Fair Play: Smoking out the bandints
IF YOU’RE a bandit runner, stay away from the Great Lapu-Lapu Run this Sunday.
When I first heard of the No Bandits Allowed rule, I thought the organizers were wrong.
They shouldn’t do that, especially after what happened last year.
But then again, the fact that organizers are extending the deadline for registration gives them the right to implement the rule.
I ran as a bandit a couple of times last year but that was because the runs I joined, ran out of slots and the registration was closed.
It was one of those “Naah, I’ll just register tomorrow things.”
And tomorrow came and went too fast for me.
This year, organizers are also spending a lot of money for the timing chips for the 21K and 10K divisions.
And that, coupled with the usual logistical nightmare of organizing a run of this magnitude, made me turn 180 degrees.
It’s not easy organizing a run and asking people to sign up before running isn’t a bad idea.
They could have jacked up the registration fees but didn’t.
All they’re asking for is for the runners to sign up, and not be freeloaders.
So sign up, will ya?
You have until today.
I am pretty confident that this year’s run is going to be a whole lot better than last year’s.
You know why?
Last year, the organizers (who didn’t include Noy Jopson) promised a lot of things it was like listening to GMA’s Sona.
This year, they’re not promising anything but you can bet your mid-year bonus they’re working hard to make it better.
The timing chips is just one proof of that.
Which brings me to today’s topic.
Smoking out the bandits.
Running is probably the only sport where the salimpusas get to compete with those legit participants. Show up in any basketball, football, badminton game without signing up and not only would you be shooed away, you’d be marked as either crazy or as a freeloader.
The Lapu-Lapu Run organizers say they’ll have 200 cops to help smoke out the bandits, but that won’t do.
Why not:
1.) Have Noy Jopson as their pacer? If they insist on running, then Noy can insist they run with him. If they can keep up on the road, the RP triathlete champ can opt for a brief swim or a long bike ride. (If they can still keep up, I think the organizers should pay for their registration fees, next time)
2.) Use fresh meat? Strap a couple of strips to their shorts, find the meanest pack of dogs and viola, problem solved.
3.) Give them the special bandit route? If Lapu-Lapu will close half the roads for this Sunday’s run, let the Special Ones use the middle part of the open one.
4.) Give them a special award? If despite all that, they’d insist on showing up and finishing the race, then they deserve a medal. They can call it the “Signing up Won’t Kill You” award.
Or they can even call it the Kapalmoks award.
When I first heard of the No Bandits Allowed rule, I thought the organizers were wrong.
They shouldn’t do that, especially after what happened last year.
But then again, the fact that organizers are extending the deadline for registration gives them the right to implement the rule.
I ran as a bandit a couple of times last year but that was because the runs I joined, ran out of slots and the registration was closed.
It was one of those “Naah, I’ll just register tomorrow things.”
And tomorrow came and went too fast for me.
This year, organizers are also spending a lot of money for the timing chips for the 21K and 10K divisions.
And that, coupled with the usual logistical nightmare of organizing a run of this magnitude, made me turn 180 degrees.
It’s not easy organizing a run and asking people to sign up before running isn’t a bad idea.
They could have jacked up the registration fees but didn’t.
All they’re asking for is for the runners to sign up, and not be freeloaders.
So sign up, will ya?
You have until today.
I am pretty confident that this year’s run is going to be a whole lot better than last year’s.
You know why?
Last year, the organizers (who didn’t include Noy Jopson) promised a lot of things it was like listening to GMA’s Sona.
This year, they’re not promising anything but you can bet your mid-year bonus they’re working hard to make it better.
The timing chips is just one proof of that.
Which brings me to today’s topic.
Smoking out the bandits.
Running is probably the only sport where the salimpusas get to compete with those legit participants. Show up in any basketball, football, badminton game without signing up and not only would you be shooed away, you’d be marked as either crazy or as a freeloader.
The Lapu-Lapu Run organizers say they’ll have 200 cops to help smoke out the bandits, but that won’t do.
Why not:
1.) Have Noy Jopson as their pacer? If they insist on running, then Noy can insist they run with him. If they can keep up on the road, the RP triathlete champ can opt for a brief swim or a long bike ride. (If they can still keep up, I think the organizers should pay for their registration fees, next time)
2.) Use fresh meat? Strap a couple of strips to their shorts, find the meanest pack of dogs and viola, problem solved.
3.) Give them the special bandit route? If Lapu-Lapu will close half the roads for this Sunday’s run, let the Special Ones use the middle part of the open one.
4.) Give them a special award? If despite all that, they’d insist on showing up and finishing the race, then they deserve a medal. They can call it the “Signing up Won’t Kill You” award.
Or they can even call it the Kapalmoks award.
Comments
see you later at the run, Sir Mike :)
Were you there Sir Mike? :)
enjoy reading your post. great.