The checkpoint could've been mistaken and told you wrong. You weren't racing for a podium spot and even if you were you need to HTFU and run your race

Ditto above. Unless you had other information that there were only 5 people in front of you, or had multiple checkpoints share the same number, then you have to assume human error reporting at one of the two checkpoints.

Lesson learned. Run your race. Challenge yourself. Forget about who else is there.

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http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com

I don't get it. The difference between 6 and 7th ain't much. Why let someone else ruin you day. Not knowing the course someone could have made an honest mistake.

I friend of mine was winning a marathon with about a thousand people in it and lost because the lead bicycle made a wrong turn. They/he realized the mistake and he lost a few minutes. He tried to get back in first though.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

Wow, I would have been over the moon to be in the top 10. Run your race, and let the timing folks and race director sort it out. I've been in hundreds of races, and many times, well meaning folks have tried to tell participants what "place" they were in. Only to be wrong. I'm sure I've been beaten by cheaters, but they have to live with it, not me. It's never effected knocking me off a podium, or out of prize money, so I've never worried about it.

It's similar to racing in a triathlon, and having a draft pack on the bike, come flying past you. It would be so easy to suck in and cheat. But screw that. I'd rather cross the finish line with a clean race and a clean conscious. In this respect, I've been beaten by more cheaters than I could count, in just one race. And feel great about it.

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Athlinks / Strava

I'd probably be really pissed. Likely to scream at the ref / race director, and complain they hadn't done their job properly. I'd be likely to shout at the people that had told me the 5th place, probably demand their mobile phones to be submitted in evidence. I'd definitely wander around a the finish, try to find the 5 people that finished infront, see if I could work out which is the scum that cheated me.

And 100% without doubt I'd be on Strava matching the times / routes to prove who diddled me out the rightful position. If none of that worked I'd try flushing them out with an old fashioned witch hunt using an anonymous name on an international forum that can always be counted on to over-react to literally anything triathlon related.

And this is why I now only really race once a year at IM distance as I am a giant cock about this stuff, in a way that's embarrassing to both myself and all that know me. I then spend the next 3 months in a depressed state too guilty to leave my house. So for me then instead of putting myself and others in that position I now referee and volunteer most of the year, and save the red-mist for the decreasingly rare outdoor rides that inevitably involve close encounters with drivers being dicks.

Note that I've only used pink on that one bit above as to be fair the rest is all depressingly true. But does respond directly and honestly to your question.

Congrats on getting out there and pursuing a worthy objective with your training. Knocking out a 50 miler is always an achievement. I hope you still enjoyed the day and reflect on the merits of what you did achieve and the experience of the ultra in general.

So, if someone "passed" you between those two aid stations, they must have "passed" the two runners who you trailed into the 63km aid station as well. Surely if those runners share your concerns it would be a pretty easy for the RD to sort out.

Unless it's something you're prepared to take up with the RD, take the day as a learning experience:

• Race your own race. Control what you can control.
• You're best effort and best performance will always ensure your best placing and best finishing time.
• Race volunteers are well-meaning and generously give up their day to allow you to indulge in what you enjoy. Always be gracious and appreciate them and their efforts.
  
• Volunteers, support crews and race organisers are all fallible. Just as we are as athletes. When we've learnt never to screw up our own races, only then is time to criticise their small errors. (I know my biggest failures in races have been due to my own mistakes).
  

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with informing the RD that you believe a runner cut the course, leading to errors in the results. That is constructive. It has the potential to lead to due recognition (however minor) and fairer results for all in the race, and a better race in coming years.

And just a tip, if you're ever racing and someone on the sidelines tells you "Not far to go now!" or "Looking good!", don't ever believe that shit either. :-)

Just a few remarks:
- Before km 54 there were two out and back sections where I counted the runners in front of me. The information that I'm in 6th place was in accordance with my count.
- At the checkpoint from km 54 I was asking for the place (I didn't asked them to confirm that I'm in 6th place) and a girl from the staff checked the ranking. So this was not an answer received in a hurry.
- I didn't have too much time to think about what to do at the km 63. I just considered that the fact that was very easy to cut the course and not miss the checkpoints was the ultimate lack of respect from the organizers (they made a string of errors, start delayed, wrong km marked for refreshment points on the profile from race bib, etc.).
- The race ended 48h ago but the rankings are still not available online. Even the bib numbers are not displayed on the participants list thus I have no idea who was the runner that appeared in 4th place at km 63 or the other two guys that I spent a good chunk of the race with them. Without information I cnanot do any check on Strava. Also on my activity on Strava there is no one at flyby.

Apologies. I've done this before and for some reason I keep forgetting to make it clear. I'm english and forgot to include the large flashing 'sarcasm' sign in my post.

But kudos for finding the right angle to be able to humble brag at your ultra in a non humble way. I genuinely really really do applaud your efforts.

Where there double letters involved?

