Not to take anything away from her but it looks like her win was in a category of one.
I read this post and thought it was very interesting. My first response was who would take the time to think this AND actually take the couple minutes out of their day to POST it. Jimbob, I have no idea who you are, and I am not posting this to berate you, I am just curious. This is also a personal issue since there have been many times where I am congratulated for a win and answer not with thanks but that the only reason why I had placed was due to some other reason then my ability to kick some butt on that day.
I am involved in kid fitness. I produce kid races and last winter, at the award ceremony for our duathlon I announced the winners in each category. I was very quick to point out that even though there were many who did not place in the top three, they placed higher than all the kids who did not even attempt such a feat. Now, the kids may not have understood what I was talking about(well, few people ever do) however I think the point stands for the 2002 RAAM as well as any major competition where it takes guts and strength just to ENTER, let alone FINISH.
So, I thought, I know nothing about this race, RAAM, except for a bit of the talk here on the forum and Gordo’s forum. I do know that it is a race across the country, and in 2002 (and maybe it does all years, I do not know, not the point) the course measured 2991.9 miles. This 4 woman team made it in 7 days. Based on my quick calculations, that means each woman biked an average of OVER 100 miles PER DAY for 7 DAYS. That is an accomplishment in itself.
So, let’s look at the argument of mentioning that they were in a category of one. I looked it up, and yes, you are correct. However, if you expect Karen to mention that her team won first place only because they were the only team to enter that category, should we also expect the man who won first place to say, “yeah, but there were only 17 entrants and 7 of them DNF’d”?
Out of 29 entries (18 solo, 11 teams), 9 DNF’d.
There were 6 4-PERSON teams: 3 4-man teams, 1 4-woman team, and 2 4-mixed. All of these teams finished between 144:45 and 196:35. Quite a feat in itself, don’t you think? So, when they announce their wins in their respective categories, according to your post, shouldn’t they ALL say they placed since there were just enough entrants to fill the placings, and they just happened to be one of them?
Again, I am not posting this to be “smart”, I would really like to know. It would help me to understand a bit more how people really do care about other people’s wins.
By the way, out of the 6 4-person teams, the women were not last.
Also, we had the opportunity to work with Karen this weekend at our clinic and I have to say her accomplishments listed do not say enough about the woman she really is. We all agreed that she is a coach who truly cares about her clients and the extensive knowledge she shares with others. She is also quite humble despite her wins and accomplishments, and it was VERY clear to all of us that her biggest accomplishment was just being Mom.