Leading Ladies Marathon Road Trip Part 1: Of Jolly Green Giants and Dead Presidents

Sorry to be absent so long from the blog, but I was truly having an adventure. If you have never taken a running road trip with fellow runners, it is something that you must put on your bucket list. I have long been a fan of road trips in general. It may have something to do with my mom moving me by car from Pennsylvania to California at a very young age. Whatever the reason, I will use any excuse to work one in, and they never, ever disappoint.

We started off from Lansing last Thursday morning full of anticipation. As I mentioned in the previous post, four of us (Janet, Leslie, Linda, and myself) were going from Lansing, Michigan to Spearfish, South Dakota for the Leading Ladies Marathon. We had opted to go in my Nissan Cube (hereafter referred to as Katie), which had the virtues of being good on gas and equipped with a working air conditioner. Unfortunately it was short on space, so each of us was limited to one Playmakers duffel bag, one sleeping bag, and one pillow (with a custom pillow case made especially for each one of us by Linda). Even so, closing the back door was a process involving much smooshing, and there was no way that I was going to be using my rear view mirror for anything except checking my make-up.

In anticipation of the event, Linda had dyed some very pretty pink stripes into her hair, I had purchased tiaras for the group, and Leslie had gotten us bling befitting leading ladies. I also had purchased some window paint so that we would sure to be noticed if we were spotted by other leading ladies on the way up. After a few pictures we were on the road for day one, Lansing to Albert Lea, MN.

From left to right: Linda, Me, Janet, and Leslie 

The first day was relatively uneventful. We missed our chance to visit Iowa's largest frying pan, due more to slow reflexes on my part than anything else. We pulled in to the Albert Lea KOA, and Janet had her first experience of camping, as we "roughed it" in our little Kamping Kabin.

Janet outside our cozy Kamping Kabin in Albert Lea

Day two dawned and again we were ready to hit the road. Spirits were high as we pulled off for our first gas stop in Blue Earth, MN.  Being a little bored by this time, we were easily amused by the Sinclair gas station with the little green dinosaurs. Apparently these dinosaurs are extinct in Michigan, and my Michigan passengers were excited to get to see one in its native habitat. Little did we know, that little green dinosaurs were not the only thing waiting for us in Blue Earth.

We went inside the store to pay for gas and do the obligatory pit stop. It turned out to have a small antique shop off the side of the gas station. Since I love old junk, Linda and I went over to take a look at what they had. Besides a really cool Miss Beasely doll and a Boston vinyl album, they had a really pretty blue bead necklace, probably from the 1950s, that Linda bought for me. (She is awesome!!). She struck up a conversation with the cashier and soon came back to the car with a huge grin on her face. "Drive to the end of the street," she said. "Don't ask why. Just trust me that this will be good!" 

I drove a ways down the little road to the end of the street, and we all squealed in delight as we saw him at the same time. Blue Earth, MN is the home of the Jolly Green Giant. Yes, the Green Giant of canned corn and  peas fame. There he stood, in the park, waiting to greet visitors to Blue Earth.

That is when we learned a little known fact about the Green Giant: he is a runner!! We know this because he was still wearing his race shirt from the Relay for Life that he had done the previous weekend. Apparently, though, we had caught him on his way to the showers because he was not wearing his running shorts, just the little leaves that he wears for everyday.

Green Giant sporting his
 Relay for Life race shirt

We climbed the stairs for the photo op that he had planned for. While we waited for the gift shop guy to figure out the camera, we had time to answer that question that is on everyone's mind when they see the Green Giant on  their vegetable can: What does he wear under that green leaf skirt? Well, the answer is nothing!! Thankfully he shares the same anatomical features as the ever-popular Ken doll, so all scandals were avoided.

