Train interrupts marathon course and stops on the track

[Susie]

OMG, did you guys see this?

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WATCH: Marathoners Stopped by Passing Train
A freight train derailed runners at the Mill Race Marathon in Indiana.
By Hannah McGoldrick
Published
September 29, 2014

It's one thing to hit the Wall during a marathon. It's another to almost hit a train, as happened to some runners at Saturday's Mill Race Marathon in Columbus, Indiana.

According to ABC 6, runners twice encountered a freight train. The first time, they stopped for the train. The second time, however, runners had to cross in front of, over and even under the train.

"There were so many people, and they just wanted to make their time, that they just didn't care," one witness told ABC 6.

Almost 300 runners completed the second annual Mill Race Marathon, and no injuries were reported.

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I get stopped by freight trains when I'm out on my bike constantly, but I'd be pissed if it happened during a race!  More than once I've been out on my bike on a weeknight on a route carefully planned to be home before dark, and had to call Calvin to come pick me up because I got held up by a train.  Sometimes trains take 10+ minutes to pass.  

I wonder what mile of the marathon that was. If it was late in the race I'd have been such a klutz trying to get around that train. Bet the RD coordinates with the railroad a little better next year (or adjusts the course!)

[Mushe]

Holy cow! I would be so ticked to encounter it TWICE!

I actually had this happen at a 10-mile race earlier this year. We hit a freight train maybe half a mile in? Annoying! Many people crossed in front, but I wasn't willing to go under train warning things. I was new to this running group when it happened, and now it's part of my backstory. This guy tells anybody that he introduces to me that I was stopped by this train and still caught up to him and beat them all by several minutes. Lol!

[reginaphalange72]

Holy hell.

That reminds me of my first IM. We were in the last mile of the ENTIRE THING, when the bars started coming down on the train tracks we had to cross. I hauled ass across and beat it, but I felt bad for the people who had to stop and wait.  True story.

[mrshandy]

Crazy! Do race organizers not look at the train schedule before the race?

[ebeth]

I once got stopped less than 2 miles in to a 10k so a fire truck could cross the course.

[cinco]

Holy crap, people are dumb. I'd put my Garmin on pause and be pissed, but trying to outrun a train or going under is beyond stupid.
At Freedom's Run last year they had to change the course b/c of the government closure, and the new course crossed railroad tracks 4x. They let us know there was a chance we would still have to deal with a crossing, but they were doing their best. The first one went through around the 4 hour mark, I think. I don't think anyone was mad, because we didn't have a course hammered down until the week before and coordinating that is pretty hard even with advance notice. It sucks, but if you are crossing train tracks, you have to know it could happen.

[schrodinger]

Sept 29, 2014 12:24:36 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

Crazy! Do race organizers not look at the train schedule before the race?

Freight trains don't always have a regular schedule.  And the station master can change any sort of published schedule when they want to

My half this weekend crossed a set of RR tracks.  In previous years they had been stopped by trains, but we lucked out this year.

[pixy0stix]

Sept 29, 2014 12:24:36 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

Crazy! Do race organizers not look at the train schedule before the race?

Sometimes RRs run extra trains not on schedules published early. And in general, RRs give no fucks about anything but themselves.

[libbygrl109]

I've heard of this happening during Mohawk-Hudson, but not for that long!

[shellfish26]

I just read something in RW last night that mentioned a marathon somewhere where they had timing mats at a railroad crossing. So in the event that a train did pass through, the times could be adjusted accordingly. Now THAT'S some good planning. (Not to mention a nice free rest break)

[libbygrl109]

Sept 29, 2014 12:56:22 GMT -5 shellfish26 said:

I just read something in RW last night that mentioned a marathon somewhere where they had timing mats at a railroad crossing. So in the event that a train did pass through, the times could be adjusted accordingly. Now THAT'S some good planning. (Not to mention a nice free rest break)

I just read the info sheet for Mohawk-Hudson, and they are doing this! I guess there has been an increase in traffic on the tracks lately.

[Susie]

Sept 29, 2014 12:59:20 GMT -5 libbygrl109 said:

Sept 29, 2014 12:56:22 GMT -5 shellfish26 said:

I just read something in RW last night that mentioned a marathon somewhere where they had timing mats at a railroad crossing. So in the event that a train did pass through, the times could be adjusted accordingly. Now THAT'S some good planning. (Not to mention a nice free rest break)

I just read the info sheet for Mohawk-Hudson, and they are doing this! I guess there has been an increase in traffic on the tracks lately.

Where is the track that goes across the race course?  Does it affect both half and full?

[gummybear]

OMG! Those last few people were so close to getting hit!! Between this and the butt slaps I am getting anxiety and thinking I am not quite cut out for racing.

[libbygrl109]

Sept 29, 2014 13:00:36 GMT -5 Susie said:

Sept 29, 2014 12:59:20 GMT -5 libbygrl109 said:

I just read the info sheet for Mohawk-Hudson, and they are doing this! I guess there has been an increase in traffic on the tracks lately.

Where is the track that goes across the race course?  Does it affect both half and full?

Both - between miles 4 and 5 of the half, so around 18 and 19 of the marathon? That would be as you come out of the trail in Cohoes.

[jene]

Holy crap!

[G22]

People are dumb. Yea I'd be really irritated about being stopped by a train in the middle of a race, but I will not be risking my life to cross in front of a moving train.

[gt7301b]

I also had this happen in a 5k, luckily I just passed the track, but people were pissed. I can't even imagine if this happened in a marathon.

[InBetweenDays]

Those runners are idiotic! I understand it is frustrating, but trying out outrun a moving train and/or climb under one that is idling??

As others have said freight trains don't generally run on a schedule. I've also been told that for security reasons they don't make notifications about schedules even if/when they do know them.

[theoriginalbean]

I ran over tracks during my BQ attempt, and I remember thinking about how effing pissed I would be if I had to stop for a train (it was a 2-loop course, so four crossings, total).

[Susie]

Sept 29, 2014 13:16:44 GMT -5 InBetweenDays said:

As others have said freight trains don't generally run on a schedule. I've also been told that for security reasons they don't make notifications about schedules even if/when they do know them.

Calvin has told me that's true.  (He was working on a case that took place at a rail yard near us for a while.)  We live 2-3 miles from it, so there are lots of tracks near me in various directions.  I would love to know their schedule so I can avoid the inconvenience, but no dice.

[jchokie79]

Wow, that is insane. Meanwhile I would have just used that as an excuse as to why it took me so long. No way in hell, I would run in front of a passing train. Idiots.

[sadlebred]

This happens occasionally in professional cycling.

www.theguardian.com/sport/2006/apr/10/cycling.cycling

[Brit]

Please don't quote, I will probably DD...

This is the train that I always used to complain about! That is my (US) local marathon!

[chw57]

This happened to my friend in the Portland marathon a few years ago! She was stopped for a couple minutes, and the volunteers tried to just estimate how much time people had lost

[LoveTrains]

Rule #1 of trains - don't cross the tracks in front of one!!! And don't go underneath gates that come down across the tracks at a crossing either.

[shauni27]

reading all of these stories that you have all encountered trains like this is giving me anxiety!