amkelley wrote:
I'm not sure what Shelley was supposed to do. I assume he wasn't carrying water or a phone and did not have medical training. Hawkins was surrounded by people, although none of them were apparently trying to help him. Probably the most useful thing Shelley could have done was to keep running and yell to the first race official he saw that there's a man down on the course who needs help. I don't know whether he did that.
I am pretty sure that if I were ever in such bad shape in a race that I couldn't stay on my feet, I would have the sense to quit. No race is worth endangering my health in that way. I have often thought that my biggest limitation as a runner, back when I was young and moderately fast, was my unwillingness to really suffer. I was really good at being disciplined, going out there consistently and doing the training day after day, but I could never push myself beyond a certain point. It just wasn't that important to me.
+1 The people along the course there just stood and watched. Maybe they called EMS or something on their cells but it would have been nice to see someone hop over the rail and render some help.
☝️Hawkins, OTOH, should have stopped and just called it day at the first of sign of trouble. He reminds of the boxers who keep trying to get up and fight after a few brutal knock downs and the ref has to finally call the match.
☝️ I don't think you can expect Shelly to come to a screeching halt when he's focused on the finish & racing for time in a championship pro event And just what is he suppose to do? Start checking the guy's vitals? Call for help? Give him some water? All these things could have been done by those passive bystanders along the course.
In pro cycling, there's many crashes with riders spilled all the over the road and none of the other riders stop and render aid unless it's a teammate who's a domestique and not racing to win.