Re: [pct-l] Racing on the PCT? Input requested..

["Thomas D.Weir" <weir@turbonet.com>]

I have two objections to races on the PCT or any hiking trail.  They are
environmental impact and safety.

I believe that if all racing runners would stay on the trail, they would
cause no more damage than we hikers do.  My concern is that their
competitive drive may cause runners to cut switchbacks, run across fragile
meadows, etc in order to cut their times.  If race organizers made these
activities grounds for disqualification it would help.  Horse racing on
recreation trails is another matter.  If you have ever seen a horse race you
know that the track, or trail in this case, gets torn up pretty bad.

My safety concerns center on the possibility of runners colliding with
hikers.  This happened to me on the trail that runs along the Idaho side of
the Snake River in Hells Canyon.  I was hiking along a portion of the trail
that is cut into the cliff. There was a 100+ foot drop to the rocks along
the river.  A runner came around the bend and literally ran into me.
Luckily, we both fell to the inside.  If we would have gone over we would
both be dead.  It turns out that the runner was part of a race that runs
yearly along that trail every spring.  The runners are jet boated up canyon
as far as possible, then they run back down to Pittsburgh Landing.  Maybe if
runners on trails like this one would call out a warning  when rounding
blind corners and post warnings at the trail heads, accidents could be
avoided.

 I would hate to see anyone traveling under their own power be denied access
to the PCT or other trails, but the burden of providing for safety and
environmental protection falls squarely on the shoulders of the organizers
of these events.  If conducted responsibly, foot races can be run on the PCT
with no problem, but it has to be recognized that the PCT is a HIKING trail
first and foremost.




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