The debate about following
IdrettOpprettet av Jørn Sundby 29 mai, 2008 15:25:37World Of O has once again analyzed the race and looked for runners spending time together in the forest during EOC long distance.
I think the only thing that is 100% clear about "following" is that the longer and more technical the more runners will get together. Easy technical courses with long legs and routechioces at WOC 2006 and 2007 proved to very effective against runners grouping.
But do we really want "running courses"?
Personally I would rather see groups of runners than 90 % path and track running like in Ukraine long final. But most of all I would like to see technically demanding courses without the focus afterwards being on "who was following who".
There is much talk about course setting, but one thing is clear. If the terrain is detailed and technical, groups will be formed.
I think we have two choices:
1. Accept that running together is "a part of the game"
2. Come up with a new rule that forces runners to act individually. In cycling people who are caught must give a gap immediately. Runners who are caught must let the other one go, and if you punch within 10-15 seconds on a number of controls in succession- you should be disqualified. Or some kind of similar rule with the same effect.
Since this debate exploded after WOC in Japan there has been a lot of talk, but no real action, apart from using the butterflies which has no big effect other than destroying the courses and adding controls. Often they have the opposite effect, runners get together instead of being seperated.
If we really believe that following is a big problem on long distance races, then some real measures must be taken to stop it!
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