Here is where it gets better. As we were getting ready to leave, a guy comes up. He introduces himself as Norm Hall, the news director for the local radio station, KBEW. Apparently they do interviews with tourists who are passing through town. He interviewed us for a spot on his radio show. He was generous enough to send us a copy. I put it together with some pictures from days one and two of the trip:

You would think that was enough excitement for the day, but things were just beginning. The billboards every quarter mile on the highway advertising the Corn Palace caught our attention. It was billed as a "must see," so we hopped off the freeway to check it out. I have to tell, you that it was a bit of a letdown as far as I was concerned, but that may just have been in comparison to the Green Giant encounter.

With the Corn Palace thoroughly investigated and photographed, we headed on across the prairie. Soon fields of corn and soybeans, gave way to fields of sunflowers, and then eventually just prairie grass. Leslie, ever the snake-hater, managed to figure out that there are snakes in South Dakota, a prairie rattler, and sure enough, when we stopped at a rest stop, we found that we were risking life and limb. We jumped back in the car and headed across the badlands to our next stop: Mt. Rushmore.

Mt. Rushmore was truly an awesome sight. I had wanted to see Mt. Rushmore since I first heard about it when I was about 10 years old.  I am a big Founding Fathers fan, and Jefferson is my second  favorite Founding Father. (The fact that I had not only a "favorite founding father" but a second favorite tells you a bit about what a dork I was as a child.)  It was absolutely as amazing to see in person as I thought it would be. Trail runner that I am, I spent half the time trying to determine if there were any trails I could find on the side of the mountain to get closer, but I am sure that there are multiple restrictions on just that type of thing...

Okay, so this is a picture of me.
If you want to see Mt. Rushmore up close, buy a postcard.

As day two of our trip concluded, we did a sunset drive down the back road from Mt. Rushmore to Spearfish, through Deadwood, that looked like a really interesting place to stop but which will have to wait for next year's race. It is truly beautiful country and it whetted our appetite for what was to come.

We pulled into the Spearfish KOA satisfied that our running road trip was everything we had hoped it would be to that point.

Check back in a day or so for Leading Ladies Road Trip Part 2 soon to follow!

Bib Switching: Does It Really Matter?

Controversies are rare in the running world. Oh, there are disagreements over things like what is the best approach to marathon training or whether a taper is best at two or three weeks or how many carbs one really needs for  a carbo load, but by and large we are not a very controversial bunch. However, occasionally a topic comes up that does put runners on different sides of an issue. One of these is the idea of bib switching.

First let me separate bib switching from the idea of banditing a race. To bandit a race is to run without a bib, to jump into a race and run the course without being officially registered. Bib switching is a cousin of this, but in bib switching a runner has a bib that they have begged, borrowed, or bought from a legitimately registered runner.

I, personally, have never banditted a race, but I know many people who have. The practice never bothered me that much. The bandit was on what was normally a public road, and most bandits I knew were polite enough not to take refreshments meant for registered runners. They also did not get a race shirt, an official time, a medal, or any of the other accoutrements, so I never felt like they were really hurting anything (although I am sure many race directors would disagree). The liability issue never bothered me much. I just did not think it was really that big of an issue.

Recently, though, another practice has popped up, bib-switching, where a runner will obtain a bib from someone who is registered and run the race posing as a legitimate participant. Initially the idea of this didn't bother me much, but recently my perspective on this has changed because an incident occurred that affected me directly, which caused me to really look at the practice.

I ran a large race recently, one where registration closes almost the same day it opens and one where participants must commit six months in advance of the race. In the weeks before the race, my Facebook and Dailymile running groups were awash with literally dozens of people looking to acquire a bib for the race or to trade a bib from one distance for that of another (i.e marathon to half or vice versa).

This did not bother me particularly. I understood the motivation of most of the runners. Many were injured or ill and not able to run the race or needed to switch distances. Others had not been able to get registered in time but wanted to run the race with a friend or family member. Some had work or family commitments that kept them from the race, but they did not want to see the opportunity go to waste. In fact, I was so unconcerned that I even offered to repost a request from one group to another to help a runner out.

However, my feeling about this changed after the race. I found out that someone I knew who was running on a switched bib had won an age group award. Not only was it not in this person's age group, but it was for the opposite sex!  

