Maybe - but I prefer races to time trials for many reasons. I also like running in the high fells.Originally Posted by Witton Park
But the point I was making is that some races are so overcrowded that it is possible to play follow-my-leader around much of the course - which could be a bit of a time-bomb safety-wise. Running a Welsh race is like a breath of fresh air - just like running in the 80s used to be. Love it - well worth the travel, and great company too!
OK.. that's great but these races won't last unless people turn up... do you not understand that? Eryri organise a few races to make money for the club and two of them make nothing.. I know there was talk about the feasibility of the Peris..
Rhinogs, poor fields amongst other issues, race lost..
You may like it, but when a pub agrees to host a race they want runners to turn up.. not 15 blokes, 3 old women and 2 dogs..
Got to agree with Math on weird immigrants.. the most insular people in Llanberis are a good chunk of the climbing immigrants..
Agree re follow my leader and the time bomb comment.. but you see it on here.. races seem to offer a safer option than solo running.. which is just a scary attitude...
You make a good point about Rhinogs but as you say, there were other issues. But I don't agree that races won't last if people don't turn up. In the mid-late nineties, race numbers at South Wales races really nose-dived. Absolute classics like Pen Y Fan struggled to get into double figures! But gradually, numbers picked up again and now there is a real problem of overcrowding at some races, Sugar Loaf Winter race being a typical example.
Why did this happen? Who knows for sure but my observation is that the original tranch of 'Running Boom' early 80's competitors faded away a bit leading to a fallow period before the boom in 'adventure racing' started feeding more new blood back into the sport. Which really comes back to Grahams original statement...people who want to race in the great outdoors will discover fell running for themselves without the need for media intrusion.
Oh, and I really don't see why anyone would wring their hands if a race is 'lost'. It can always be restarted again later if interest re-ignites. I bet a pound to a bucket of warm spit that the Rhinog race will eventually be resurrected.
Last edited by Wheeze; 19-06-2012 at 09:50 AM.
Numbers are important. Many races are dependent on at least breaking even and are often done to raise money for a cause and so if running at a loss, it's not sustainable beyond 2 or 3 years.
I do know where you are coming from Rudolph - I haven't go the history in this sport that most have, but I do enjoy just going out and running in the hills on my own.
But when I'm in a race, I like the crack, I do enjoy a bit of a buzz that you get from being in a big field such as the PPP or Anniversary Waltz and Dave Woodhead's Auld Lang Syne was great fun.
Orienteering races are not a time trials! They are races! Obviously you've never done one. You just can't follow a marked course/the person in front.Maybe - but I prefer races to time trials for many reasons. I also like running in the high fells.
True, you don't tend to run as flat out as you do in a fell race, but the extra mental discipline required to navigate and run as fast as you can mitigates this fact.
And you've obviously never done an Orienteering event on the fells. One of my recent races was on the fells above Kilnsey. Events like this could quite easily claim to be more closely allied to the "original fell running" than most fell races these days, since the vast majority of races now follow paths/known routes - orienteering races cover the whole fell...
WP, have been an RO? I have and still help out at a couple. You don't need a big income if you pare everything to a minimum. You adjust your cloth to suit the event. Raising money for a cause is a side issue that should not determine whether a race has sustainability or not.
Loughrigg-Silverhowe - £3 to enter, tea and soup at the end, a couple of bits of tape stuck in the ground to mark the finish and about 50 people ran. One of the best races I've done. Results still aren't out, but not to worry. (If only they'd had dibbers...)
Blencathra.. £1.50. superb.
UTMB £100 superb.
Boston Marathon £150 Superb.
Entry price means nothing as long as you enjoy the race, but I can honestly say that the UTMB and the marathon left you feeling like you'd ran a well organised, value for money race..
Best race I ever did was Pen Cerrig Calch.. 6 hrs of driving for 12 minutes run up a wet field and back.. sure beats the Ben, Snowdon, Scafell and all the rest..
You pays yer money and takes yer choice. Personally would never spend anything like £100 for a race...just can't see the point. It's not that important!
When a race is called off due to adverse weather its tough as I'm sure many more people found at W1000M or Carneddau this year. Always got the option of running the route unofficially.
I can't see how you can say that without experiencing it? You are missing out in some incredible events.. 3 peaks yacht race, UTMB, Boston.. 3 of the best experiences I've had.. I'd rather pay £100, £1/mile for a full UTMB than £5 for a shortened Peris or such like at 30p/mile...
If a race is called off for sufficient reasons, Carneddau falls into that, fine.. if its called off for mild rain.. I'd be pissed.. People did the 3000ers/paddy Buckley challenges that same time..
Why should runners who enjoy the challenge of navigating quickly in a race and being out in less than perfect weather because the RO is worried about runners who can't navigate.. I don't buy the marshalls excuse.. even the FRA recommend tents.. I've marshalled in bad weather, people do it all night in the HPM..
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