debbie downer post

I hate being negative, but I wanted to share my review I posted on Runner's World about today's race. For context, refer to the facebook page.

I hate writing negative reviews, so I'm going to try to be as positive as possible (but it may be hard). Traffic delays? sure. Parking issues? sure. Delayed starts? sure. These issues are sometimes unavoidable (especially around DC). But the situation this morning was out of control. Hearing about the 'terrible accident' that wasn't frankly left a bad taste in my mouth. And that's all I'll say about that. (For the record, traffic/parking/shuttle from the Raceway seemed to go pretty smoothly. Though for all the fuss about parking, noone bothered to check our parking pass...) But did anyone at RAM actually run this course before it was finalized? So dangerous in spots, and I truly question whether runners' safety was on their mind at all. On the out and back section there were runners running INTO oncoming traffic, with not a volunteer or race official in sight to direct them otherwise. I've seen this type of setup in other races, where the course is semi-open to traffic, but the density of participants and lack of officials in the space we were given made this especially dangerous. I hate to think what would have happened if someone had gotten seriously hurt. The path along the water was way too small to accommodate this race. Except for one small sign that I saw, there was no heads-up about the narrow tunnel/curb down combo. This was late in the race with lots of tired legs on unstable gravel. Things could have gotten very dangerous around there very quickly. A few more volunteers to alert runners of the obstacles ahead would have been much appreciated. The volunteers I did see were very upbeat and friendly (there just needed to be more of them!) In addition, the mile markers were very visible, and the water stations seemed to be keeping up with the mass of runners (thanks again to the hard working volunteers!). The chocolate was appreciated at the end but I heard of friends who didn't get any. I would have appreciated more recovery-specific food as well. (glad I had an extra banana with me, but I am pretty particular about my race-day nutrition.)It was a beautiful morning once I warmed up, and I started in a corral so I was able to run a decent time. This saved my morning, with little thanks to the organizers or the touted perks of the race. I wish I had more positive things to say. Unless I hear of drastic changes being made, I probably won't do one of these again.


Other points that I initially left out but RW wouldn't let me post (probably only one per username per race):
Two other issues I forgot to mention- The staging area was already set up with corrals. I understand that there was already a delayed start, but why wasn't the start staggered so that not everyone started at once? This would have improved the run experience, and was something easy to do as the setup was already in place. Also, there needed to be more volunteers at the finish to get spectators and finished runners to move aside. There's nothing worse than coming to a dead stop after a race, considering there was so much space in that parking lot being underutilized. The water should not have been distributed where it was! I really hope the organizers read this page and take into account the many constructive comments being posted. Some of these suggestions are simple. I was hoping for more from this company considering their experience with races of this scale and positive reviews from my friends who have ran the Chicago race.

p.s. I wish I could take credit for this masterful summary. I took a similar stance on viewing it as 'an adventure.' At first I was upset that I forgot my usual music. But it actually was quite entertaining to be tuned into the comments of the people around me. I also have to say I enjoyed seeing many many people I knew at this race, including DC Tri and NTP peeps! A nice surprise and a good side effect of a large crowd, I guess.

p.p.s. For what it's worth: 9.3mi, 1:31:56, 9:52/mi (on what I'm now reading might have been a short course- UGH. Again? I know DC real estate is expensive, but geez.)