So… it looks like the Treasure Coast wasn’t the only one with a misdirected field…
Here’s the local news coverage of the Woodlands Marathon out in Texas.
As for the Marathon of the Treasure Coast, a quick google search led to the local newspaper revealed comments that I found offensive beyond all comprehension.
Here is a choice choice pull quote:
While runners were confused and upset with the on-course issue, race director Jeanne Brower said participants should have known the course better beforehand. Brower also minimized the number of runners who took the wrong turn.
“Most people went the correct direction and we had signs there, but they were in a pack and (when) we have a couple of people go in the wrong direction, others will follow,” race director Jeanne Brower said. “What’s really important as a runner is to make sure you know your course. We don’t have course marshals at every single intersection, so people should study the course before they come out to run it.
“Most of the elite runners that I talked to about the issue said ‘their mistake; they should’ve known the course.'”
I’m in a mood so take my comments as perhaps in the heat of the moment but as far as I’m concerned, this is a cowardly, buck-passing BS statement from the race director… Particularly so when you read the explanation paragraphs of the news story:
Shortly after the 6:30 a.m. start, issues arose when a police officer directed an event pacer off the course route, according to race officials and runners. The wrong turn caused an unknown number of runners to skip a portion of the race passing through Riverwalk in downtown Stuart.
So let’s be clear here — a POLICE OFFICER directed the lead racers off the course route and yet apparently runners were supposed to defy a public safety official and ignore on course directions because we were obligated to know the course better than anyone else.
Marathon of the Treasure Coast:
