Posts Tagged ‘disqualification’

Good Argument for Going Commando

The Hereford High School cross country team thought they had won the county championship when they learned one of their runners had been disqualified, dropping the team to third place. His offense? He was wearing black compression shorts with visible white stitching underneath his running shorts, in violation of Rule 9, Section 6, Article 1b of the National Federation of High Schools rule book, which states: “Items displaying seams stitched on the outside of the garment in a visible contrasting color to the undergarment will be illegal beginning with the 2009-10 school year.”

Track officials defended the ruling, and noted that other teams had changed clothes to comply. But no one seems to have a good explanation for the rule. “Your cross country uniform is supposed to say that ‘I’m from high school XYZ.’ Philosophically, that’s what ‘team’ is all about,” said Becky Oakes, assistant director of the National Federation of State High School Associations. “The Spandex undergarment began to get away from that.”

The ruling received national attention this week, with Deadspin stating, “I don’t know if any post I’ve written for this site has generated more public feedback.”

Brother, Can You Spare a Catheter?

A tip of the hat to crossn81 for letting me know about this story in the comments section of yesterday’s post. Of course, by now the story has been picked up by the Associated Press, featured on Dave Barry’s blog, and appeared on (at last count) 169 news sites. Which just goes to show you, if someone tips you to a bizarre running story, you should try to get it on the Internet tubes as quickly as possible.

Anyway, no matter how many years you live on this earth, it is unlikely you will ever again see a headline that reads:

“Marathoner, 81, wins in his age group after using a borrowed catheter”

If you haven’t seen the story, the short version is that 81-year-old Jerry Johncock (yes, his real name) was suffering from a blood clot in his urethra at about mile 21 of the Twin Cities Marathon. The medical tent didn’t have a catheter, so he borrowed one a helpful bystander had in his car. Johncock finished the race, winning his age group. After further review, race officials decided the borrowed catheter did not constitute “improper assistance.”

There is a lot that could be written about this incident, but I can’t get past asking this one question:

What would be equivalent to the statement, “I have a catheter in my car. You can borrow it.”?

a) “I keep an extra diaphragm in my shoebox. You’re welcome to it.”

b) “These tongue depressors have only been used once.”

c) “I was cleaning out the attic and found an old rectal thermometer. You want it?”

d) “Grandpa passed away last week and he won’t be needing his artificial limb anymore.”

e) “I’ve been saving my shaved back hair for years, if you’d like it for your hair plugs.”

Add your ideas in the comments section.

Marathon Winners Disqualified for Water, iPod

Cassie Peller was the first woman to cross the finish line at Milwaukee’s Lakefront Marathon last Sunday in a time of 3:02:09, but was disqualified for taking a water bottle from a friend in between official aid stations. That elevated second-place finisher Jennifer Goebel to the winner’s podium.

But wait, Goebel was also disqualified for using an iPod. Third-place finisher Corina Canitz was declared the winner. Canitz will donate the $500 prize to the Jenny Crain Make It Happen Fund.

Milwaukee television station TMJ4 has a video with interviews of the runners and the race director.