Years ago, Uncle Lou gave Anthony some pointers on how to swim and tread water.
When he saw that Anthony was having trouble with it, he dropped this piece of advice on him:
“A man can do whatever he wants.”
Naturally, he meant “whatever he wants” in terms of whatever he sets his mind to do. And while this was my first 10k, his words resonated during the entire run and helped me pull through.
The sold-out race started around 7:30 am with waves of runners leaving every minute and with me being in the 7th wave, it took some time to cross the starting line. But once I got going, I never looked back and the first half breezed by fairly quickly.
I continued and at about Mile 4, I slowed a bit to take some sips of water from the bottles on my hydration belt. I would only take a few two more breaks, one for each remaining mile. By the time I turned the corner and saw the Mile 6 sign, I was pumped.
I crossed the finish line with as much steam as I had in me and, once crossed, was handed my medal and immediately started to sob. It was pretty emotional not only for it being my first 10k but also for the fact that I dedicated the run and medal to Uncle Lou. It seems his words my guidance as I continued to run at a pace that was no doubt one of my best to date even if I dropped a few seconds from miles 4 through 6. The official results:
- Gun – 1:15:14.5
- Chip – 1:05:48.5
- Pace – 10:37
All in all it was fantastic run to be a part of and I look forward to 2014’s event. But the one thing I won’t look forward to is this: bandits.
For those who don’t know, a bandit is someone — not considered a true runner by other runners — who sneaks into an event without paying but reaps the benefits by getting a medal. Keep in mind that running events take a lot of time to put together and benefit a variety of organizations. A bandit is a low-life who not only cheats a paying runner out of their medal but also the beneficiary out of their money. It’s a lose-lose for all involved. Just imagine if your kid finished their first 5k and, thanks to a handful of bandits, all of the medals were gone.
In other words, a thief. Not cool.
But it seems that there were a lot of them at this popular event and one of them even bragged about it on her Instagram feed.
This was posted on the Coaster Run’s Facebook page. Looks like user celisshy isn’t all that shy if she is brash enough to bandit this run then go about bragging about it on Instagram — and tag it #coasterrun. Many runners began to criticize her and, curiously, her feed was soon made private. I hope she felt the guilt of it all, especially knowing she cheated kids out of their medals. The good thing is that the organizers have promised to give medals to those who didn’t get them as soon as they have more made.
Anyhow, I did take some pictures and they can be seen below in what is my first WordPress album ever! Note that these are a combination of photos from my phone, Ann’s phone and Anthony’s Samsung Tab.
And as for Uncle Lou’s words, yes, he was absolutely right. A man can do whatever he wants 🙂
Holographic Meatloaf: The Official Blog of Some Guy Named Dave 
First off , congrats on a well run race. You put in your training and then tested yourself for progress. You are doing fitness correctly
Regarding the bandits. Not cool ! BUT ! not all bandits are bad. Ok so this celisshy chick is scum, I agree. But hear me out on this. Suppose you are a student (or just have low income) , you want to do a race but can’t afford it, these are the bandit laws to follow
1) Never bandit a small mom and pop race. You look for a big races that are corporate and overpriced… Exterras for example and the LA Marathon, because $180 for a marathon is ridiculous and greedy at most that should only cost $80, I paid $42 in 1997 so $80 includes inflation ..
2) you never never ever cross the finish line. You stop one mile before the race ends.
That celishshy chick is not a bandit per this definition, she is just a straight thief.
Oh and I totally disagree with giving medals to everybody, especially in short races like 5Ks and 10Ks. So you finished, whoopie! but you didn’t finish 1st 2nd or 3rd ! not even in your age division, so you don’t deserve a freaking medal ! Kids need to learn this at an early age, they need to work hard for that reward.
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Thanks for the input and the kind words! Now if I may…
Bandits: In your terms it does seem legitimate. No harm, no foul, no medal. However, there are a lot of events I’d like to take part in that I, like many, just don’t have the money for. I have to pick and choose and make sure that the one I’m spending the money on — money that’s hopefully going to a good cause — is one worth doing. If I don’t have the money then I just won’t do it. On that end, yes, many are ridiculously overpriced. Novelty runs like Color Run and Electric Run are way too much for me and you’re mostly paying for ambiance. I’m not even sure I myself would want to do one (although the family seems to want to).
Medals: As someone who sounds like a seasoned runner, you know that we all have to start somewhere. 5k and 10k are not by any means Olympic distances, and I routinely run longer than this on any given weekend. But any given event could be someone’s first run or someone’s last run so commemorating that with a medal seems just no matter where they place. It’s a memento that we can display with pride no matter what the distance. It’s a matter of accomplishment not an “everybody wins” mentality, whether it’s for the guy who at age 44 (me) ran his first 10k since losing 100 pounds and dedicated the run and medal to his uncle, or for the elderly lady who walked the 5k and crossed the finish line the same time I did. Perhaps in time when I do my first half I may agree, but even then I doubt I’d be placing anywhere near my division or overall since this running this is still new and I’m not (ha!). But would have I earned my medal? After years of discipline and commitment to a healthier lifestyle, I certainly think so 🙂
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