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The Official OGBoards Running (and Cycling) Thread: (Insert Season Here)

lbE08 said:
The comments below get me. So many people seem to think it's not a problem at all.
a - banditing races is a shitty thing to do. period.
b - it's unsafe
c - Boston is HARD to get into, however you do it, and to cheat your way in is super lame.

Not sure what their punishment should be, other than paying for their race... The medal is justifiably theirs because they did actually run/finish the event (I could maybe buy that), they just got there the wrong way.
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The medal is not theirs. The real achievement with Boston is getting to the starting line IMO. People who earn those medals are either incredibly gifted or put in an unbelievable amount of work (usually both).
 
Deacfreak07 said:
The medal is not theirs. The real achievement with Boston is getting to the starting line IMO. People who earn those medals are either incredibly gifted or put in an unbelievable amount of work (usually both).
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I don't disagree; my statement was more devils advocate than anything. I think they're dicks.
 
Which girl do you know Df, and what race?

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I'm not sure why you all are freaking out all of the sudden. Bandit-ing is a long-standing tradition in distance running, and one that Boston has embraced for years.

I don't necessarily support it (for reasons of my own), but most post-collegiate guys have done it before, if not regularly while getting fit.

Also, I am pretty certain that those two guys ran for Matt Kerr -- my former coach at Wake -- at Boston College.
 
wakephan09 said:
I'm not sure why you all are freaking out all of the sudden. Bandit-ing is a long-standing tradition in distance running, and one that Boston has embraced for years.

I don't necessarily support it (for reasons of my own), but most post-collegiate guys have done it before, if not regularly while getting fit.

Also, I am pretty certain that those two guys ran for Matt Kerr -- my former coach at Wake -- at Boston College.
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In my opinion, it's stealing.
 
Deacfreak07 said:
Kara Bonneau who got her bib stolen. Met her at a marathon relay in Cary last year.
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I've known Kara a long time. We were in grad school together and worked on the same project.
 
Deacfreak07 said:
In my opinion, it's stealing.
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And I think I agree with you. My point was that this is far from a new thing, and that big races around the world encouraged it for years.

I do think, however, that this new printing of fake race numbers takes it to a new level of dirty.
 
I know Boston's got a history of it, but like you said - the fact that they printed bibs to try and come across as legit feels extra wrong. It's one thing to bandit and just own it, but you earn those numbers through a lot of hard work in training and fundraising and yeah. They stole that.
Regardless of the race, be it Boston or a local 5k, if you didn't pay/earn your way to be at the start line, you shouldn't be running that event. I know a few folks who have no qualms about just hopping into a half marathon because "hey! it's like a supported long run!" ...can't get on board with that.
 
lbE08 said:
I know Boston's got a history of it, but like you said - the fact that they printed bibs to try and come across as legit feels extra wrong. It's one thing to bandit and just own it, but you earn those numbers through a lot of hard work in training and fundraising and yeah. They stole that.
Regardless of the race, be it Boston or a local 5k, if you didn't pay/earn your way to be at the start line, you shouldn't be running that event. I know a few folks who have no qualms about just hopping into a half marathon because "hey! it's like a supported long run!" ...can't get on board with that.
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Firstly, I don't disagree, but I'll play the DA:

I would wager that the four of them put in "a lot of hard work in training" too. They might also have finished in the top quarter of all marathon participants, but can't officially register for Boston because of the strict age-qualifying standards, or the fact that the BM won't accept half times as qualifiers (when the Olympic Trials will, for instance).

Again, I'm against bandit-ing, in general. I feel that I need to re-emphasize that.
 
wakephan09 said:
And I think I agree with you. My point was that this is far from a new thing, and that big races around the world encouraged it for years.

I do think, however, that this new printing of fake race numbers takes it to a new level of dirty.
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I wasn't suggesting it was new. Just sharing an article.
 
wakephan09 said:
I'm not sure why you all are freaking out all of the sudden. Bandit-ing is a long-standing tradition in distance running, and one that Boston has embraced for years.

