Jeremy Doherty, the RD of Mogollon Monster, posted this about his decision to cancel the race. It’s worth the read.

Read more and the comments at www.mogollonmonster100.com.

I was really surprised at the anger and rudeness directed at Jeremy from some of the runners arriving at mile 51. Jeremy had spent a good two hours at that point considering the impact of the weather on the trail and surrounding roads and gathering information about the lightning hazard that the aid station volunteers and the runners on the Rim were experiencing. He worked hard to gauge the likelihood of flash floods and continued lightning strikes and to evaluate the consequences of those hazards for the almost 80 runners on the course — and who would continue to be on the course for hours to come — in the dark. None of the angry and rude runners had knowledge of the big picture — road conditions for their crews, trail conditions ahead, volunteer safety status — whether rescue would be able to respond if an emergency occurred. Their behavior was arrogant and just obnoxious. Certainly there’s room for people to come to different conclusions when they evaluate hazards, but an assessment based on incomplete information is useless. And I think it’s unrealistic to think a RD is going to have time to explain all the factors that went into their decision-making while they’re trying to safely evacuate runners from a 1oo-mile course. I also think it’s unrealistic to expect that there wouldn’t be any miscommunication in a situation like that with volunteers and runners so spread out. Right? I think a good number of the angry runners were trying to qualify for Hardrock, and I understand the frustration and disappointment.

But it’s not just about you — and your abilities.

I do think there is an issue with novice trail runners being unprepared for environmental conditions, and the potential that creates for experienced outdoors people to be “penalized” as RD’s look to mitigate hazards. There were runners on the course on Saturday who were hypothermic because they didn’t have good rain gear. There were also a number of runners who didn’t have headlamps when night fell. I can see how mandatory gear could become necessary as the sport continues to grow. “Show me your headlamp and your large trash bag.”

Anyway, I hope the runners who appreciate Jeremy’s consideration for their safety send him a note. He certainly had nothing to gain by canceling a race he’d been working to put on all year.