My ankle is still swollen from that darn bee sting. I am such a baby.
There is limited movement down there, so I figured running on it is a bad idea. Looks like it might be going in the right direction, though. Stupid bumble bee.
Hmmmm.... blogging topics? How about the cups/trash situation on the MN-DRS yahoo groups this week?
Basically, the discussion was about how Bonnie and Donnie (the trail sweeps at the end of the Afton races) picked up a lot of cups and gel packs. There was a lot of discussion on how to prevent this, and why it happened.
My two cents:
Have an announcement at the beginning that littering will not be tolerated (once outside of an aidstation, so missing a trash can is okay, as long as you are close).
Littering will result in a DQ from the race. (or punishable by death and/or dismemberment)
I don't think cups are necessary either. If one is so fast as to not carry water, require them to have their own marked cups/bottles which can be left at the aid stations.
I believe these are simple solutions.
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4 comments:
I like the no cups idea, but what do you do about the gel-pack situation?
last year at moose mountain the trail was positively littered with them. they suck to pick up when you see them because then you wind up sticky (not to mention the fact that you've just picked something up from the GROUND which has been in someone's MOUTH).
So mayeb people should carry their own water bottles and a small bottle of gel if they so choose to use it.
I like Allan's "walnuts, salt and water" fueling strategy.
Off to get a Nut Cup!!
It's a tough one. I always carry bottles, but I drink at the aid stations, too. It's frequently the Coke, Heed, and other stuff that I don't carry. I like a little variety and without the cups, it would be more difficult.
The thing with a DQ rule is that no one usually sees the offender. At best, you hope it educates them and makes them think before throwing stuff.
I guess it boils down to the fact that its hard to regulate good manners.
You know my opinion from the drs list. Of course, they could have no aid stations and require runners to carry nothing (strip search at the start!) and see who survives best.
I completely agree that this can be a big problem. I also agree with a pre-race warning and potential DQ.
At the Kettle-Moraine 100k they reminded us at the pre-race breifing that "this isn't one of those races where you throw the cups down on ground after you are done with them." Nevertheless, I saw a couple of people flagrantly violate this.
It is hard enough to find volunteers for ultras, the least we can do is pick up after ourselves and remind those who forget.
Runners who have a problem with this rule should stay on the road where they belong.
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