Yesterday's 5K: Stopped Runners for Traffic

kristinegift

That sounds like an awful and frustrating experience! I hope the race directors take your comments and use them for good next year! I can't imagine being stopped for traffic during a race (barring emergencies)! That's just totally unprofessional. Also super unprofessional: having walkers start before runners. That's just asking people to be mowed over!

And you definitely would have aced that PR had there not been weird traffic issues!

mzbek24

I had it happen once, at a recent race. I guessed since it was only a small event, they didn't have the power to stop people from driving in and out of there, and we had to just be considerate of other people using the public space-there were also people walking and running around as we did the race in the park. It was a bit annoying because it does effect your time, but I think there's not really any way around it.

Wendy98

During my last marathon in September, I was stopped by a freight train. The train stopped in place on the tracks--it was around mile 2-3 I believe. Runners were going over it between cars and some ran around it. I opted to go over it and stay on course since I couldn't tell how far it was to the front of the train. It was quite the experience! My hands were black from touching the train and the driver was yelling obscenities at us. It got very heated and added at least 2 minutes to my time.

Here's an article:
http://www.indystar.com/picture-gallery/life/diet-fitness/2014/09/27/train-interrupts-columbus-mill-race-marathon/16362111/

I am in one of the pictures.

pmur

A big group of us were stopped during the Dallas marathon to let traffic pass. It was on an uphill part of the course and everybody was mad! Not that any of us were going for a place(2:40HM) but they stopped us for 3-4 minutes to let a whole lot of cars pass. It took a while for everyone to get the zing back. This was mile 8-9. The marathoners running with us told us it was hard stopping at mile 9 of a marathon.
Btw, that was my best HM time. In a way I'm glad I got those four minutes added there. I don't think I can ever train to beat a 2:30 hm time. I still cannot accept the fact that race times stop going down after a point in time.

99clmsntgr

arussell134 wrote: »

So two questions: 1) have you ever had this happen during a race before? Stopping the runners to let cars or other people go by? 2) any tips for how I could have handled myself better in the final mile or tips for becoming mentally tougher to handle unforeseen obstacles during a race?

I've seen police or volunteers direct cars through, but never when there's runners approaching the intersection, only when there's enough gap between runners to get the car through without impeding racers. And I was running one half-marathon where a guy was leaving a bed and breakfast and just decided to pull out across the middle of a pack or 10 or 12 racers. Apparently he had somewhere important to go. I did manage to gave him a "WTF'nF?" as did a few of my fellow runners (and this was a race where there were road and lane closures and cops directing traffic).

Not much else you could have done after getting mentally thrown for a loop like that. You just try to get back into it and keep going.

kozinskey

Roxiegirl2008 wrote: »

We are doing the Portland Rock and Roll 1/2 in May. I have heard the other two are much better though. Yeah I have heard a couple of others that ran it talking about it as well. I mean there you go up a hill around 12.5 mile mark...then down a hill and then up one at MILE 13!!! I mean really mile 13. HAAAA

My first marathon was Eau Claire. Lovely course, nothing but good things to say about it, except that the last half mile was a STEEP uphill grade. As in, steep enough that they probably should have built stairs into that trail. The only good thing was by the time I got to it I had completely run out of *kitten* to give....