I may be dense, but I was stunned by this. It had not occurred to me that someone would actually be taking an age group award away from someone who had probably worked hard to earn one. I felt horrible for the person who had just missed an award because a bib-switcher had taken it. I know how much work goes into getting an award in a large race. It is a huge accomplishment and a huge disappointment to finish one place out of the medals.

Then I started thinking about this even further. This was just one example. I am assuming that most of the people who bought bibs actually finished the race (unlike bandits, who would normally turn off before the finishing chute). How many other finishers in the race had been bumped down a place or two in their age group by someone who was not from that age group and perhaps not even the same sex? 

This puts the practice in a whole different light. It moves it out of the "no one is really being hurt by this" category. It bothers me. Someone asked if I planned to turn the person in. The answer is "no." I have no desire to get this person or the person who gave the second runner the bib into trouble, especially not when I had originally had no problem with the idea (as did the people on my running groups -- no one spoke out against the practice in the comments).

However, I do think this is an issue that deserves some serious thought. On one level, runners need to be more responsible about this issue. If a runner really wants to run the race and needs a bib to get to the start or to not be pulled from the course, then the responsible thing to do is not cross the finish line. I mean, really, what is the point? The runner can't claim the time. Okay, so the runner would not get the finisher's medal, but perhaps that is a sacrifice that needs to be made in recognition that one is breaking race rules to participate.   I believe that runners have an obligation to not do something that directly impacts the other "legitimate" runners in a negative way.

After a lot of thought, though, I think that the real responsibility for addressing this problem lies with the race management. This whole practice happens because some race directors make no arrangements to fairly handle requests related to race changes. Every single one of the people that I talked to who were looking for bibs would have very happily gone through proper channels if that was an option. I think most runners would even be willing to pay the small processing fee that might go along with such a transaction. Most runners do not want to run under a different name and would MUCH rather have a legitimate time for the race that they could claim.

When a race demands that runners commit so far in advance, and when a race closes so quickly that people new to the running scene might not even realize entries were available, then doesn't it seem reasonable to have some process by which people who need to be rid of bibs and people who would like to purchase their spots can get together.

Many races do this. For example, the Pittsburgh Marathon  allows runners to switch from one event to another by paying a fee and allows for bib changes all the way up to race weekend. The fee ranges from $25 to $35 depending on the nature of the switch. The Boilermaker 15k, an extremely popular road race in New York that sold out in 65 days last year for the 14,000 runner cap, this year announced a newly minted transfer policy for this year's race.   The rules related to the transfer were clearly outlined for runners and involved a $10 fee and a transfer date.  Other marathons such as Columbia, SC marathon , the St Louis marathon, and the Steamboat marathon do allow and make arrangements for transferring.

This issue is a controversial one for race directors. According to Runner's World's race director blog, there are several considerations. It does involve more administration: costs must be decided, processes established, and deadlines set. Another issue is that race directors often overbook their races, counting on the no-shows, in a way similar to the airlines. Finally, the question must be settled of who determines who gets the transferred bibs, the race director or the participant.

These are no doubt considerations that race directors would have to address, but none of these seem to be prohibitive. Perhaps this should just be considered one of the elements that needs to be planned for to run a quality race. The "it would be a headache for race directors" argument isn't particularly convincing for me. If they are up to the task of putting on a race with thousands and thousands of participants, they ought to be up to the task of making arrangements for the few hundred who may like to make the event or bib switches. Perhaps they could talk to the directors who do allow transfers to find out what process is used. It obviously is possible. 

While I have no doubt that this might require more work on the part of race directors, I think it is their responsibility to do more to accommodate the needs of the runners. As one of my running friends pointed out, at heart this is really a "customer service" issue. These events are supposed to be for the runners. In the push to make these events bigger and bigger, the needs of the runners are often forgotten in favor of what is easier or more beneficial for the race organizers. The fact that some races are able to allow for this process suggests that it can work IF the race directors are willing to do it.

What do you think about this issue?