Thursday, December 6, 2012

2013 XTerra Trail World Championship (Half Marry)



Congrats to my SCOTT teammate Joe Gray for his "tie" at the XTerra Worlds this past weekend.  Watch carefully as his competitor Ben Bruce  throws a solid shoulder check in the last steps.  Not sure if it was a move to edge out Joe, or just a move to duck inside the finish chute.  I bet Joe never looks back in a race again.

Surely, in the sterilized worlds of track and road running, this shoulder action would not fly.  Do the mountains carry a different standard?  Really inspiring to see this kind of physicality and intensity in running, but did Bruce cross the line?

6 comments:

  1. No doubt over the line.

    I was looking at this today and thinking of posting it myself. Track, road ... whatever - this seems to violate the basic spirit of racing.

    Although a race that allowed that in the rules from the start could be a pretty interesting sport.

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  2. The fact that there isn't a finish line attached to the ground makes it impossible to tell. I'm not sure about the shoulder, if it was intentional. Had it been intentional, I'd have to agree with Roussin-no win.

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  3. Whoa!!! Just a shock honestly to see it unfold.

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  4. Poor display of sportsmanship and a "karma" killer.

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  5. Great intensity, but a terrible move! I'd say a DQ or at least a 2nd place (regardless of what the replay shows).

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