'Half Fast' Half Marathon Official Results

Well, the results came in from last weekend's half marathon (turned 25K). It officially goes down as one of my worst placements in recent years:

- 25th out of 90 overall
- 5th out of 12 in the 30-39 age group
(I'd bet big money that I'd have been 4th or 5th [2nd or 3rd in AG] if it was a normal half.)

I was OK with having ran too far (because of a knocked over race sign and a missing volunteer from a corner as noted in my race report), but there's something a little annoying about seeing the "official" results.

First of all, more than 90 people did the race. Many people got back to the school and didn't officially finish or didn't want their name on the results list because of extra miles that they ran. Eric (one of the 2 guys I ran with) just ran past the finish to log more marathon training miles, and he doesn't appear in the results. I don't know how many people aren't listed.

Also, the lead female's time can't be right, and who knows how many other's are short. I'm totally NOT calling her a cheater, but she must have just ran out a bit, realized she was off course, and turned around and came back. She officially ran a 1:22:50 even though a quick look at MTechResults shows that last year she ran a 1:31 10 miler (9:06 pace) and a 4:23 marathon (10:02 pace) the year before. So she's obviously not capable of a 1:22 half (6:15 pace). Again, who knows how far anyone went at this race.

We got official word from the race director regarding the tipped over sign and missing volunteer. She apologized and took full responsibility. She noted that she was thankful no one got injured and that they were able to account for every runner. She goes on to explain:

I did have a volunteer scheduled at that corner who picked up her volunteer packet and met with me to ensure she knew where she was going. I still have been unable to reach her to find out what happened to her and why she was not at her posted intersection. I can only hope at this time she is okay.

[...]

In the end, it seems we had at least three different half marathons – not sure how many variations on the 10K. The times that will be posted later today are an accurate reflection of the miles you actually travelled. For some of you, it was less than the distance anticipated, others more, some far more. Because there is no way for me to determine age group winners in light of this, we are unable to reasonably give out age group awards for either the 10K or Half Marathon.

While there is nothing I can do to change the outcome of the day and there are certainly a number of changes that will be implemented for future races.

She ends with saying that she will give us all half-priced entry into their half marathon, 11K, or 5K in early April at Bald Eagle Lake as part of their "Campwannarunamileormore" event. Some of my family did that event a few years ago, and I'm thinking about the 11K or the half. We'll see.

In the meantime, check out my race report if you missed it. It ended up being a nice 25K tempo run with 2 new race buddies. :)