Robert
October 10th, 2007, 07:44 AM
On Monday I ran a race in Devon, just outside Edmonton. It was hilarious. Probably 90% of the runners got lost. Complete mass confusion. :reallymad:
The volunteers who were supposed to direct the runners had no clue what to do. I ended up in the wrong place completely. I figured maybe I was just unlucky, but I realized later that this happened to nearly every runner. They were sending people off in the wrong direction, at several places along the course.
Some kids had pulled up the signs that had put out the day before. As a race organizer, you need of course to check those signs in the morning before the race starts. Better yet, you put them out the morning of the race.
I kept asking the volunteers what to do as I was running, and everyone of them said "I don't know"! :Dude:
Some were upset, some demanded a refund, some were still lost when we left! I had to stop on the way out and talk to a guy who wondered what as going on - I told him he wasn't the only one being lost. He said he had run 35 marathons and many other races, and this was the worst he's ever seen. I'd agree to that.
Interesting day for sure! I would have won by 15 - 20 minutes today, but there were no winners at a day like this!
They also forgot to hand out the medals to the finishers. Later on they asked if I ran the half marathon so they could give me a medal. I wasn't sure what to answer! I said I sure intended to run the course, but I had no chance since they pointed me in the wrong direction. I got a finisher medal in the end anyway...
The volunteers who were supposed to direct the runners had no clue what to do. I ended up in the wrong place completely. I figured maybe I was just unlucky, but I realized later that this happened to nearly every runner. They were sending people off in the wrong direction, at several places along the course.
Some kids had pulled up the signs that had put out the day before. As a race organizer, you need of course to check those signs in the morning before the race starts. Better yet, you put them out the morning of the race.
I kept asking the volunteers what to do as I was running, and everyone of them said "I don't know"! :Dude:
Some were upset, some demanded a refund, some were still lost when we left! I had to stop on the way out and talk to a guy who wondered what as going on - I told him he wasn't the only one being lost. He said he had run 35 marathons and many other races, and this was the worst he's ever seen. I'd agree to that.
Interesting day for sure! I would have won by 15 - 20 minutes today, but there were no winners at a day like this!
They also forgot to hand out the medals to the finishers. Later on they asked if I ran the half marathon so they could give me a medal. I wasn't sure what to answer! I said I sure intended to run the course, but I had no chance since they pointed me in the wrong direction. I got a finisher medal in the end anyway...