On behalf of my fellow “back of the pack” runners, also known as the fat runners, the slow runners, the beginner runners, and the walkers, I have a message to deliver.

To the Race Directors whose races ran out of water, removed the mile markers and time mats early, and/or ran out of medals.

Fuck you!

Fight me.

I started running in 2012 and races were not friendly to bigger, slower runners like me. And it hasn’t gotten any better since.

As a back of the pack runner, I still feel neglected and disrespected. I’m tired of it and I want my money back.

And I’m not the only one that feels this way. Thousands of back of the pack runners have experienced the same and discuss it on social media. I even know some who have reached out to race directors and told them about the experiences they’ve had. But it keeps happening: year after year, race after race.

And it’s unacceptable. So I’m putting you on notice.

Why is it acceptable for you to take my hard-earned green money and not treat me with the same dignity, respect, and care as the elite runners? I’m not Meb Keflezighi (far from him) but I put my running shoes on one foot at a time just like him. I trained for this race just like him. I showed up to the starting line just like him. However, when the gun goes off we are treated totally different.

At this point, I imagine you’re clutching your lanyard wondering, “Whatever are you talking about?” I’m about to tell you.

When us slow runners sign up for your race, you promised that you will have water at designated mile markers. Yet by the time I get to those mile markers, the water tables are flipped over and there is no water to be found.

You promised that our race will be timed, but you take down the time mats and mile markers before we get there.

You promise us finisher medals, but when we cross the finish line you’re fresh out.

What it all boils down to is this: you didn’t hold up your end of the deal. You broke your promises to us. And so we want our money back!

But since the races were run, and we’re not getting any refunds, instead we’d settle for a little compassion and attention to the following demands.

Demand #1: Leave the damn water stations up!

And if the water stations absolutely must be broken down, please leave a water cooler there with cups.

Since I started running in 2012, I’ve brought a hydration pack to just about every race over a 10K. I bring a hydration pack because your race will either run out of water or run out of cups before I’m halfway done.

I remember one half marathon I ran ended up being on the hottest day of the summer. It was so hot that the fire department was called to spray the runners down with water. I was at the 10K marker of the half marathon and they ran out of cups. So I had a choice to make:

Use a cup on the ground and pray that I don’t get mono or herpes. Ask the volunteer to pour the water into my mouth. Or I could skip that water station and pray that the next water station had cups and water.

None of these is a great solution, especially considering I paid good goddamn money to run that race just like everyone else.

Race directors: you know the back of the pack is still on your course. We need and deserve water as well. We paid for these life-saving courtesies in our race fees. We should not have to bring our own hydration to a race because you failed to provide it. Do better!

Demand #2: Leave the damn time mats down!

Imagine your spouse is running a marathon and you are waiting for them at the finish line. You are using the live-tracking app to following them along the race. You see your spouse just crossed the 10-mile marker and the next marker is at mile 12.

However, the race has started removing the time mats. You wait and wait and wait, frantically refreshing the live-tracking app but it only shows the time when they crossed the mile 10 marker.

So you call your spouse to check in on them but their phone is dead. Now you’re really worried. Minutes turn into hours. You’re checking each injury van to see if your spouse is there but they’re not. You can only hope that they are still running the race.

Eventually, your spouse finishes the marathon in 6 hours 45 minutes, 15 minutes before the cut-off. Do you know how nerve-wracking that is? This is more common than you think and it’s not fair!

Nine out of ten times, back of the packers are running races by themselves and we have family and friends waiting on us either at the finish line and/or at home. If you prematurely remove the time mats before we can cross them our family and friends worry because they don’t know if we are still running the race, or if we got hurt or lost. Most of the time our phones die during the race and the race tracking system may be the only form of communication our family and friends have to make sure that we are still on the course.

Race directors: it’s not fair for the back of the pack to go through this. Do better!

Demand #3: Don’t take down mile markers and signs!

Photo Credit: Latoya Shauntay Snell

First, it’s outright dangerous and second, it’s just cruel.

On the 300 Pounds and Running Podcast, I interviewed Tekia Dinwiddie who decided to train for the St. Jude Memphis Half Marathon after her son, who is a patient at St. Jude, encouraged her to do so.

Around mile 7 the race marshals had taken down the mile markers and signs. As a result, Tekia made a wrong turn and got lost in Memphis. Her phone had died, she didn’t have any money on her, and she ended up in an unsafe neighborhood that she did not know. Lost and afraid, Tekia broke down and cried.

Eventually, she saw someone wearing a race medal and asked them how to get to the finish line. When it was all said and done Tekia ran 18 miles instead of 13.1. Race directors this is unacceptable! Taking down mile markers and signs is disrespectful. I bet if you took down a mile marker and signs while Meb was running your race you wouldn’t have a race anymore, but since it’s a no-name person from the back of the pack it’s okay?

Race directors: Unless you actually want the murder of a back of the pack runner on your conscience because they got lost and ended up in the wrong place, do better!

Demand #4: Gimme my damn medal!

For most of us, running a race is the hardest physical thing that we have ever done in our lives. We trained months for race day. We have done something that elite runner won’t do and that’s run a race without water, where it’s a scavenger hunt to the finish line with the time mats and mile markers are removed.

Our family and friends are worried about us because they can’t track us. We’re fighting with the internal voice in our head that’s telling us to quit and the guy who’s driving the injury van is being an asshole saying that we should quit too.

In spite of all of this, we get to the finish line and there’s fucking a crane in the middle of the road taking it down. But still, we press on and when we finish the race, in spite of all of this, one of your volunteers nonchalantly tells us, “Oh we’re out of medals, you should have finished sooner”.

Imma keep it 100 with you: if I wasn’t so tired from running that race, I would punch that volunteer square in the face.

