The ability to think fast on your feet / Umbra Little Black Dress Scarf Organizer Giveaway WINNER
Steven and I were talking about the Mellew Texas Half timing issues yesterday. I know, I know, quit talking about it already… it’s not the end of the world (it isn’t). But Steven actually has some good perspective, because he was at the finish and saw what happened, so I am going to talk about it just a little more. And the point of me writing about this is that our conversation actually reminded me of something else I wanted to talk about awhile ago, and don’t think I ever did (err, I hope not).
So. There was a timing “truss” set up for the half start. All the half marathoners got through and then the truss fell over due to the wind (luckily no one was hurt!). It was set back up for the 5K start (which was scheduled for fifteen minutes later*) then taken down after the 5K was over.
Mellew has not said much about what happened (with timing and course distance issues), but I saw in their response on a Facebook post that because their “timing trusses fell” it would take them longer to “consolidate results” (huh?). What happened is a total pain in the butt** and really stinks… but my question (besides why aren’t they being more upfront about all this crap) is why wasn’t there a back-up plan? Why wasn’t someone able to think quickly on their feet and come up with a better way to take finisher times? Yes – safety is the #1 priority. Definitely don’t put that thing up if it’s going to keep blowing over, but was there really nothing else they could do? Was abandoning taking finish times and having an unclear finish line the only answer? Anyone with race director experience… please chime in (what would have done?!).
SO ANYWAY, Steven and I were talking (because this post is about something else, remember?) and I told him how I’ve always been in awe of the efficiency portrayed by medical and military characters in movies during a time of crisis. People take charge and figure things out. Without much panic. They are trained for emergencies, I know, and yeah, it’s a movie. It’s just always made me wonder why some people are so much better at thinking on their feet… and some just aren’t. Maybe it’s training? Maybe it’s natural? Hopefully that connection to the race made sense. Ha ha ha.
So… you guessed it. This post’s question is… are you able to think quickly on your feet?
I used to think I stunk at it, but you know what has made me better? Teaching strength class and having to make changes last minute. There is less panic and more “figure this out now, Kim.” I am a lot better. Maybe I am calmer, overall? Nah. I don’t think anyone would accuse me of being calm.
OH! And since I was talking about the race, I just have to say… damn. Gina and Steve have some fast miles in them. I was probably actually holding Gina back for most of the race. Ha ha. When they get their “real” 13.1 they are going to kick some major bootay.
And OH! #2 – since there have been two “wah wah wah” posts about the race, expect a cute & fun Luca post this afternoon to cheer things up around here! I swear! I am not a grump (all the time)!
*and probably short too
**especially if they have to go through race photos to get results… and p.s., there was no clock at the finish
And… I have 47 scarves (unless we are counting the new one Gina gave me this weekend?!). The closest guess on the Umbra Little Black Dress Scarf Organizer Giveaway was Katie (@ from Ice Cream to Marathon) with a guess of 45. Katie, please email me your mailing address at kilax@ilaxstudio.com and I will send the organizer on its way!
Thanks to everyone who played my silly guessing game!
I actually have another giveaway in mind after I see one of my favorite cat ladies this weekend to FINALLY give her her Christmas gift! Don’t want to give it away (literally and figuratively) on the blog, first!
Themocracy
First, this issue was on the timing company…not necessarily Mellew. Just sayin.
I am typically pretty good at thinking on my feet. And even not in a panic situation – I am pretty good at coming up with alternative solutions to the obvious one. It helps when we are home projecting a lot, and John appreciates (I think? haha!) my input.
Congrats to Katie! You have a LOT of scarves!!
Yes! Good point! They presumably hired a reputable timing company, so the fact that they could not figure it out was even worse, since they should have the experience (???)(imho). And I still think Mellew is handling it very poorly. So that is why I actually added their name to this post. So anyone searching it might find it, and just have that warning, going in. I know some companies out here have bad reps for timing and race issues (All Community, Muddy Monk), and I like going in to a race knowing what to expect, so I can just take it for what it is (and not choose it as a first “half” marathon). I really have enjoyed some races before that have had “screw-ups.” Anyway. I feel really awful that people were posting on their page bummed they didn’t have a time, and other people were ecstatic about their “PRs.” I don’t give a crapola that my time says 2:08:5whatever when my watch was sub 2:00. But the race wasn’t about my time. 😉
Ha ha ha. Shall ask John if he REALLY appreciates it :
I completely agree that as RD, it ultimately was THEIR responsibility to grow a pair and demand that this got handled in real time for the sake of their participants. That response was sorely lacking. I just don’t want to let the “professional timing company” off the hook either…
Ha ha ha. Grow a pair.
