[quote]Captnoblivious wrote:
bandit the race! Paint on some fake numbers!
When I ran a lot the races were 20-30$ for entry fees. 100 seems pretty steep.
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They have computer chip tags that you have to put on after you register.[/quote]
hmm, I think that’s pretty common for computer recorded splits. Does not having a tag somehow keep you from being on the course?
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Probably not, there are always a lot of people running. We sometimes change our heats and run with others. If I was a “struggling” college kid I understand doing that. To me most of those guys do a great job at organizing this and its fun afterwards so to me its money well spent for having a great day outside with friends. [/quote]
I largely agree. In real road races bandits do mess up results.
I’m still taking note and weighing the pros and cons. I guess another thing I’m wondering about is how much does having an insane amount of people interfere with the fun and challenge aspect. I mean is it total chaos? Am I able to move freely without worrying about getting stomped or having to wait behind others while running and attempting obstacles? Is it just an uncontrollable chaotic cluster of mess? I am learning that with each increasing year this event grows exponentially, not only in locations but the amount of individuals who participate. I’ve read some locations have actually canceled events within days and even the day of the event due to insurance/permit/and obstruction issues. So even after paying for the ticket, I’m still not guaranteed the event will take place and there are no refunds or transfers. Greedy bastards I tell yah…
I suppose that there could be location issues specific to the geography each race. In the Ontario event that was held at a ski resort there was ample room to pass other participants on the climbs and majority of the trail running. On a few of the obstacles it was tight, but there were no serious bottle necks (less than 5 minutes) and I didn’t feel like I was going to get trampled at anytime.
I’ve done some cross country races that were hell in this regard; narrow trails, nowhere to pass, pushing for positions and serious hazards. That was in races with only a few hundred participants as well. It just comes down to the site and how important placing well vs having fun is to you.
There was another article in Outside recently. Apparently, the guy who ‘founded’ Tough Mudder stole the idea from a fellow Brit student at Harvard who had held several mud runs in England (Mark Zuckerberg, anyone?), he just marketed it much more aggressively.
P.S. This is coming from a guy who makes very little and tends to be very conservative with money. But if I know that something is worth doing…I will make the exception. Useful replies are welcome…all others can shove off…[/quote]
When I read this I thought, “yep, probably not worth it for him.” To me it seems like a fun event to do if you have the cash. You don’t seem to have the cash.
this scene has always made me laugh and think about actually never needing to run for “fun” or recreaction, which I don’t do myself really, but you get the point…
P.S. go figure the youtube ad on this page was for tough mudder…at least when I clicked on it…
^ lol, I love this fact that even though this was supposed to be in the time period of the 19th century there stilla are people today who have that mindset/try to convince everyone else of this bullshit
I did a TM and a Spartan Beast this year in VT, they were both fun and challenging and beat the hell out of my alternative plans for those weekends. Both races allowed me to bring my camelback.
[quote]goldfingers25 wrote:
I’m still taking note and weighing the pros and cons. I guess another thing I’m wondering about is how much does having an insane amount of people interfere with the fun and challenge aspect. I mean is it total chaos? Am I able to move freely without worrying about getting stomped or having to wait behind others while running and attempting obstacles? Is it just an uncontrollable chaotic cluster of mess? I am learning that with each increasing year this event grows exponentially, not only in locations but the amount of individuals who participate. I’ve read some locations have actually canceled events within days and even the day of the event due to insurance/permit/and obstruction issues. So even after paying for the ticket, I’m still not guaranteed the event will take place and there are no refunds or transfers. Greedy bastards I tell yah… [/quote]
There really shouldn’t be that many people near you when you are on the “track”. All of the starts are staged and depending on how many people sign up for that day get divided up. The beginning can be a cluster just because everyone is fresh but it quickly changes. The only time you should run into people would be at each obstacle. I never really had to wait though.
sounds dumb really. look at the videos… you wait. wait. wait. too crowded. you’re hammering along 1 section then you wait… a goofy way to race. maybe you against 10 other guys,the TM be ok, but to be moving along then slow cause other weekend warriors are in your way… dumb…
[quote]spk wrote:
sounds dumb really. look at the videos… you wait. wait. wait. too crowded. you’re hammering along 1 section then you wait… a goofy way to race. maybe you against 10 other guys,the TM be ok, but to be moving along then slow cause other weekend warriors are in your way… dumb…[/quote]
Never had to wait at an obstacle the ones I have done.
