12/21/24
October 08, 2009
Marathon Champ Disqualified for Using iPod: The first- and second-place finishers in the women's Lakefront Marathon have been disqualified, one for accepting water outside the stations and the other for listening to an Apple iPod. A USA Track and Field rule barred elite runners in the marathon from using electronic devices -- a policy that has been criticized. "If you're bored, it pumps you up a little bit," said runner Jennifer Goebel. Sometimes, on a long training run, I'll bring it along for the last half hour."
It's in the rules, clear as can be, so I can't see how they can complain.
posted by dusted at 02:08 PM on October 08, 2009
Drood, they've relaxed the rules for slow and mid-pack runners, but the elites runners going for prizes still have to follow the old rules.
posted by dusted at 02:12 PM on October 08, 2009
If it's in the rules, you have to enforce it, but I think there is a perfectly valid call to change the rules for future races. That rule is about as out-of-date as the golf scorecard.
posted by TheQatarian at 02:26 PM on October 08, 2009
Banning competitors with iPods is complicated, but disqualifying them is a no-brainer.
posted by bperk at 02:39 PM on October 08, 2009
"If you're bored, it pumps you up a little bit ..."
A marathon is supposed to test the physical and mental capabilities of a runner. Using an iPod, usually for music, while other competitors do not, potentially creates an unfair advantage.
posted by jjzucal at 02:40 PM on October 08, 2009
Next thing you know, they'll ban texting during Formula One races.
posted by beaverboard at 02:44 PM on October 08, 2009
That rule is about as out-of-date as the golf scorecard.
I hate that rule. All that tension after a round just to see if a bookkeeping error overturns the result.
posted by rcade at 03:13 PM on October 08, 2009
People run without ipods?
A marathon is supposed to test the physical and mental capabilities of a runner.
Says you. I say it's to test who can be the fastest runner over 26.2. I don't see how the ipod provides an unfair advantage if everyone is allowed to use one.
posted by tron7 at 03:26 PM on October 08, 2009
I don't see how the ipod provides an unfair advantage if everyone is allowed to use one.
They have been found to release small amounts of tricthtophendrandro. Which is a stimulate naturally found in apple sugar, which is amplified through earbuds. duh.
posted by tselson at 03:31 PM on October 08, 2009
I don't see how the ipod provides an unfair advantage if everyone is allowed to use one.
I don't think it does. Marathon organizers don't want everyone to use iPods because it is dangerous to have so many people running the streets without paying attention to their surroundings. As a result, the iPods are against the rules. The advantage comes because this runner used hers to give her an extra boost that the other rule-following runners didn't have.
posted by bperk at 03:36 PM on October 08, 2009
Marathon organizers don't want everyone to use iPods because it is dangerous to have so many people running the streets without paying attention to their surroundings
If they didn't close the streets for marathons, I'd be glued to my set every Patriots Day watching to see if any of those poor Kenyans survived Boston traffic. The rules are the rules, whatever, but change with the times. Demanding runners go without iPods sounds like some serious Catholic school bullshit. "We'll let you run the marathon, but you're not allowed to enjoy it."
posted by yerfatma at 03:59 PM on October 08, 2009
yerfatma, I actually had that experience a couple of months ago in a 10K. I was in second place and I could see the leader about 300 yards ahead with about 1.5 miles to go. They had a highway patrol car stopping traffic where the course crosses Hwy. 1.
The leader ran across with traffic stopped, but the cop re-started the traffic as I approached the intersection. I was screaming "Hey hey hey!" and he just ignored me. I was seeing red mist already, and that just infuriated me further, so I just kept running, filtering through traffic with the cop screaming "STOP STOP, STOP HIM" to his partner across the road. As I blew past, his partner gave me a kind of "sorry about that" shrug and shook his head.
So meanwhile, I'm chasing the guy uphill, thinking "great, now I'm disqualified AND arrested - good work Dusty." To make it worse, even with all that adrenalin I still couldn't catch the guy in front. So I ran across the finish, took off my singlet, removed my bright yellow shoes and mixed in with the crowd. Never saw anyone looking for me, and still got a medal, so I guess they either forgave me or decided I wasn't worth the hassle.
That's my Racing Traffic tale...
posted by dusted at 04:19 PM on October 08, 2009
Speaking of fantastic marathon stories... This Sunday, Wesley Korir Will Get an Elite Start at the Chicago Marathon
The Kenyan, a University of Louisville graduate, was in the mass of runners that began five minutes after the elites in Chicago in 2008, but he stunned - and confused - folks by recording the fourth fastest time overall. He's proven his elite status now; he went on to win the Los Angeles Marathon in May in a course record 2:08:24, and also won The Challenge, the battle-of-the-sexes contest within the race. That alone was worth $100,000. Korir is hoping to build an orphanage in his Kitale, Kenya, hometown. "I was born into a very poor family. My passion is to help poor children. "God is giving me an opportunity to make a difference," Korir affirms.
posted by dusted at 04:24 PM on October 08, 2009
Maybe if Apple were a sponsor?
Show me the money.
posted by graymatters at 07:20 PM on October 08, 2009
The winners of the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon are not exactly elite runners (although they are much, much faster than I am). The three women's times (the two disqualified winners and the third winner) were 3:02:09, 3:02:50, and 3:04:20. In comparison, the woman's marathon record is 2:15:25, and 40 women ran faster than 3:02:00 at the last Chicago Marathon. The prize money for first place was only $500.
This is not like George Brett using too much pine tar. This is more like an intermural championship being forfeited because some pinhead chose to enforce the pine tar rule at that level.
posted by Aardhart at 07:55 PM on October 08, 2009
I was disqualified once for using a jetpack and roller skates. Trained for days.
posted by smithnyiu at 10:27 PM on October 08, 2009
I was disqualified once for using a jetpack and roller skates. Trained for days.
Trained on how to use a jetpack or to skate? Skating is a bitch.
posted by BornIcon at 09:27 AM on October 09, 2009
Would there be an issue with some of the other features of an iPod (Pedometer, FM radio)?
I'm not at all familiar with marathon rules (taxies and Uzis are not allowed, right?), so it could be that anything goes. I can see the FM radio feature being used to receive information about the other runners in the race, but then again it could be within the rules for a coach to use a megaphone or hold up signs to provide the same info.
posted by joaquim at 12:40 PM on October 09, 2009
The water thing I can kinda see, but an iPod? Talk about not moving with the times.