A race bandit is someone who participates in a race without paying the entry fee. The bandit runs (or jogs or walks) the course, drinks the water, eats the food, and accepts a medal, all things that have been paid for by other participants. So what’s the reasoning behind the bandit?
For some race bandits, money is a motivator. For others, running as a bandit is a principle-based decision. To get a better understanding of these running free riders let’s take a closer look at the arguments.
Each year my running buddies attempt to convince me that the Christmas-themed race they’re going to run is the bees knees. They do their best to pitch their race to me. Quite frankly, they’re wrong. There is only one Christmas-themed race that has my continued support as numero uno—the Reindeer Romp 5K in Jamestown, NC. The community of runners is a top notch group of elites, weekend warriors, first timers, and kids who train as part of the GO FAR fitness club for kids. The atmosphere is fantastic. Santa, the big man himself, is there. And…AND…the race encourages runners to run in a holiday-themed costume.
This year marked my sixth year running the Romp. I’ve run as a Christmas present, the Grinch and his sleigh, a Christmas tree, as a conductor pushing the Polar Express, and last year I managed to complete the race dressed as a 6 and 1/2 foot fireplace. My pattern of costumes is one that includes my son every other year. This year, he and I talked about several costumes. All of them involved me pushing him. He’s 5 years old now. He’s nearly 50 pounds. Pushing him in a stroller would be difficult enough without a costume. So we talked about what we could create and he, whilst channeling his inner Tchaikovsky, suggested something quite appropriate—a nutcracker.
It’s hard to imagine what it takes to do something unless you put yourself in the shoes of the person doing the thing that you’re trying to imagine. For me, I no longer have to imagine what it would be like to raise a child, jump out of an airplane, teach fifth graders, run a 5K as a fireplace, or dance in the Nutcracker. And thanks to my sister, I no longer have to wonder what it’d be like to support a marathoner.
This past weekend, my sister (aka The Runner) came to town for the Triple Lakes Trail Marathon. Another sister (aka The Elder) and I along with our children, planned to provide support for The Runner throughout the race. The Runner stayed with The Elder, and caught a ride with her and my niece to the start line. I, on the other hand, had to wait until my 5YO son decided to wake from his slumber. I woke at 6AM. Got showered, dressed, ate breakfast, fed the dogs, and packed the car. By seven I was ready to roll. My son, however, was not. Ten minutes later, the little fella walked into the kitchen wearing an imaginary top hat and mustache and said rather gentlemanly, “I thought I would join you.”
This past weekend I ran the Army Ten-Miler (ATM), a 10-mile road race in Washington, D.C. that starts and finishes at the Pentagon, passing by landmarks including the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, and the Capitol Building.
Since the inaugural race in 1985 the ATM has grown from 1,379 finishers to 26,069 finishers in 2015. Nearly 375,000 runners have participated since the race began, and only one man, 65-year-old U.S. Army Col. (Ret.) Lew Goldberg, has run every Army Ten-Miler since 1985.
Since 2006, I’ve run the race four times. I ran the race with shoes in 2006 (1:13:05) and without shoes in 2011 (1:17:29) and 2012 (1:12:06), and in Vibrams for the 2013 race (1:11:50). This year, for my fifth running, I went with a pair of Brooks Pure Flow.
Running with SuperChad as we approach the start/finish line
If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “I’d like to run a 1-mile loop for 12 hours” then Doggettville 12 is the relay and ultra race for you. Whether you convince yourself or five of your friends to run in circles for the duration you’re sure to enjoy this well-organized and very challenging run.
The course is a mile long and transitions from paved road to gravel to grass to pine needles to gravel to grass before turning back to gravel as you cross the start/finish line. There are just enough downhills and uphills to trick your brain into thinking 12 hours won’t be so bad. And there is more than enough support from the organizers to make you believe you can do it.
Just remember that 12 hours, in the day, means Ra will most likely be calling the shots from 11AM to 4PM.
The Blue Ridge Relay (BRR) is a 208ish-mile running relay from Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia to downtown Asheville, North Carolina. The relay hosts 180 teams of 4 to 12 people who run a total of 36 legs ranging from 2.5 to 10.5 miles per leg over the course of a day and a half.
This year marked my fourth time running the BRR with Team GOFAR. It would have been my fifth, but I missed last year due to an “unexcused absence” (I had shoulder surgery). Lucky for me, there aren’t many people in the area who want to endure two days in a van with sweaty runners and their equally odorous belongings.
The Pickle Run is a 30K course that follows the Bicentennial Greenway from a Fleet Feet store in High Point, NC to another store in neighboring Greensboro, NC. Runners can put together a relay team of two or four, or they can go solo. My buddy John and I went with the latter option, made our $25 donation, and showed up at the HP store on a cool August Saturday morning.
National Anthem, some instructions, and a countdown prefaced a cheerful start to the fun run.
Last fall I had shoulder surgery, forcing me to take a month off from running and bail on three races: Blue Ridge Relay, Army Ten Miler, and NYC Marathon. I was totally bummed and vowed to get back in shape in time to run the Pilot Mountain Payback trail marathon the following year.
After dabbling in 5Ks in the late 90s, I finally got hooked in 2005. From there, my running addiction took off. The 5K became 5 miles, then 6.2 miles, 10, 13.1, and eventually in 2007 I put away my first 26.2. A couple years ago, my friend, John, suggested I run a 40 miler.
A few more long runs and John eventually sold me on the idea. Now the trick was selling the idea to my wife. If I recall correctly, the conversation went something like:
ME: Hey, you know how I run? WIFE: Yeah. ME: So, yeah, well, I was thinking about running a run where I have to run a lot. Far. Where I run far. WIFE: OK. ME: Well, it’s not a lot. Just like 40 miles. It’s nothing really. Basically a long 5K. I’d have to train, but between now and then, there’d be plenty of time. Wow, the weather is gorgeous! Have you ever seen such a nice day? Is that a hummingbird? OMG, that is a hummingbird! Did you know that hummingbirds are…
My filibustering continued until my wife became distracted (annoyed) and left the conversation. A few weeks later she made it clear to me that she had in fact been paying attention and told me to get a physical. I agreed, passed my physical, and ran the 40 miler in the fall.
