The Great Park City Marathon Injustice of 2011

On Saturday, August 20th, I arose at 3:30 am to prepare for and travel with my brother, Tom, and my sister, Teresa, to Park City for the marathon that would begin at 6:30 am. This was my second of four marathons that I planned to run (and complete) this year.  Why would I run four marathons in a year?  Two of which are just two weeks apart?  Because I am a little crazy, ha ha!  Also because my sister, brother and I signed up to participate in the Utah Grand Slam this year. 

The Utah Grand Slam is organized by Wasatch Running Company, and it is a program in which if you run 4 qualifying Utah Marathons during the calendar year, you will receive an extra medal.
I'm a sucker for extra medals.  So I signed up for it.

We arrived in Park City that morning with plenty of time to make sure we were in the right place, know where the start was located and use the restrooms one last time. 
With about 10 minutes to spare, we went to find the restroom, which was located right off the start in a local hotel lobby, so we waited in the fairly short line...we came out with many runners still around, so we stopped for a "Kodak Moment" then went to start the race.  When we got to the start...there was no big group of runners about to start the race...only the random runners standing around like they had a ton of time to kill.  Not a good sign.

One race volunteer noticed that our number bib showed "Marathon" and they told us the marathoners had started about 10 minutes ago!  Oh no!  So we took off running to try to catch up to the rest of the group.  We ran, and finally mostly caught up to them by the end of the first mile.  At that point, my sister decided to run on ahead.  Tom and I wanted to take our time during this race and the next as to not push ourselves too much before our final race in which we planned to run our hearts out. 

We were averaging about 13 minute miles, as I was struggling a little because of the altitude (crazy!) , the many MANY hills and the wretched runners trots as it is called.  =(  We had passed two runners, and according to Tom's GPS watch, were right on track to finish the race in a little over 6 hours. 
We also had a race volunteer who was the "race cleanup" that would ride pass us, come back, then ride ahead.  He never said much to us, but to tell us who he was and to ask about the runners we had passed.

Now for the injustice. 

A little after mile 15 there was a water stop right before a hill and a 2 mile loop.  As we arrived, being anxious for the upcoming downhill that we knew was coming, the "race cleanup" man was there and said, "hey guys, sorry to tell you, but I have to take your numbers."

WHA!?!?!

Tom and I were perplexed.  What was he talking about? 

He continued to tell us that the race had a cutoff at that water station that if you weren't there by 10:00 am that you had to turn in your number and either 1) finish the race with no number and no finishers time 2) ride back to the start in the "suburban of shame" (as I have titled it).

This is where the ridiculousness is.  They told us we had until 1:30 pm to finish the race, which was in a little more than 2 1/2 hours.  And we had just about 11 miles left to complete the race.  One can EASILY do that in 2 1/2 hours by WALKING.  And the rest of the race was down hill (pretty much).

If we did not finish this race we would not qualify for the Grand Slam, and not get an extra medal (which was the reason for me to do all this running!)

We tried to talk to the two guys there about letting us go.  One was more sympathetic, the other that was not (the race clean up guy - RCUG).  He even pretended to ask his boss about if we could finish the race.  His conversation was as follows:
RCUG: Hello. Uh huh.  Uh huh.  Yeah.  Okay.  Thanks.  Bye.

No question to his boss about us finishing the race.

At this point we were losing time.  I asked them to let Tom go as he is super fast and was just running slower with me.  They conceded to this request and let him go.  The RCUG then rode off and the other guy asked me, "do you really think you can do it?" "YES!!"  I responded.  So he let me go.  So I started running my little heart out because I wanted to finish. 

Not 5 minutes later the RCUG came riding up to me on his bicycle and said, "um, you need to give me your number.  If you want to keep running you can, but I need your number".  I asked if I finished in time without my number if they would give me a qualifying time and he said that because we didn't make it to that table in time, I would not. 

LAME!!! 

So I let them take me back to the start in the "suburban of shame".

This is something that I have never heard of at another marathon.  Even my mother was allowed to finish the St. George Marathon in over 7 hours - and she still received a medal.  Ridiculous!

The guy that was going to let me go, took myself and a couple of other runners to the finish line and took our numbers. 
I called Husband and bawled my eyes out.  The guy returned my number to me as I was sitting there crying.  I could tell he felt horrible about it.

After I composed myself I went to wait at the finish for my sister as I knew she would be finishing fairly soon.

She came in at 5:20:30.  I went by the finish line to cheer her on, then stepped back while she received her medal.  I then called her name and she came over to me, perplexed.  She thought we'd passed her.
I told her what happened and we sat there upset together.  We then went and waited for Tom.  I so wanted to go around the corner and wait for Tom and run in with him (it is not unheard of for family members/friends to finish the race with the runner).  And as I had my number, I was hoping to get a medal that was super cool, and I had paid for and earned it (well, would have, had they let me).  But I kept worrying that some alarm would sound when I went across the finish line or that RCUG would appear and tell everyone I didn't deserve it. 

So I didn't. 

But when Tom came in to the finish, I cheered him on,  then went to hug him in congratulations as he came in at 5:45:19.

We hugged and cried together. 

We then allowed Tom some rest time, then we gathered our stuff and left.

The rest of the day was an emotional one.  One of major injustice.  One that the Park City Marathon will be hearing about.

The next day my sister sent me a text and told me something I did not expect.

I had a finishing time of 5:20:48.

Wha!??!

How I got a finisher's time is beyond me.  I was expecting the horrid.  DNF next to my name. 
Whether my bib registered as I went to congratulate my sister, or the nice race volunteer had compassion on me and gave me a random time, I'll never know.

At this point, although timely feedback is most impactful, I have decided to let my feedback wait.
I'm going to take my finisher's time to the Top of Utah Marathon and the St. George.  And hope that I will get my extra Utah Grand Slam medal.  Once I receive it, then they will be getting my feedback.

But I will not be running another Park City Marathon in the future.  And I ask you to do the same.