Chris Hicks

 

If You Want To Play You Have To Pay

 My disclaimer up front is that of I know I will anger a few people out there.  Don't wait for an apology, it's not coming.  I will say though, that is not my intention at all.  It is merely to get people to think about what they do and understand the impact.

In the last year I have been in two races whereby a bandit or bandits had a direct impact on my day.  The first was when two of them went through the finishers' chute and horsed up the scoring.  This caused a long delay for which everyone that wanted to see results had to wait an extra 20 to 30 minutes.  The race director was furious and pointed out what happened.  The offenders did not stick around for the after party while we all waited.  Most recently at The Double Bridge Run a young man talked crap and seemed to intentionally step in front of me twice at water stops.  All that is fine, it's racing.  But what I noticed in a picture at the end was that he had no bib.  Now that changed everything.  All of this is certainly personal and gave me the idea for this column but writing about it is a much broader scope.

Webster's definition of a bandit is "an outlaw who lives by plunder" and a "robber".  The slang definition in the running world is that of someone running a race without a number or "bib".  I have heard people justify it, provide excuses or in their eyes make it acceptable.  The following are some of the most popular reasons.

I'm pacing someone else. - If it's so important to have a pacer then let the person you are pacing pay your entry.

The race was sold out. - Really?  Caps are there for several reasons.  When it's full it's full.

Not everyone that DID pay will show up. Race directors know there is a certain percentage of this and that is figured into registration caps and costs.

I won't take any water.  This is one of my favorites because I have never seen someone without a bib pass every single water stop during or after the race.

One more person really doesn't matter.  Often an excuse for many facets in life for which there is never just one.  Enough said.

Putting on a race has both fixed and variable costs.  Fixed costs are permits, barricades, timing company fees, permits, advertising, police and did I mention permits?  Variable costs are those more closely related to that of the number of runners expected on course such as bibs, t-shirts, finisher medals, on-course support and finish line support.  Race directors have to operate under a budget and that starts with determining the entry fee and projected number of athletes to be on course.  The costs must fit under the expected number of paid entries.

Racing without a bib very simply means a runner is taking advantage of all items mentioned above without paying for them.  Fellow athletes are picking up the tab for a bandit's transgressions.  Furthermore it sends a message to spectators and other athletes that it's ok to do.  Then the issue begins to grow.

But don't take my word for it.  I checked in with Paul Epstein, owner of Running Wild and local Race Director.  I asked him for a brief take on race bandits.  This was his reply.

"The real issue with bandit runners is that they're actually stealing from those who paid to enter the event.  The argument that anyone can run on streets that are paid for by tax payers is not valid during an organized event.  The streets for the event are controlled by law enforcement paid for by the event participants.  There are so many other reasons that running as a bandit is wrong ranging from safety to courtesy it's impossible to list them all."

In the end a race entry is small in comparison to a pair of shoes, clothing and nutrition.  It's not much to ask to pay for participation in a race for which big or small requires plenty of work.