We finished this race in the allotted time, in spite of everything mentioned above and you have to the nerve to fix your mouth to tell us that we should have finished sooner to get the medal that we already paid for?!? GTFOH!

This type shit is why back of the packers quit. As a fat athlete, I am constantly disappointed. Stores don’t have my sizes, I get weird looks when I run, I’m categorized as lazy, and when I finally push myself out of my comfort zone, I’m still told that I’m not good enough. What type of fat shaming back of the pack hating witchcraft is that?

You may be thinking, “it’s just a medal, we’ll mail you one later!” FUCK THAT!

I can’t speak for the rest of the runners, but for the back of the pack the medal is more than a medal. It’s a badge of accomplishment to show and prove to ourselves that we went to war with the road and we conquered in spite of everything that we went through on that day. It’s what we have to show for beating the odds.

When you don’t have our medal, what could have been a joyous moment, a buoyant moment that propels us further into a passion for fitness and health, becomes yet another disappointment in a history of disappointments that each and every fat person goes through over the course of their lives.

Not to mention the fact that you took our money, wasted our time, and gave us nothing in return.

Us back of the pack runners love your races. We love the challenge and the environment. We love running, and the opportunity to have a tangible symbol of our progress. For me, running not only changed my life, it saved it.

And I know so many other people who feel the same way. So many, in fact, that I’ve spent the past year and some change podcasting to document their stories. So when I put out the call for back-of-pack race stories I was overwhelmed with experiences like the ones I’ve outlined above. This all boils down to one essential fact.

Ya’ll need to do better.

The back of the pack is an emerging demographic in the running community and you need to be more inclusive to it. As stated before, we all put our running shoes one foot at a time just like Meb and we should get the same respect as he gets.

We expect you’ll take our demands seriously. Because we won’t keep supporting your races forever if you don’t.

Martinus Evans

Unofficial Ambassador of the Back of the Pack

300poundsandrunning.com

PS. And if you think I’m just one person, think again. Here’s proof:

To Whom it May Concern: My name is Latoya Shauntay Snell and I have been a self-proclaimed back of the pack runner for 4 1/2 years. When I started my fitness journey – particularly running – I felt like I reinvigorated a part of myself that I didn’t think I could tap. In 2011, I was diagnosed with sciatica, a herniated disc, over 20 fibroids and lost my job in the culinary industry due to a limitation in my mobility. Running added on a layer to my life more than many may understand. When you are stripped of your mobility, it takes away your sense of independence and at times, your joy to life. I am a fairly plus size woman and not exactly the speedier of the bunch but the joy of being on the road, fast or slow, moves me. Just last year, I was heckled at the NYC marathon by a spectator who thought it was funny to poke fun of me about my size — and he had no idea that I just recovered from a miscarriage with twins and diagnosed with endometriosis. My already slower pace made me slower. Thankfully the NYC marathon has made it a point to stay out there with the back of the pack runners. Unfortunately, I didn’t experience a similar joy this year at my beloved Chicago Marathon. I had a SAG vehicle behind me from mile one despite maintaining a 15 minute pace — and I was far from the last runner on the course. This was an exceptionally new experience for me. Even as I sped up, it was as if I couldn’t shake the police escort. By 3:22, I reached the halfway point and I was greeted by several garbage trucks that took up both lanes, the SAG vehicle, and tables being turned over that once housed water and sodium hydration. I get it — courses have limits on times and the streets have to reopen. But isn’t there a better alternative to provide? Have you considered leaving up one table on the sidewalk with an extra incentive to a few volunteers to stay? Or instead of dumping all of that water, allowing a few gallons to stay off to the side? When I watched people pull off mile markers prematurely, it made me feel like last year’s heckler’s remarks were validated. Taking away basic things that means a lot to us so late into the race but near a finish line makes me question if anyone cares about our finish as much as the elites. It’s a staccato taste that covers your mouth when you reach a finish line and your bags are suddenly lost/misplaced after running through the rain for 7 hours. That was my experience and yet I feel for those who may share this but as a first timer. At some point, where’s the concern for the slower runners. I’d be sure that some of us would be willing to pay an extra 5 to 10.00 in race fees just to ensure that we can make it across the finish line too. But again, I question if we truly matter. At one race, I remember running my first 60K just to NOT come home with a medal because they ran out. As race directors, I urge you to listen to some of the needs beyond sponsorships. Back of the pack runners are runners too. I ask for you to do better. Sincerely, Latoya Shauntay Snell

Food and Fitness Blogger

Running Fat Chef

Love Run (3/25/18) they had pulled up all the timer Mats and all the volunteers left. The Philly police were trying to sweep runners off the course and onto the sidewalks but these were blocked by fallen trees from a recent snowstorm/nor’easter that had come through a few days before. Plus, the vibe of the entire Run was bad. I had never felt that in any other run I have ever done in Philly. I will NEVER do the Love Run again. –Lauren D. NYC half marathon a few years ago. Horrible cold that day. Water tables flipped over, barriers being removed, found our own way to the finish line. –Sherrie F. ran the Pasadena Half Marathon in 2013. I finished in 2:25, which I believe is pretty much middle of the pack. Nonetheless, during the second half of the race, the aid stations were already out of water and weren’t making any effort to get any more water. It was very warm–in the high 80s. It really gave me an appreciation for what slower runners go through. It’s totally bogus because our race fees go towards the finish line amenities, and all amenities should be available for all finishers. –Keriann E.

How you ever had a bad Back of the Pack experience i.e, water table flipped over, the race ran out of water, time mats and mile markers removed, ran out of medals or food at the finish line? If so, share with me your story in the comments below. It’s time to put these race directors on notice. If you believe in fair treatment for all runners please share this post on social media!