Hi All,
anyone heard off people turning up for marathons without officially entering them,i did Edinburgh Mara this year and a guy i shared a few mile with says he just runs most years and when quizzed about number,responds that he lost it.
will i see people like this in London and does it happen often in other events
Comments
Races take a lot of expense and effort to organize. Road closures and medical backup are only a part of what race directors (often volunteers) have to arrange.
Anyone who wants to take part should have the decency to pay the entry fee.
The guy you ran alongside at Edinburgh is a parasite, pure and simple.
I think "parasite" is a bit strong.
As long as you don't expect a medal, then I don't suppose it matters if the odd one runs on the same course for a while. If I had a 12 mile training run to do, it would be quite nice to run from Greenwich to Tower Bridge on marathon day.
There's quite a tradition in Boston of 'bandit' runners for the marathon.
i think i may have been understood,i have a place i was just enquiring as to how devious people can get ..
ie do they have fake numbers
just lie and hopefully get away with it
and apart from havin no number how do they tell you are'nt an official runner,as it wouldnt be the first time i have lost a number
Well you won't get your number till you get to the expo, usually the day before the race, so you would have to go some to lose it!
I don't see an alternative. You are issued with a number and you're obliged to wear it during the race. It's not a lot to ask, If they announced that it was OK to create your own, you know what would happen -- you'd get loads of people turning up with home-made numbers, whether they were legitimate or not.
If you can't wear your number, for whatever reason, it's too bad. You'll be able to start the race but not finish it, or claim a medal.
It doesn't matter if it's issued the day before, you still have plenty of time to lose a number! I heard of one runner who got off the coach on the morning of the race, and as the coach disappeared over the horizon, he realised that his number had fallen out, and was still on the coach. He had to pull out.