Not to bash races, but...

In the words of my Aussie friend Kylie, "It's not a knock-back, it's feedback."

I recently completed 2 races that were, in my opinion, total let-downs. The first was local, the Rugged Maniac.

Source: Rugged Maniac

The RM promised adventure, fire, mud, and a test of strength. As I said in an earlier post, I'm pretty sure just trying to get there provided me with the biggest adrenaline rush of the day. No fire or mud was found anywhere on the course. The course map, which is still listed (incompletely, btw) on the website, promised obstacles such as these:

These obstacles are still hiding somewhere in that sports complex. I'm convinced!

The obstacles we completed were different. Some were flat-out haphazard. In the second to last obstacle, racers hopped into dumpsters full of water with a tarp lining the inside. I think it was supposed to mimic an obstacle we completed at the Merrell Down n Dirty where we ran through the ocean for maybe 100 yards-ish. The RM version was lame, weird, and gross. I'm pretty sure we weren't that far from the actual ocean, y'all. There were also no barrels for me to hop on like in the above photo. There was no mud pit and no fire jumping. A few days after the race we received an email from RM clarifying the situation with this explanation: "we understand that some people were confused by the lack of mud and fire on the course so we’d like to take this opportunity to explain why those obstacles were missing.  We chose to hold the race on land owned by the National Park Service, which forbade us from digging any holes or pits, and later also banned the use of fire and barbed wire." This was followed by some condescending explanation of how us city-folk should have been happy just to see soil that wasn't in a potted plant. Kiss my grits. 

While I appreciate that RM took it upon themselves to clarify this misstep, you know what? Don't promise what you can't deliver. That's Customer Service 101. You should've been aware of the limitations of the NPS-owned land and adjusted the posted race map and obstacles accordingly. Mud runs are expensive (usually $75+). I expect companies to deliver a product that is worth its price. RM, in my opinion, was not. This was their first year in Brooklyn and hopefully they will get it together next time. 

The second race was the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Half & Full Marathon. Thank god. I'm not good at typing the word obstacle. If you've read anything about this race, you know it was a disaster. 

Problems I encountered: 

1) Corral Hoppers. There was virtually no enforcement of assigned corrals. In one of my race photos, I am passing a woman whose bib is in the 34000s. Mine was in the 9000s. She is walking. She was supposed to start among the final racers. Shame on you, lady, and shame on RnR for not enforcing corrals. You know what I loved about a race I recently did? Your D-Tag would only activate at the start line if you started with the appropriate corral. BEST IDEA EVER. Nothing says be where you're supposed to be or else like null and void race results. 

2) The Merge. I feel terrible for the full marathon participants. They were screwed completely by Competitor. When I saw that the full marathon started at 4:00 and the half started at 5:30 and merged almost immediately, I thought, how's that going to work? I assumed a barricade, perhaps, like at the Baltimore Running Festival. A)It did not work B)No Barricade. Simply orange cones 100 feet apart or so directing half participants to keep left. There is video on the website (that I'm apparently in, but I can't see myself because it's nighttime and people don't show up well in video at night) of my group in the half marathon lane. The 3:20 marathon pacer is trying to fight his way through us. 2 hour half participants and 3:20 full participants shouldn't be merging together. Congruent times is key, RnR. It was so crowded. Blerg. 

3)The Water: it was foul. Apparently, it was also from fire hydrants and poured into new garbage cans (which everyone knows are just 50 gallon drinking cups). Competitor has tried to claim that "all big marathons do this." Negative. Proof. Thanks for poisoning me RnR, I didn't get my appetite back for days. 

4)The Finish Line Area. I barely crossed the finish line before I had to come to a grinding halt and march in place furiously to keep from completely passing out. It was unbelievably crowded. If you're going to allow 44,000 participants in a race, you need to be able to accommodate them. I grabbed my food and squeezed out of there ASAP. I couldn't even tell you what was there, other than Cytomax, medals (for some people), water, go-gurt, snickers marathon bars, and green bananas. 

Problems I heard about but did not encounter myself: 

1) They ran out of t-shirts and medals for a race that was "sold out" for ages. 

2) Apparently, Mandalay Bay got really crowded and the shuttles weren't getting people back to their hotels for hours. This is why I always, always, always stay within walking distance of the start/finish line. I'm not saying y'all deserved to be stuck there for hours--it wasn't right. But seriously. Stay within walking distance. Problem solved. 

3) The website allowed too many people to register and the last 400 or so people who registered, apparently, were told it was an error. 

Things that were cool: 

1)Running the strip at night. It's all lit up and shiny. 

Things that were not as fun as I thought: 

1)Running at night. I HATED waiting around all day for this dang thing to start. 

As my roommate and I watched the news the next day, we heard the reporters touting the race as a "success" and stating that Competitor wanted to expand the field to 60,000. 

Dear Competitor, 

What did 5 fingers say to the face?  SLAP. 

NO means no. 

You couldn't take care of 44,000. You have no business with 60,000. Oh, and thanks for "making it up to me" by offering $50 off a race I'm already registered for. Super excited to see your organizational skills again! Bastards. 

