Warm Down Etiquette?

aburke

Hi all,

At a race last night, the race director asked us not to warm down using the course.He asked, that as a courtesy to slower finishers, we wouldn't run back against them as they were finishing.

To clarify one thing, this isn't a safety issue. There was plenty of room.
It seems some slower runners were upset to see faster runners doing their warm down, as they were still racing.

Now, I'm no national champion, and I face this at plenty of other races, eg Ballycotton, where the top guys warm down coming back out the course, while I am still finishing.

I wouldn't say it annoys me, and many of them will cheer you on.

But what do others think?
There seems to be a fair mix of speeds on this forum, so it would be good to see a few opinions.

Is there any etiquette that am unaware of?
[I know of track etiquette, and had to research it and try to drill it into the track group I run with once numbers at the track session got pretty big]

Regards
Alan
[Hands-up, I chose not to heed the advice, as the alternative was warming down on the footpath of a major national road, or on a very busy R road.]

rovers_runner

I'd be a middle of the pack runner (jogger/slogger/whichever) so I see a lot of this happening.

While the runners warming down never interfere with anyone I don't understand why they run back down the route they just finished and not straight ahead i.e. the start of the route originally.

You get the odd person looking smug but in the most part people are only jogging lightly.

redved

I can see why some would be annoyed with this.
A lot of the races I do you'll have people warming down against the group. Why can't they go off in the other direction.

I know its not a big thing but all the same it can be slightly discouraging when you're dying on the last mile and theres a group running against you, seemingly without a care in the world.

In Ballycotton theres no alternative, you have to run back down the village so thats fair enough, but in the Phoenix park?

its the small things i guess.

shels4ever

Well i was almost at teh very end of the field in the RTE race this year, Its ok when the leaders are warming down, but in some cases there were groups of 4-5 people coming back down the track... Doesn';t make you feel too good.

But to be honest i dont have a problem with it, i'll jsut remember them and beat them next year.

cfitz

As long as they stay out of the way I think it's acceptable. It gives people a chance to cheer on teammates/friends further back in the race too. In a race with big numbers the organisers might find it a distraction perhaps and want to keep people off the course which is reasonable.

It's natural to try and do what you're used to doing at a race for warm-up/warm-down, but it's understandable that organisers might want to keep people off the course while the race is still on.

While the runners warming down never interfere with anyone I don't understand why they run back down the route they just finished and not straight ahead i.e. the start of the route originally.

I nearly always warm down the opposite way than the direction the race was run. If the race consists of laps, this definitely makes sense.

HardyEustace

aburke wrote: »

Hi all,

At a race last night, the race director asked us not to warm down using the course.He asked, that as a courtesy to slower finishers, we wouldn't run back against them as they were finishing.

To clarify one thing, this isn't a safety issue. There was plenty of room.
It seems some slower runners were upset to see faster runners doing their warm down, as they were still racing.

Alan,
I was at the race last night and I got the impression that it was due to a safety issue, to stop people colliding with each other and keep the road clear at the finish, rather than a "you've hurted my feelings" issue.

RoyMcC

As a slower runner I wouldn't see it as an issue at all.

However there can often be difficulties with recording incoming runners when those that have already finished are in the eyeline of the recorders or - worse, decide to jog alongside their mate/girlfriend whatever towards the line. It can make a difficult job more so.

aburke

RoyMcC wrote: »

However there can often be difficulties with recording incoming runners when those that have already finished are in the eyeline of the recorders or - worse, decide to jog alongside their mate/girlfriend whatever towards the line. It can make a difficult job more so.

Ironically, this is a pet peeve of mine as a race director.
Rest assured I wouldn't do anything that silly!

Squirrel

I'd be one to warm down in the opposite direction to the race. I wouldn't get in the way because that's not on. I do it becasue I'm interested in watching the races. Often the best battles in a race can be for the positions right down the back (wouldn't be top class myself) so the race is interesting to watch.

token56

As a runner who is normally around mid-back of the field I have experienced this plenty but it does not bother me. In fact when I do see people warming down coming towards me it tends to give me a kick up the backside and I try to go a bit faster.

I know when I warm down after a race I always do it opposite to the way I raced. This is just out of habit from doing in training as I always warm down and warm up opposite to way I will be training.