I had a great time at the LA Marathon, as I’ve said, Skechers and the city on the other side of the country put on a great weekend of running and even better, a great day of racing.
However, there was one hiccup at the race, and it came in the form of some jackhole stealing my bib.
Here’s what happened.
I was invited to run the race by the team at Skechers and was, for the first time in my race “career,” given a VIP entry.
My original bib (D 7488) wasn’t in the VIP pick up section when I got to the Expo. After rechecking my government issued ID (which everyone has to show in order to get a bib) the kind folks there determined that, for whatever reason my original bib was gone and issued me a new one. Same corral, just a higher number.
No big, right? Just a mix up. It happens.
So I run the race have a grand old time and fly home the next day.
And then I get an email from MarathonFoto, CHECK OUT YOUR RACE PHOTOS! the email implored.
Well, I’m not one to ignore such great marketing so I click the link. (I’ve added the link to the word link in that last sentence in case you missed it. Go ahead and click it, I’ll wait.)
Notice anything?
Now just to be clear, here’s a picture of me (with my son).
And for further clarification, here’s a picture I screenshot off the MarathonFoto site.
And just so you’re sure here’s another photo of me (with Desi and Kara) from the day before the race.
Same person?
No?
EXACTLY!
Who is this guy and what business does he have wearing a bib assigned to me (with access to the VIP sections at both the start and end of the race)?!?
Look, at the end of the day how did this really affect me?
Was I able to run the race? Yes
Were my results affected? No (in fact, the race results page don’t even include bib # 7488)
Do I feel violated in some way? Bet your ass I do.
Who does this guy think he is?
- He willingly and (I can only assume) knowingly picked up and wore another runner’s bib for a race. Major marathon or not, this is stealing.
- He put my participation in said race (for which I flew across the country) in jeopardy.
- And if you’ve paid attention to race directors quoted in articles about banditing (here’s one), he put every other runner’s safety in peril.
While I’m not losing sleep over it, when I stop to think about it I still get angry.
I called the folks at Conqur Endurance Group to see how this could have happened and what they would do about it. The woman I spoke with sounded concerned and asked me to email her details so she could look into it.
That was two and a half weeks ago. They have not responded to an additional email asking for details (and informing them of this pending post).
I guess they have more important things to deal with.
I don’t.
Anyone know who this guy is?
Update, I received a Facebook message from the organizers who have apologized and said they were looking into the matter. I’ll update if I ever hear back from them.
Wearing a hat to help conceal his id…
WOW! That is BALL$. Glad you're not losing sleep over it but for sure I'd be angry too. I feel guilty if I take more than one mint at the diner when I pay for my check. 🙂
Ugh, that really sucks, but I'm glad you still ran it and had fun!! I really do wonder how this happened with all the "checks" they're supposed to do these days. Congrats on the VIP offering though, that's awesome!
This is crazy! I'm glad you were able to run and get a bib and that you're results weren't affected. Honestly with race photos I feel like you can't really get away with banditting because people can see who you are-unless you just wanted to run and don't care about that.
This is all kinds of wrong and I'm sorry it happened to you. I hope Karma finds this jerk and he gets what he deserves. Even better if you get to watch. Bonus points if the race organizers do something about it.
Good luck on your next race!
I would be so pissed. In fact, I am pissed on your behalf. People who feel they are entitled to something that is not theirs is one of the worst sins in my book.
Now to play devil's advocate: I wonder if he was a registered racer and they somehow messed up the bibs…I don't know how that would happen, but since they were ok with giving you a new bib, maybe there was another glitch in the system? I'd love to hear his version, and I really do hope the race is looking into it.
That's so angering! I'm mad for you. I don't understand how people can think this is ok. I hope they get back to you on this and find the guy.
First world problem. Annoying but keep moving forward or u r wasting energy on a loser… congrats on the run!
I'd be more upset about the safety of your fellow runners and spectators with an undocumented runner in the race. It's 2016 and you never know peoples intentions these days. Definitely a security concern for the LA Marathon in my opinion. But sure, it's another concern when you feel your identity is stolen as well. I didn't really like the bib pickup experience at the convention center anyway. It was listed by bib number not by last name and you had the option to look it up on site if you didn't have your phone with you. I hate to blame volunteers (because I love everyone of them) but it looks like someone didn't follow proper procedures.
This really makes me and others angry too by reading this post. I'm wondering if you could contact other people in the his organization and good their emails….this may get action taken….I'm assuming Condor are the peeps who put the race on.