I don't necessarily support it (for reasons of my own), but most post-collegiate guys have done it before, if not regularly while getting fit.

Also, I am pretty certain that those two guys ran for Matt Kerr -- my former coach at Wake -- at Boston College.
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What do you mean Boston has "embraced" banditing for years? Do you mean the city? The race? I don't think either makes sense. The only people who have embraced banditing are the bandits. It is clearly stealing. Every cup of water or other support supplies they take is stolen. Every minute of every volunteer's time taken to direct traffic or hand out blankets or medals or whatever for them is stolen. Clearly the medal is stolen, along with every word of congratulations they receive from friends and family who see the medal now and in the future. The entry fees for these big races are not cheap - and for a reason.
 
Boston was strongly advocating against banditing this year, thus the fake bibs. I know for the 100th running, they said it was ok and just start in the back, but for this year they were all about no bandits. I was only following because my husband was running. I hadn't noticed the "no bandit" commentary in past years so I'm guessing it was new this year. Either way, I think it's a shitty thing to do.
 
wakephan09 said:
Firstly, I don't disagree, but I'll play the DA:

I would wager that the four of them put in "a lot of hard work in training" too. They might also have finished in the top quarter of all marathon participants, but can't officially register for Boston because of the strict age-qualifying standards, or the fact that the BM won't accept half times as qualifiers (when the Olympic Trials will, for instance).

Again, I'm against bandit-ing, in general. I feel that I need to re-emphasize that.
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(continuing the conversation, understanding that you're generally against banditing)

I also made that devil's advocate point (that they put in the training) in saying that technically they earned their medal that day... It just depends on how you view the medal. They stole it (the medal) in the sense that they didn't pay for any of the race, but they did complete it... and the medal is your finisher's medal. You get it for completing the marathon, which they did.
What they stole, or cheated, is the experience as a whole. Look at Hoops' hubby, for example - hell, he actually qualified... but didn't get in because of the restricted numbers allowed in. That doesn't make it ok for him to bandit, nor does it make it ok for these kids if that was their situation as well. You try harder next year or go the charity route and raise thousands of dollars (which takes a different kind of hard work). You earn the right to run that race.
As we all keep repeating, I am against banditing in general because I don't think you should get the advantages of something you didn't pay for (be it water stops, portapotties, closed roads, or a medal), but in Boston especially- there's more to that race than just paying some cash and showing up.
 
scooter84 said:
What do you mean Boston has "embraced" banditing for years? Do you mean the city? The race? I don't think either makes sense. The only people who have embraced banditing are the bandits. It is clearly stealing. Every cup of water or other support supplies they take is stolen. Every minute of every volunteer's time taken to direct traffic or hand out blankets or medals or whatever for them is stolen. Clearly the medal is stolen, along with every word of congratulations they receive from friends and family who see the medal now and in the future. The entry fees for these big races are not cheap - and for a reason.
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Kind of like how in the Tour de France they'll allow riders out on the course the days before/after the official stage just to test their legs and see if they could even do it... it's like that (just let them see if they can do it) but during the actual event. In the earlier days it wasn't as big of a deal because the race wasn't what it is today. Now, however, it seems a lot less benign.

I don't disagree with anything you said.
 
Whelp, I just PAID for my second marathon. Get at me, City of Oaks. I almost immediately regret committing for that torture again. :rulz:
 
Banditing sucks. People pay to race, and races cut off registration for multiple reasons, primarily safety. It's a cheap stunt.
 
Deacfreak07 said:
Whelp, I just PAID for my second marathon. Get at me, City of Oaks. I almost immediately regret committing for that torture again. :rulz:
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I'll let you know how it goes. Just got to the San Antonio airport to head to SMASHville.

Was definitely speeding like I mad man because Im way too jacked up today.
 
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