No, they shouldn’t be left off the hook. Maybe they are reviewing it? There are probably a lot of individuals and companies that screwed things up that day (and at every race)! I guess when writing this, I wasn’t even thinking about who so much, just why did NO ONE figure something out? Or at least communicate about it, after. Oh wells 🙂
Yeah, that race really sounds like they didn’t think through different contingency plans. I tend to think that I’m bad in “emergency” situations, but I have found that I’ve surprised myself by how well I’m able to react and coordinate a solution.
Congrats, Katie! Enjoy your scarf organizer!
OMG, I’ve been holding up your giveaway! I’m such a turd! 😉 Can’t wait to see you this weekend!
Why is the timing apparatus a big huge metal structure? Is this the first time it’s ever been windy at a race in Texas? haha. What happened to just stepping on a timing mat?
I would have laid the structure down on the ground and had the runners lay down inside of it when they finished. Win win – I get race time and runners get a nap. haha.
I’m guessing you actually have to pass through it to get a finish time…so why not have a few volunteers hold it up and/or tie it to those light poles or that big sturdy looking truck??
Ha ha ha! I am teasing you. I can’t wait, either!!!!!!!!!! 😀
I have never seen a timing structure like that, and wondering about the mats, too. There were no mats on the course, which I thought was odd.
I like your ideas 🙂 I also wonder if they could have found a safer way to secure it so they could still use it. So odd.
I can not for the life of me figure out why they used that structure for timing. Texas is windy. And we all knew we would be dealing with 18-20MPH winds for days prior to the race thanks to a little thing called Weather.com : ) It seems like to me that once the structure fell down, they gave up. Sigh.
I’d like to think I think pretty quick on my feet, although in my old(ish) age, I think my quickness has faded some…
As far as a back up plan for that race-YES…they should have had timing mats down, in addition to the overhang because you never know what the weather will bring on race day!
timing is understandable…but wind shouldn’t change the distance!
So if this happened at the Rally for Autism, would you try to have the racing company set up timing some other way? Or just let it be?
The distance seemed to be off because the course was marked incorrectly. The funny thing is, I was trying to make us run tangents so we wouldn’t be too far over. Ha ha.
Hi Eric! I ran the Rally one year and everything was nicely organized and it’s still one of my fave races. I would love to hear your perspective about how you would handle faulty timing equipment. I feel like I would whip out paper and a pen and start writing times as people came in but I know it’s not as simple as that. Just looking for a little insight into the Race Director world.
Woohoo!! I’m so excited that I won!
I read some of the responses on Mellew’s fb page, and it sounds like such a mess. I can’t wait to hear about Steve and Gina’s next half, I know they’ll do amazing!!
Congrats! Please follow the instructions in the post and I will get it on it’s way! 🙂
I’m definitely a could, woulda, shoulda person in a emergency situation. Hindsight is 20/20! But, I think that I would at least try to handle it rather than bury my head in the sand.
was this their first year of this race? My guess they will have a lesson learned meeting and hopefully print out your posts!
I think it was the first time at this location, but not the first time with this race. I hope they learn from it too. Things aren’t always perfect.
I would think they would have had 2 ways to account for time to begin with. You always have a backup! Just in case the first one fails for whatever reason, the second one is there. Could they not have laid the thing down on the road? (Longways, obviously) Like, does the timing thing only work if people ran under it? Surely if they ran by it in any capacity it would have taken the time. Or maybe it busted when it fell over? I don’t know. Why not just use mats? So many questions…
The worst part about situations like this is when they respond how Mellew is responding…ie) not at all. They aren’t helping and it would have been much nicer and showed they cared if they posted on Facebook almost instantly what happened and that they were sorry and are doing everything they can, etc etc. It would have shown they were being proactive about the situation.
