Fastest Woman in Marathon Not Considered The Winner

[93henfan]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/21/BAUC13L3GQ.DTL&nopu=1


While O'Connell had the greatest run of her life and covered the course faster than any woman, she was told she couldn't be declared the winner because she didn't run with the "elite" group who were given a 20-minute head start.

[blur2005]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/21/BAUC13L3GQ.DTL&nopu=1
That's just bullcrap. Fastest time=winner. It's running, that's how it always work.

[Grizzaholic]

IF she didn't hop a ride onto the back of one of them fancy scooters, QUE SeattleGriz, she should be declared the winner.

[BlueHen86]

The ruling is idiotic.

If she had made up the full 20 minutes and crossed the line ahead of the elite runners would her result still have been voided?

Only complete idiots could screw up something a simple as a race.

[andy7171]

This story is completely ridiculous!

[dungeonjoe]

The story inspired me to call Nike. I was told this runner will get a tiffany bowl similar to the elite runners and that next year the race will not even have an elite category.

We underdogs got to stick together.

[dbackjon]

The story inspired me to call Nike. I was told this runner will get a tiffany bowl similar to the elite runners and that next year the race will not even have an elite category.

We underdogs got to stick together.

Good job, Joe!!

[89Hen]

It happened in SF? Does this really shock anyone. xcoolx

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

Isn't Nike the company with the "Just do it" commercials? xrolleyesx xrolleyesx xrolleyesx xmadx xmadx xmadx

Just gave me another reason to never purchase a Nike product.

[appfan2008]

that sucks for her...

[tribe_pride]

Agree its unfair but if you look at a race of 20,000 people, that is the standard rule because the people in the front are competing against each other and not against the clock. If they have to worry that someone behind them is going to run faster but never pass them, that is usually unfair to the person in the front of the pack since it is the responsibility of each "elite" runner to make sure they are in the front and someone in the front is running to beat the people around them.

What normally happens is you give your projected time when you register and the top XX amount of people get put in the front and the next group of runners are behind. A lot of races don't give the 20 minute headstart though. As each runner crosses the starting line, their sensor goes off and that begins their time and the sensor crosses to finish them as well. The rules usually state that the first person to cross the finish line wins for awards.

This case was the exception to the rule. Never heard of this happening before.

[JayJ79]

that sucks for her...

Do most marathon runners run with the intention of "winning" or beating others? Or is it more for a sense of personal accomplishment. Perhaps trying to best their own personal times.

If it is the latter situation, then Ms. O'Connell has had a spectacular "win", regardless of what Nike or anyone else does.

[BlueHen86]

Essentially, what the organizers did was to run two separate races, 20 minutes apart. They should have two sets of awards.

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

I posted a reply to Nike via their Customer Service website and just got a response.

They said they were announcing today that they were recognizing her as the winner with the fastest chip time and she'll get the same recognition and prize that the elite group winner received. They mentioned some USATF standards about starting with the elite group which is what I'm sure tribe_pride is referring to. Except this time the elite group got a separate starting time 20 minutes earlier rather than just in front of the horde of runners. They mentioned that nobody in the elite group had any idea of the race O'Connell was running and they couldn't adjust accordingly. They also mentioned that next year there will be no elite group with a separate starting time and all runners would be eligible in the Nike Marathons.

[HiHiYikas]

Essentially, what the organizers did was to run two separate races, 20 minutes apart. They should have two sets of awards.
I never realized the rules worked that way - that's odd, and I'd imagine extremely rare. But every single major race in the world has a staggered start these days. That's just the consequence of the running boom. There are tons more marathonners out there, but average times are way, way down.

It's a blessing and a curse, as issues like these demonstrate.

And they do have two sets of awards. You can rest assured this woman got something (though not at all what she deserved). Most races have about a dozen sets of awards - overall men, overall women, Master's (old) men, Master's women, and about 7 age groups, for both men and women.

My first marathon, I finished 7th overall and got first place in my age group. One of the other guys in my age group happened to finish second or third in the overall category, and was technically first in our age group. But that particular race had a "no-repeats" rule for awards. That's pretty common.

And "elite" status isn't just about your projected time, usually. I could register for a 10K race with the claim that I'll finish in 36 minutes - that would put me at the front, but it wouldn't make one of the elites. Those guys have to have posted a qualifying time at a USTA sanctioned event. I'm surprised this race simplly allowed runners to declare themselves "elite." I know that other SF-area races - Bay-to-Breakers, for example - require certified times of their elite class.

If you've ever tried to navigate the starting area of a crowded race that didn't have a staggered start, you can appreciate what's going on here. I've seen my share of runners who thought they were faster than they actually were get trampled. Marathons tend not to be so bad, though, because all the jumbling gets sorted out over 26 miles.

[danefan]

My wife (who runs marathons and other road races competitively) just called BS on this one. She said that any woman who runs in the 3 hour range knows or should have known that you can't place from outside the Elite group.

If you've run those times, you know the rules.

[HiHiYikas]

I would add that, unless you're one of the few great runners who gets olympic medals, national titles, or wins prize money, the personal satisfaction of running the race greatly exceeds the "awards."

Running is the adult version of "everybody gets a trophy day" in tee-ball. I get the same finisher's medal for finishing in 3:15 that the guy who runs a 5:35 gets.

I have a box full of finisher's medals, first, second, and third place trophies and plaques. They're OK to have, but - from a competition standpoint -they don't matter much as long as somebody out there is faster than you are. And somebody always is.

What matters is knowing you did it.

[tribe_pride]

And "elite" status isn't just about your projected time, usually. I could register for a 10K race with the claim that I'll finish in 36 minutes - that would put me at the front, but it wouldn't make one of the elites. Those guys have to have posted a qualifying time at a USTA sanctioned event. I'm surprised this race simplly allowed runners to declare themselves "elite." I know that other SF-area races - Bay-to-Breakers, for example - require certified times of their elite class.

If you've ever tried to navigate the starting area of a crowded race that didn't have a staggered start, you can appreciate what's going on here. I've seen my share of runners who thought they were faster than they actually were get trampled. Marathons tend not to be so bad, though, because all the jumbling gets sorted out over 26 miles.

You are right about the Certified time as opposed to estimated time because there are a lot of liars. I just tried to keep my post short. According to the article, her previous PR was 3:07. That would have put her in the top 5 of any of the 5 previous Nike marathons. How she was not put in the front if she had to input a previous time I have no clue. Any marathon I have done has required me to do this.


My wife (who runs marathons and other road races competitively) just called BS on this one. She said that any woman who runs in the 3 hour range knows or should have known that you can't place from outside the Elite group.

If you've run those times, you know the rules.

xthumbsupx

[813Jag]

Sounds kind of like sex, the fastest finisher isn't always declared the winner. xlolx

[dbackjon]

Marathon runner Arien O'Connell will be a winner after all

O'Connell ran the fastest time in last Sunday's Nike Women's Marathon, but when she finished she was told she couldn't be awarded first place because she hadn't run in the "elite" women's group, which was given a 20-minute head start.

O'Connell said she was contacted early this morning by a Nike representative who said they were going to award her a trophy and recognize her as a winner.

Not the winner - "a" winner. Notice the distinction.

"She told me they had been getting lots of calls and e-mails," said O'Connell, a fifth-grade teacher in New York City. One in particular, from a Methodist Minister from Gaffney, SC, really touched Nike. "She said they were going to send me the same prize as the one awarded to the winner."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/22/BACI13MAIT.DTL&nopu=1