Unintended consequences

 Black Canyon 100k was just a few weekends ago and the big news with the race (other then the speedy times...) was the snow over night. It's Arizona - snow down near Phoenix isn't a common occurrence. Combined with rain prior to snow and the potential for icy roads, the call was made to delay the start from 7:00 to 9:00. And then it was pushed back another 30 minutes to allow for a late bus to get there. In the post race podcasts, the big story with the delay was the effect it had on the preparations of the pointy end of the field. The runners there trying to win golden tickets and would be finished well before sunset. Every podcast discussed the flexibility needed to adjust breakfast, warm ups and mental prep for the delay. And while that effected everyone, there was one thing that the commentators never even mentioned. It wasn't a factor for anyone they were talking about - and since most of the commentators either are or used to be pro runners - not something they would think about either. 

Darkness.... Two hours is a long time for most runners. How many miles can you cover in two hours during a 100k race? Ten miles, 8 miles, somewhere in that range? So what happens when you have your drop bags with lights at mile 50 because that's when you anticipated having darkness? Now instead of hitting sunset after that aid station and having lights and cold weather gear when you need it, you are ten miles out with no recourse because drop bags have already been delivered. Runners with crews had it a little easier because there was time for the crew to get a light for the mile 31 aid station, but... Not every runner out there had a crew able to help in that manner. Lots of runners were relying on the drop bags for gear they didn't need at the start. Given that the choices for drop bag locations were 32 miles or 50 miles, I'm sure the majority of runners had lights in the 32 mile bag. That would make the most sense to me after racing a 50 mile in AZ two weekends before BC100k. I got a light at mile 40 on principle - but didn't need it. It was however starting to get dusky for a sub 10 hour 50 that started at 7:30. Much slower and I would have needed that light. 

This whole situation was very much unintended consequences. Due to weather factors outside of the race organization's control, the entire flow of the event changed for many runners. Even the third place women in the 100k was finishing in dusk- well after sunset. So that tells you how many people that may not have planned for lights during BC100k at all ended up needing them. The third place woman finished just over 9 hours - so at 6:30. That would have been 4:30 under normal circumstances - well before sunset in Arizona. So everyone that finished between 9 and 11 hours would not have fully planned on using lights and may not have had them in that mile 50 drop bag. That was 60 runners. Now do the math further back in the field - the ones who planned on getting a light at 50 miles since it would take them longer to finish. Assuming 10ish miles in two hours at that area in the field, it's another 100 plus runners. And that's before factoring in the wave starts where some runners weren't starting until 10:00. There's really no way of determining how many people who had lights in the mile 32 drop bag didn't reach that point before darkness. With a 20 hour cutoff, there's a lot of people that may have needed the lights to reach mile 32. Unintended consequences. 

Not saying that all of the issue is solely due to the delay of the race. As a trail runner, I have a small headlamp that I keep in my long run pack. Hopefully some of runners were also thinking like me and had that emergency light with them. Maybe not enough to run fast with, but enough to stay safe making forward progression. But trail runners have a bad habit of carrying the minimum gear needed - hoping light and fast can make up for not having gear. If the race doesn't have a mandatory gear list, people aren't gonna carry it. Even when there is mandatory gear, runners will always try to skirt the rules. I saw that for sure during the Desert Rats race last year where the 50k runners were "required" to have vest, rain coat, emergency blanket and a quarter of the field were just carrying a single hand held bottle. We all need to do better. Races need to account for all runners - not just the speedy ones, and runners need to take accountability for themselves - especially the speedy ones!