I like to think that I can think on my feet.
Ahh, yeah, those are LOTS of good questions. Maybe the thing did completely break! And a quick response would have made me much less annoyed. Maybe they are still trying to figure out what happened…
Depends on the situation! But I hate those times when I think a half hour later “Ugh, I should have said this or I should have done this” – they’re the worst!
Maybe Mellew used a brand-new timing company?? I just can’t even figure out why they gave up and aren’t being forthcoming about the circumstances! As someone who has been on the logistics end of a race for a few years I know that timing companies can screw up. It’s one of the reasons we video tape the finish line at our race. We might not get you a chip time but we’ll get you a time (provided you actually wear your bib on the front of your shirt. Nothing irks me more than people who wear it on the back).
Also, there were races BEFORE timing technology like that existed. It’s called ripping the bottom piece off the bib number and matching it up with the clock. It’s why some races have a finisher chute that is only one person wide.
As for thinking on my feet, I have been in situations that required it and I’d have to say I managed quite well. The key is not letting perfect be the enemy of good.
Maybe? I am not sure we will ever know. I kind of want to email them and ask about all this, just because I am curious. What made me sad is that one person wrote that they wore their bib on the front as instructed (by the email) and wondered why they didn’t have a time. I just felt bad for them.
I was saying to Gina and Steve that I have done races w/o chip timing that are extremely accurate. I have had more issues with chipped races!
I think technology sometimes makes it difficult to think on your feet if it fails. Think of a cashier who may not be able to easily make change if the register breaks. While that isn’t a good excuse necessarily, it is probably what happened here. They were just ill prepared to deal with the issues they were having.
I think in certain situations I am able to act and/or think quickly, especially if it’s an emergency. Otherwise, I probably don’t do as well.
Speaking of scarves – I saw one at a store the other day that reminded me of you! It had cats on it but I’m pretty sure it would be Erin approved.
Ha ha ha! I have a quite a few cat scarves! What was this one like?!
I think quick on my feet (hence the nurse in me), but it hasn’t always come so easily. I think that experience and confidence play a HUGE role in it. The more confident you are, the better you will handle “crisis” type experiences.
I get a huge rush out of a code at the hospital. I know that sounds so horrible, but dang, to be able to run in and bring them back just amazes me. That we can do that…I mean geez, how cool is that?!?!
Did I just say I can bring people back from the dead?
Yeah I did. And I’m awesome.
Yes, yes, yes, we all know you are awesome *rolling eyes* Hee hee, no, that IS way cool and is why I mentioned medical people!
Ummm … I’m not sure if I’m good at thinking on my feet. I guess if you look at any emergency situations I’ve been in, it’s a mixed bag …
1. I accidentally set my graduation cap on fire mere hours before my HS graduation. (Short story: I’m not allowed to have those hallogen torch lamps anymore.) My brother discovered it while I was in the bathroom, came running down the hall with my FLAMING CAP (to douse it in the sink) … my response to seeing it on fire was to run screaming through the house. Not get a fire extinguisher or anything. My mom was not pleased that I almost burned down the house.
2. I was a lifeguard. For one summer. You know who shouldn’t be a LIFEguard? Me. Luckily I never HAD to jump in and save anyone, but I think there was a moment where a kid was in distress, but by the time I noticed, he had gotten to the side of the pool.
3. I might be improving, because when I got lost in the woods last summer, I didn’t freak out … too much. I left this out of my blog post about it, but I actually called 911 while I was lost. I didn’t know what else to do. They connected me to the … forest ranger (?), who dispatched someone to come find me, but I got myself back to the trail before he found me. So, I guess I was able to think clearly enough to navigate myself with a compass.
Oh man. Um, it’s not a mixed bag. You are NOT! LOL! Why do you think you have that go to panic reaction? That surprises me!
Ha! Yeah. I know I’m not so good in situations like that. The hilarious thing is my mom (a nurse) always wanted me to grow up to become a nurse. Holy crap, I would be a TERRIBLE nurse. My last job was working at a health system, and I didn’t like going to our hospitals just for meetings. There were occasions where I had to coordinate photo shoots of clinicians and patients. Ugh. I hated being around it.