Race saboteur sends runners on sweltering 2m detour in Dalby Forest

A BIZARRE prank by race saboteurs put runners at risk by sending them on a two-mile detour in scorching weather, organisers of a Yorkshire event said today.
A Facebook picture posted by organisers of runners in the No Ego race in Yorkshire's Dalby ForestA Facebook picture posted by organisers of runners in the No Ego race in Yorkshire's Dalby Forest
A Facebook picture posted by organisers of runners in the No Ego race in Yorkshire's Dalby Forest

Hundreds of bewildered runners were misled in the No Ego half marathon run after a one-way pointer was thrown away and instead a man and his dog pointed those taking part in the wrong direction.

As a result, runners missed water stops as the temperatures climbed above 20 degrees in North Yorkshire’s Dalby Forest yesterday.

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In an email to those who took part, organiser Brian Lee said he had never known anything like it in all his years organising runs.

He wrote: “I would like to apologise for the total mess created today on the half marathon course.

“Why someone in a forest setting, obviously out to enjoy exercise and fresh air, would pull a direction arrow out of the ground for a trail race and throw it in the bracken is totally beyond me.

“I have been involved in fell/trail running and racing for nearly 40 years and have never had a situation like it.

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“Only to be followed by a guy walking his dog, standing in front of a marker and telling runners to go the other way.

“Whether it was the same person or there was two clowns in the forest today is debatable.

“While we were clearing the routes [following the race] we also found two more markers that had been moved, so things could have been even worse than they were.

“Any one who knows our events will know the time we take to plan and mark a course out. Sadly, we cannot plan for [Sunday’s] events.

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“Allowing runners to miss vital parts of the first few miles of the course, not only meant missed miles, but also meant that runners that were not carrying water were in danger of dehydration, as they did not get water at two and four mile water stops.

“I had a runner ask me why we can’t have marshals at turns or crucial points on the course.

“With over 200 changes of direction, each as crucial as the next, sadly this is not possible.

“[This] was a total low point for No Ego staff my family and particularly me, as it meant that runners that had spent a lot of time training and preparing for a half marathon had a disjointed run, that ended up close to 13.1 miles after they then ran the 10k route as well, but not the same mentally as focusing on the one route.”

Runners who took part posted on the group’s Facebook page, saying they did not blame them for the sabotage.