Runners contributing to road racing confusion

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33959, 27 September 1975, Page 4

Runners contributing to road racing confusion

(By

JOHN DREW)

Race officials called upon to control fields of record size in both road and cross-country events are finding their job increasingly difficult this year.

They are also finding their frequently thankless job is being made increasingly difficult through lack of sensible co-operation from the runners themselves. The big annual Kaiapoi-

to-Christchurch inter-club road race was an event in which failure of runners to observe elementary regulations contributed to some hilarious confusions. And some troublesome ones. As late as 24 hours after the race ended, some results stewards were still unable to say who was the second place getter and whether the runner was a man or a woman.

Some runners completed the course in good time but did not run through the chute. At least one who ran a hard official race, went through the chute unnoticed and did not get a time. Cars, supporters, girl friends, bystanders, small boys on bikes and club officials as well as the frantic press of runners all added to the confused excitement at the finish of the race.

The chief judge, Mr Warwick Graham. has been strongly critical of anomalies which made more difficult the duties of officials of the Presbyterian Harrier club in this race.

Years ago with only a handful of competitors compared with todays big fields, officials knew most competitors by sight and identification at the finish of races was no problem, said Mr Graham. Now in the helter-skelter rush through the chute at the end of big handicap events, officials need every possible assistance, including correct numberings and -club uniforms, to sort out who is who. “Being an official in a big race is a thankless job; not all officials are keen or competent to do it and now with the extra numbers running it is high time the rules were tightened up all round,” said Mr Graham. With so many' new runners crowding through the finishing chute in a big event like the “Kaiapoi”, it was difficult enough for officials to accurately record placings even when runners were wearing correct club uniforms and race numbers. But on Saturday many of them were not, "he said. Some inconsiderate runners removed their T-shirts during the race and with them club colours and their identification numbers.

This added to the confusion at tba finish and it

was to the credit of the Presbyterian club that five such offenders were disqualified. Mr Graham was critical of some who ran the distance unoffically and illegally acted as pace makers for bona fide competitors during the race.

Some who were officially entered did not start in some cases because of dissatisfaction with bad handicapping. Some of these ran part of the distance after joining in after the start and rather like riderless horses, added to the confusion at the finish. Numbers of runners pleading for late entries shortly before the start added to the last minute harassment of both officials and handicappers. Some of these added to the problem of identification at the finish by running without race numbers. Several did not wear registration numbers which could help officials at the finish.

One late entry' without a race number was the winner, Kevin Barnes. In his case, there was no identification problem because he won by such a margin that officials had plenty of time to discover who he was. This was no reflection on Barnes, who ran an exceptionally fine race. Whether he should have been let in at the last minute is a different question.

With all these difficulties to cope with, it was perhaps excusable that some officials were confused about Saturday’s major placings.

As late as 24 hours afterwards, the race marshal and the race secretary continued to insist that the second place getter was M. Fraser, whose time they confidently declared to be 72min. 20sec.

The race secretary assumed that M Fraser was a male and was surprised to be told that there were four women starters in the race. Yet there .was little resemblance between the slim woman runner, Margaret Fraser, and the actual second place getter, the tall, muscular, 13 stone Canterbury rowing representative, Ray 7 Flanagan. Even so it took a good deal to persuade some officials to reluctantly concede as late as Sunday! afternoon that Flanagan was second or that Fraser was, in fact a woman runner, and that so far from coning second, her actual placing was 103rd, 1