It's very hard for female runners to know where to place themselves on the start line at races. There mayonly be 3 female finishers in the first 100 finishers for example.
The first lady across the line in the above race may have positioned herself too far forward, is that cheating? Should women who stand a chance of placing start at the front or near front of the race, in front of men who will be able to run a faster race but not place, or should they position themselves according to where they will finish?
There is an unspoken etiquette re starting places - sometimes it is loudly spoken but often ignored. We don't all have a fair chance because we don't all follow the same rules. We all know people who start at the front of every race yet finish well toward the rear and vice versa.
I also think it's somewhat a hollow victory if you are placed first but know that you didn't win with the fastest time. Chip timing has given us more accurate times, it also means the start of races are often slower as we are all bunched up trying to pass through a narrow channel.
I really am just nit picking. Chip timing is changing races. If you want a pb now you shouldn't need to start at the front of a race if you are going to place elsewhere, but it still happens.
If it's first past the post it's first past the post. I do see it as a fairly pointless ecercise though as it now seems winning is totally meaningless.
