ridiculous. What's he supposed to do, go run them down and force them to get back on course? It's the responsibility of every runner to know the course. Do most take time to study it? No, but that doesn't absolve them of that responsibility. The post will earn some virtue-signaling woke points though.

There is no way the Kenyans would have kept someone else from going off-course. Anyone saying otherwise is full of 💩.

Perhaps if you’re paternalistic, you might conclude that they don’t have to play by the same rules. But thats’ your problem, not Mr. Pence.

anti.marxist wrote:

Ridiculous. What's he supposed to do, go run them down and force them to get back on course? It's the responsibility of every runner to know the course. Do most take time to study it? No, but that doesn't absolve them of that responsibility. The post will earn some virtue-signaling woke points though.

It's also the responsibility of race officials to not lead runners off-course. RD implicitly acknowledged this by compensating the affected 2 runners. Fair outcome for all involved.

Agree, the winner did nothing wrong in the race. It would have been a duck move to say nothing if they were all running together, but they weren't. His only crime is botching the conversation with the reporter(s).

The virtue-signaling woke points have been scored by rojo, who starts a thread solely to shame a guy, then pretends to care about that guy's reputation by "witholding" his name, then posts a link to multiple news articles with his name.

Jefe in the CO wrote:

I think attempting to shame the winner, regardless of his perceived "true character", is in poor taste. The other runners got paid and the winner got paid. This attempted shaming is predicated on an injustice that just isn't there. We shouldn't be thinking twice about this.

Totally disagree. The runners only got paid because the race director had some second thoughts it almost didn't happen. so that does not change what the other Runner did or did not do. This is really a simple question and there should be no debate.

1. First question is did the runner who won really have a legitimate opportunity to alert the other runners? It sounds like he was too far back to alert them. If so, nothing to really criticize him on.

2. However did he even try and yell? He should have at least tried. And based on his quote it sounds like he might not have even tried even if he could have alerted them: "not my job. " maybe it was a poor choice of words and he really meant he was not in charge of getting them to run the course correctly and it wasn't his fault they messed up. If that is what he meant, then again, can't really attack him.

3. But for anyone arguing that if runners are within shouting distance of you and take a wrong turn that it is acceptable sportsmanship to say nothing and let them go off course in order to take advantage of their mistake, that's garbage plain and simple. Why would you want to "win" that way?? Totally $hitty to do that, period. Yes you don't need to slow down for them but you can at least do the honorable thing and Shout out " HEY! this way".

[ I too have been in this situation. In one trail race a guy I was duking it out with for several miles was just ahead of me and took a wrong turn and I yelled to him. it did allow me to get 20 yards back on him. But then the same exact thing happened in reverse a mile later and he had to call to me. Eventually he took another wrong term but out of my sight and I didn't know what happened to him until he showed up on the trail next to me from a different direction. He had been ahead of me so it probably helped me but I don't know for sure if he would have slowed down anyway. Then I outkicked them in the final mile. Simple sportsmanship we both followed.

Another Trail race I was in I was running with this other guy and then pulled ahead of him a little bit. Midway through the race and as I headed down a path i thought: is this right? and turned around to see him taking a different turn. he did not bother to tell me that I screwed up. He saw me. Pretty damn lame. But I beat him anyway]