It took me some time to analyze and decide to post in my blog regarding another “weird” experience I encountered during the 27th RUNNEX Executive 10K Run held at UP Campus last 02 December 2007.
After getting the printed overall results of the 10K race, I found out that there was a big discrepancy on the time registered on my Casio Pathfinder Watch and my time registered on the printed results. Based from my watch, my time in the 10K race was 52:07 minutes but the printed results appeared that I had a time of 52:36 and the runner next to me had a time of 52:39 minutes. Another runner, who finished ahead of me had a time of 52:06 minutes. It appears that the runner who finished with my unofficial time (?) was ranked # 21.
I was expecting that my name should appear as the runner to have finished with a time of 52:06 minutes but it was a name of another runner.
On the published printed results, it is impossible that another runner was behind me with a difference/distance equivalent to a distance covered within 3 seconds. It could be seen in my pictures, which I posted in my previous post, that there was nobody running/chasing me behind me within a distance of 50 meters. I was sure that I was Number 21 because one of the Race Marshalls counted me as ranked # 22 at Km # 6 among the 10K runners. At Km # 7, I was able to overtake one runner and increased my lead over him for about hundred meters.
I could not think of any reason why some runners do this kind of cheating. If these “cheater/s” think they are taking advantage over other runners, they are wrong! They cheating their own selves!
If somebody had stolen the race number and timing “chip” of my daughter during the 2006 City of Angels Half-Marathon, I had also the sad experience of somebody stealing my race/finish time during the 27th RUNNEX Executive 10K Race.
Bald Runner 
At the Yakult 10-miler last month, a runner just ahead of me grabbed two pieces of the straw given at the Baclaran turnaround point. He passed one of these to his colleague who had yet to reach the turnaround, and the latter promptly did an about face to join his fellow cheat.
I could not understand the point of the whole thing because all three of us must have been running at least 20 minutes behind the leading runner, and I am not aware that Yakult is used as a qualifying race for another event.
I swear both runners are younger than I am, so I’m not sure this would helped much even if the second man were chasing a higher ranking in his age group.
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Sometimes, it makes you mad to see “cheaters” while running in a race but I advise you not to mind them. These people are cheating themselves! Good luck on your future road races!
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