No Love,

xx Mandie

Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving! You know what's awesome about today? All over this great country, people rolled out of bed, got themselves together, and turkey trotted. I think it's pretty cool. You don't have to be hardcore or an experienced runner, it's about fun and fitness.

Today I am thankful that despite the holiday, the subways and MTA still got me to Prospect Park on time for the PPTC Turkey Trot well ahead of my race time. It was far less eventful than my trip out to the wilds for the Rugged Maniac. What a well-organized race! I set a new 5M PR of 43:34, which is exciting for me! The fact that my time is also a palindrome makes me geek out. Kudos to PPTC for starting on time AND having a well-informed and well-organized group of volunteers. There were volunteers at every mile marker calling out times and despite the fact that the Santa volunteer shirked my high five, I had an amazing time. As I like to think, I earned the gluttony of this afternoon's meal.

I'm going to high five everyone who passes me. Except you, lady

I was also lucky to get in a nice long run on Tuesday of 12 miles. I've been trying to listen to audiobooks while I run, and I have to say that it's working for me because it takes my mind off the pace. I love music, but I do tend to focus a little more on my pace when I listen to it. I don't know why or if that even makes sense, it just is. But I want to recommend Mindy Kaling's book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns). It is hilarious and made me feel like, hey, I've turned out okay. I'm off to cook the obligatory green bean casserole! 

Not-so-lazy Sunday

Stop the presses! I actually had a weekend off--both Saturday & Sunday. This, as of late, has been a wonderful luxury and it gives me a chance to see my not medically-employed friends and pretend that I have a semi-normal life schedule.

Saturday afternoon, after catching an after-work nap, I headed out to the wilderness of Brooklyn for the Rugged Maniac. I'm aware that non-New Yorkers might have a hard time believing that parts of the city are still relatively grassy and undeveloped, but I'm serious.

I even had to Zipcar my way out there. No subways. 

I'll post an official review later, when I have some pictures, but let's just say that the most adrenaline-inducing part of the day was my attempt to drive there through car accidents, construction, and a fickle GPS. I literally dropped off my bag and made it to the start line with 4 minutes to go, despite leaving over an hour and a half before the race (it was a 7.2 mile drive). The race itself was simply okay, but in terms of mud runs, I didn't find it to be worth the money. Some of the obstacles seemed haphazard and there was not enough course support, although the volunteers/staff I did run into were very enthusiastic. At one point I missed a turn on the course because it wasn't well-labelled (big thank you to the spectator and his 4ish year old son who pointed me back on course). I still actually don't even know my time because there was no clock at the start line. I think this was the first year doing a Brooklyn course though, so maybe next year will be better. meh. 

Today, after thoroughly inspecting my body for bruises from the mud run and sleeping through my alarm, I headed out for a 5 mile run. I couldn't have asked for a better day. 50s, sunny, slight breeze. I have been so spoiled this fall with perfect running weather. I even had enough time to enjoy a slow breakfast of homemade oatmeal. 

One-on-one time with my hubs, Mike Wazowski. 

I'm off in a little bit to meet my girlfriends for brunch at The Polish Palace. Then it's time to start doing something with this unruly mess I call my hair by getting a haircut. This week has a lot of good things in store: Turkey Trots, lots of food, friends, and the Macy's Parade. 

xx Mandie

First Public Post

Hello, blog-o-sphere! I've used this blog privately up until now, but I guess you could say I'm ready to put my crazy self out there for the world to see! An exciting birthday present to myself came in the mail today:

When doing speedwork, I pretend Voldemort is chasing me. 

Okay, I got the nerd out of my system (for now). My running story is pretty simple. There is no agonizing weight gain or complete plummet of self-esteem. In fact, I've been running for as long as I can remember. My father is a distance-runner turned ultra-cyclist, so I guess you could say that the aptitude towards insanity endurance sports has always been there. I enjoyed an active childhood and teenage years. A massive knee injury in '06 landed me in the hands of an orthopedic surgeon for a tibial tubercle transfer procedure, among other procedures (I was not kidding about the massive part). 13 weeks on crutches later, I was becoming active again, but running terrified me. I cannot sugarcoat it--surgery & rehab sucks. I did not want to deal with it again! Plus, the joint felt kind of odd and it took a long time to heal. Slamming my body weight into it with each stride didn't seem wise. Fast forward to 2010...I got the  running bug again. I think I needed to work out some anger or something at the time and BOOM! I was back at it 3-4 times a week. I set a resolution to run a half-marathon and work towards a full. My friends and I set goals to run a race in every state! 

It's a start, y'all! 

My prospective marathon schedule for 2012: 

January 15: Rock n Roll AZ 

April: Oz Marathon (Kansas)

June 9: Hatfield & McCoy Marathon

October: Leavenworth Octoberfest Marathon

I still have one race left this year, RnR LV. I'm hoping PR again at this race, but we shall see. I've been working hard. If anyone out there knows of any amazing, interesting, or unique races coming up, let me know!