some old-fashioned b****ing about races

[CtheRM]

I ran a 1/2 marathon last week (I'd been running more mileage lately,
the start and finish were 1/2 mile from my house, etc; to take part
was an easy decision.) I had a fun time -- not $50-worth, but fun. But
I did not need:
1) a crummy medal, not even reading the year, with a penguin on it. I
am not a penguin; I do not waddle. Why on earth would I take pride in
waddling? 1,000 fat people traversing 13.1 miles doth not constitute a
*race.*
2) an "after party" into which we were forcibly herded from the finish
area (the exit route was through the after party). I did not need two
margaritas included in my race fee.
3) an expo filled with kiosks advertising "vacation races" -- not
running shoes for cheap, not sunglasses for cheap, etc. To me, running
is about tying up your shoes and going outside. Surely a race's
potentially exotic locale is not the *only* thing enticing about it.
4) lots of "goo" stops en route. When did 13.1 miles become a distance
for which the vast (there's a double meaning in that) majority of us
do not have enough blubber? Most of us out there on that course last
weekend were not so high performing that we needed high-tech food.
Really. Everyone around me in that race, including myself, needed a
little electrolyte-enhanced liquid and not much else.

You know what I would like? I would like:
1) a reliable course (namely, one lane of the road closed, and it
should be the right distance)
2) a few water/gatorade stops
3) someone at the finish to record my time

That is all. Next week, I will be submitting a treatise against using
"competitive" racing as a fund-raising tool.

[Frank S]

We're with you. Whatever happened to running a race because you wanted
to see what you could do? No waddles, no charity, the list goes on.
Well done. That as you and I and other true runners know, is the
ultimate reward. Well done!