The returning runner…
Act 39 – A course-marking hack…
Eyeballing the competition, I was pretty sure this wasn’t a 5k I was going to win. A couple of much younger runners looked to be in great shape… Well, that was good – I didn’t need to pay too close of attention to the course route as I would be following someone. Just before the start, the meet director rattled off machine-gun style verbal course directions. The local street names had little meaning to me anyhow. Besides I would be ok following someone.
Heading into mile 3 the course turned down Main Street and the route for the upcoming parade. The third-place runner was a blurry blob due to my sweat-filled eyes in combination with the background of a gathering parade-route crowd. I had spotted the first three kilometer distance makers. I thought it was kind of cute that they had the distances marked in kilometers. Don’t see that often. Only thing was, the kilometer signs were on what looked like 3x5 cards. They were small! I didn’t see the “4k” sign – likely obscured by the crowd. My watch was showing the distance covered but I wasn’t trusting that too much. In the past year, I’ve run small local 5ks that were actually between 2.7 and 3.8 miles. I passed one of the parade route workers who seemed to be adjusting a barricade off to the side. The crowd was still cheering me on. The last mile felt awfully long. But it always did…Up ahead barricades blocked my route. Ok, this was it, finally turning off Main Street toward the park and the finish. Yep, after making the turn grass beckoned ahead. Wait, that’s not the park it’s a school! I started asking directions – finally trotting into the 5k finish with the 9min/mile runners and having completed 5 miles. Pretty sure the guy that had his back to me and was adjusting a barricade was the guy that was supposed to direct me toward the finish. I probably turned sideways and he didn’t see me coming…
Sure, all the big races are well marked and really hard to make a wrong turn on. But, if you are like me and jump into quite a few small races, you are going to see some courses that aren’t well marked and prone to having people get off course (not just me). In one race I was in earlier this year, the first 20 runners went one direction around a loop and the next several hundred went the other!
Some Course Marking Problems
· Trying to mark the route just with ribbons on trees - this can be a good idea where trying maintain the pristine appearance as once the ribbons are removed the aesthetics are restored. But, frequently the tree locations don’t fully cooperate. Runners are tired and running with their heads down at times and can easily miss a ribbon on a tree that is off to the side a bit.
· Micro signage or signage that falls over – pretend you are out pursuing the local garage sales. Would the intent of the sign be clear to a tired runner with sweat running into their eyes?
· Trying to mark the route with chalk/lime/gypsum by pouring from a bag – Ok, I’ve actually seen this. The result is too much marker in one spot but insufficient markings in many other locations. It is too brutally physically hard to keep bending over to create a marking and impossible to get the runner’s perspective of the course.
The Course Marking Solution!
In the mid-1950’s my dad, Bill Gookin, founded the longest-running San Diego race – the Balboa Park 8 mile (which is still going today after 71 years). He also founded the Mission Bay Marathon and was instrumental in planning for many other San Diego area races. He developed a system (witnessed by his kids on many occasions) that ensured a well-marked course:
· He marked the course from a runner’s perspective – actually running the course route rather than attempting to drive to questionable locations identified on a map.
· He used a simple, home-made, device that allowed him to readily dispense chalk, lime (dad usually used lime), or gypsum as needed to create arrows at critical locations and to apply reassuring “dashes” along extended straight stretches.
Graphic: A schematic of Bill Gookin’s course marking device. Pass along to a meet director…