Re: Drafting in Race and Etiquette

Get a life Realbitchy.

Donovan Rebbechi wrote:

> If you maintained a 5 foot distance, you weren't drafting very effectively.

FWIW it could be that the drafter tends to perceive the distance as
longer than it is

The distance was no doubt too long to decrease aerodynamic drag, so to
speak, but this kind of "detached drafting" can be quite helpful
psychologically.

OTOH it can be quite as irritating to some as the closer kind is...


> It's not the best idea to "draft" off someone who obviously doesn't want you
> there, but if he thought you were leeching, he should have either dropped
> back and let you past, or dropped you instead of whining about it.

If someone were leeching off me, I´d take it as a compliment: "Gee,
the guy thinks I´m a strong and reliably pacing runner!" OK, it
might annoy the hell out of me in the end if the drafter turned out to
be capable of outkicking me by a clear margin...



> > My question is how should I have dealt with this situation? My take is
> > that he was kind of an asshole to begin with and that I didn't commit
> > any violation or running etiquette,

> I don't know, I think unless you're battling him for a trophy, it's kind of
> rude to leech like that.

You mean to say that when podium placements are at stake, it´s
suddenly OK to be rude? Or that leeching becomes rude at some point
below AG Top 10?



IMHO drafting (to defeat wind resistance, to help yourself with pacing,
to chop a long race or stretch into a million tiny pieces or whatever)
is acceptable (as in possibly irritating but definitively not rude) at
any level,
but it´s kind of rude to do so (for any long stretch) if you
don´ta) "introduce yourself" first,
(b) try, if possible, to return the favour or to share just a bit of
the load later, or at least
(c) express your thanks for the help you´ve received, and - last but
not least
(d) think twice before outsprinting someone you´ve drafted for almost
the entire race!


Anders

"Donovan Rebbechi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On 2005-06-17, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> If you maintained a 5 foot distance, you weren't drafting very
> effectively.
>
> It's not the best idea to "draft" off someone who obviously doesn't
> want you
> there, but if he thought you were leeching, he should have either
> dropped
> back and let you past, or dropped you instead of whining about it
>
>> My question is how should I have dealt with this situation? My take
>> is
>> that he was kind of an asshole to begin with and that I didn't commit
>> any violation or running etiquette,
>
> I don't know, I think unless you're battling him for a trophy, it's
> kind of
> rude to leech like that.

I agree. If he didn't like it then get off his ass. It's not illegal to
pass gas in church but it doesn't make it right. Personally I think your
actions were rude.

-DF