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

The only thing I would add (besides basically "Run your own race") is that for an event like that, they could have cut the course on purpose and DQ'ed themselves at the finish. Unlikely, but possible. At least as likely as the person at the aid station miscounting people.

Times. Placings. They're all the byproduct of training. In a race that long set some process goals, stick to your plan and let the chips fall where they may. Good luck!

Er....is this a trick question? finish the race as best you can. You're always racing yourself...give it your best effort. You owe that to yourself---you put in the training, give it your all.

I paid for the whole race, so I'm gonna race the whole race. If I thought there was a problem with the finish order, I'd work to sort that out afterwards. But, if you don't keep going, you have no grounds to protest.


Competitions aren't these perfect things where everything happens exactly like it should. People cheat, people make mistakes, things happen, and it isn't always fair....because people-gonna-be-people-y.


Surely you've watched a professional sport or two? Refs make bad calls, racecars get hit, players cheat, cyclists crash, stuff happens. These teams/players/racers (by and large) don't just give-up. You just have to keep your head down and keep going. Control what you can, ignore the rest. If a rules violation happens, make note of it...and, deal with it after. But, first you have to finish.

Take the shorter route next time.

You have to give it all to the line. What if they decide you're correct and DQ the person but you gave up more positions along the way?

Strava just set Flyby's privacy setting to hidden as the default option. At this point, you're likely you got anyone on Flyby, let alone any prospective cheaters.

Depending on the size of the pack, there's a substantial benefit even staying at legal distance. The only catch is that even at legal distance, you might want to err on the side of caution just so the ref knows you're not with them.

The better timing companies and race directors disqualify people all the time when their times don't match averages they have set in other portions of the race or even other races.

The results haven't been posted.

Patience.

I understand the jest of this like most I am aware of who I am racing against. Ironman Wisconsin couple years ago in my age group I was first out of the water (bikes still there.) never saw them on the bike course. Start of the run my wife said one is way a head on the run. Not possible run was miserable trying to figure this out. Finish line the results had me second. Buddy of mine protested the results I was in no shape to do it. Half hour later results changed seems number 1 did not do the second loop of the bike course DQ. without the checking devises I would have been screwed out of KONA.

This is what have triathletes have learned and self-reflected about during this once in a millennia time period.

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

In a Sprint Duathlon a few years ago, I started the bike leg about 30 secs behind my main competitor (in my age group). After the first of four laps I could see a pack of about 10 riders forming 30 secs ahead of me, and another pack of 10 riders about 1 min behind. In each pack, only 3 or 4 (none in my AG) were blatantly drafting, but still enough to increase the speed of the whole group. Front pack continued to pull away and the second pack caught me just before the dismount line. Mentally defeated, I lost another age group position on the 2nd run.


I was gutted by how the cheating of a few had affected the results of several other age groups. But I was more disappointed how easily I was thrown off my game. Next Duathlon 4 weeks later, I was far better mentally prepared and had the best race of my life.


It's correct to say "just concentrate on your own race", but very hard to do in the heat of the moment. And any act of cheating will have a detrimental affect on others in the event.

Just remember it's a long trail run. It's always possible someone stepped into the woods for a nature break during your out-and-back section and you didn't see them as you went by.

As I read this, you rage-quit a race while in a top-10 position, based on the unverified word of a race volunteer.

What would I have done?

I certainly wouldn't have rage-quit. That's some straight-up toddler crap right there.

I'd have raced my race start to finish, other participants be damned.

If I was so sure that someone had cheated, I'd have filed a protest at the finish line.

I certainly wouldn't get on a public message board and announced how soft I was to the damn world, that's for sure.

HTFU, dude.

Ditto. Cheater or not, I don’t understand how finishing in 6th v 7th would materially change your view of your race performance. The race is against yourself and you clearly lost.

To put the shoe on the other foot for OP, I unintentionally cut a run course short in a RBR over the wknd. A volunteer gave me (and several other competitors) bad directions. I realized this at mile 2 of a 5k run when my gps only read 1.2 miles. I debated what to do for a couple minutes. I even started to circle back to “make up” the missed distance. Realizing that wouldn’t make any difference as I still wouldn’t have completed the designed course, I turned back around, finished, went up to the timer and DQed myself. I learned after the race I wasn’t the only one who had this happen to them and the race ended up creating a new division to make those who unintentionally cut the course feel better. I didn’t really care as this was just a sprint but it was thoughtful of the RD. Had the person ahead of me done what you had done, he would have cost himself the race. Finish the race as hard as you can. I can guarantee no one else will remember your race result except you.

Came in first in my age group

Beat the second place person in my age group (the current national champion in our age group by 14 minutes)

Frantically hobbled around the race site trying to find the race director to disqualify myself. As it was impossible I had actually accomplished that feat

Finally found him just as they were announcing the results and got myself disqualified. First time using a bike computer in a race and it had bounced off at the second mile of the race.

Talk about a class act. The real first place athlete said to me “Are you sure you missed part of the bike course, maybe you just had a really good day.”

Lol. As I say he’s a real class act