Turkey Bandit

Check out image no. 7826 on the photo link. My husband said she ducked under the tape about 10 yards into the finish chute and booked! There are always a few in every race.
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Permalink Reply by dog on December 3, 2009 at 9:54am: Someone can correct me if wrong, but some RRRC events do not include police pressence, like the Huguenot 3 Miler, Bear Creek runs, etc. where there is no traffic involved. And I question whether most law enforcement would get involved in this issue unless RRRC pressed it. Also don't like the suggestion police might make a disorderly conduct charge which they would later drop just to get an arrest, unless such charge did apply? I did not study law but I did stay in a Motel 6 last night!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Stephanie M. on December 3, 2009 at 11:22am: Dog, you're right...race banditing does NOT qualify as disorderly conduct. Whether a charge is dismissed or the penalty is small is a Court matter and is not the point of this discussion/debate. Ashland Dave is a police officer, and his statements on probable cause for an arrest and how a warrant is obtained are most accurate. I think this is a situation that does not warrant police intervention. I think it should be handled within the club. I do find the various points of view to be interesting and have enjoyed the discussion!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ed Carmines on December 3, 2009 at 12:34pm: I was thinking we could advertise a special award for the first bandit. Possibly a toilet seat with BANDIT printed on it!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Joseph Ryan on December 3, 2009 at 7:23pm: I like the photographic coverage most of all. That would be the ultimate public humiliation. And I care so much about it that I'd volunteer to take the picture.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Joseph Ryan on December 4, 2009 at 10:47pm: Dog: if someone commits a crime, breaks the law, etc. the police will get involved. They don't act solely on opinion. They act on whether a law was broken or not. And I must ask, Did you pay for that nights stay in that Motel 6 or did you pull a bandit on them????; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Daniel Cunnane on December 4, 2009 at 5:21pm: I'm not a law enforcement expert either. I was just guessing honestly. I've been watching too much Law and Order recently! (And obviously I haven't been to a Motel 6 recently either!); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Daniel Cunnane on December 4, 2009 at 5:26pm: Ed: That plan is funny. But it might backfire. And the backfire likely would not be a reduction in bandits!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jeff Frankart on December 9, 2009 at 9:07am: I bandit-ing a race is not stealing, then the same could be said for travel - the plane is going to Atlanta anyway, so if I just hide on board, I'm not really stealing anything. As long as i don't take a beverage or a bag of peanuts, I'm not really stealing.
Or going to a concert, show, or play. The artist is going to be on stage singing that song or performing that routine or whatever it is.

No....it's stealing! The club is incurring expenses to execute this event. Not paying and taking part in it is stealing.

Rules need to be enforced, not just for bandits, but for all race participants. If you need an ipod to run, then don't sign up for races where ipods are prohibited. It's that simple.
While I'm on my soapbox, I'm going to talk about seeding - something else that needs enforcement. Sign up for the appropriate wave and run in it. I realize not everyone will know what their appropriate wave will be when they register. Training might go better or worse than they expected. You can always move back though. Start in the wave that is appropriate for your expected time on that day. I've started races in a wave appropriate to run 8 minute miles and passed people walking in the first mile. Now, walking is fine. I have nothing against that, but it's simply not appropriate in that wave. To me, it's like driving 10 mph below the speed limit in the left lane on the interstate.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by dog on December 9, 2009 at 9:23am: Simple - Cost or efforts required for enforcement vs. benefit.

Jaywalking and driving 56 in a 55 mph zone are illegal. Your airplane comparison is a little simplified. Question: What if I run on my neighborhood street daily, (my tax monies actually go to pay for roads amenities there, unlike someone from out of town.) So now a run events is scheduled on my run route. If I am out there for my usual run am I banditing? Or do I have to start and/or finish with the others to be a bandit?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dana on December 9, 2009 at 10:42pm: From Mark Remy and the editors of Runner's World magazine, there is book out called "The Runner's Rule Book", that addresses bandits, and Facebook posted this:
Runner's Rule Book" rule of the day: 2.1 Pay your way. Bandit a race, and you're stealing, pure and simple. Running is free. Racing is not."

Here is a link to Remy's blog post about banditing.
http://dailyviews.runnersworld.com/2008/04/bandits-good-ba.html; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Run Happy on December 10, 2009 at 4:41pm: To me banditting (sp) means a person that intentionally runs a race with out paying.

I think this has been a really good discussion. Can we realistically stop all bandits? Not likely, but we can sure make it known that we do NOT approve and if caught the bandit could be prohibited from running other RRRC races. Not that this will really bother a bandit much. (maybe it could also apply to Sportsbackers events?)

Pacers - I think it is great you are willing to sacrifice your race to help another. Just please officially sign up for the race. Remember there is still a liability issue.

Another issue - some races have special permits that only allow X number of runners. If the race exceeds the permitted number then that race may not be granted a permit the next year. Think Cherry Blossom. Think races run on national park property.

So while bandits seem harmless, not only do they mess up finish line results, but they pose a liability issue, and a race's ability to obtain race permits.; ▶ Reply to This