Anybody ever do this? If so, did yo0u have any problems getting registered to ride with the runners? I tried the search and came up empty. I want to ride in a 10k coming up 7/15, but so far I haven’t been able to contact the organizer to find out if I can ride with the runners.
A running store who sponsers it said there shouldn’t be any problem, but wasn’t 100% sure. I really don’t want to do the “fun bike cruise” that starts a little before the run. I can see how bikes wouldn’t fit in since they’s so much bigger and there’s so many of them. I’ll prolly be the only person on a Uni.
as a runner, I’d say that if there was a vote, I’d vote against unicycles being ridden in a 10k or marathon alongside the runners.
the start would be a total mess, even on foot it gets tricky. you have to dodge and weave through the people till you can finally run against people around your skill level. if you were to just wait till the field thins out a little and then hop on then your just being a road block. not to mention what should happen if you upd.
I don’t even like seeing walkers in 10k’s. part of the bond of running is that everyone’s giving it their all and everyone “enjoys” mutual suffering. and then you have that person who walks taking their grand old time, not even tired at the end. just slowing up the event for everyone else.
now I know that you won’t be back of the pack, you’ll probably be near the front (given the fact that you have a coker, you should be winning). it’s cool if your the underdog (uni in a bike race), but when you have a very distinct advantage, it takes out the sport of it, even though people know it won’t be fair.
you could ask to be a pacer, that might be something the race organizers might like.
Being a pacer would be a great novelty for the event and sounds like fun. Just make sure you can ride at the right speed the runners need, and are quick enough. Compare top runners best times and your best times over the same course and you could be in for a surprise. Start by comparing running event times to UNICON 10k and marathon times (and remember you’ll be quite a bit slower than the top finishers).
I’m very sceptical it would work… go for the fun ride and maybe try next year.
I’ve ridden as a pacer/marshall in local club running racers, but I think that in a big run it would be a very bad idea, very different pace and style of motion. Racers are often anarchic and being on a uni could cause some nasty accidents. Also they’ll quite likely have to refuse you on grounds of insurance. Maybe you could ride as a pacer of if you have a parade of vehicles running at the front, but riding in the pack doesn’t sound like such a good idea.
This sounds like a very bad idea. On a coker you’ll be up with the fastest runners - if you’re not, you probably shouldn’t be contemplating it anyway. You will be in the way, the runners won’t know how to pass you safely, you’ll cause chaos and possibly injury if you UPD in the wrong place. I would have no hesitation in excluding you from any of the races that I organise, with the possible exception of being back-marker - and then you’d not be able to ride slowly enough on a coker.
The first big race we ever did in NZ was a 70km running race. We didn’t win but we didn’t do too badly considering we were pretty novice with racing at the time and riding on 28" and 26" unicycles.
On a Coker you should easily go faster than you would running. On the other hand, a 24" or 26" might be more enjoyable because then you’d be going at a more similar speed to the runners and have the maneuvaribility to start in a big bunch.
I think in the end every event organiser and every event is different. Hopefully yours is amenable to having unicyclists participating.
I average about 12mph on the bike path where the 10k will take place, and routinely pass not only seasoned runners (preparing for the race) but most bikers with ease! There are not likely to be any “elite” runners as the 10k doesn’t provide any money or much glory; it’s mostly for fun.
Even the best runners in this event probably won’t even do a 5 minute mile, which just happens to be 12mph, let alone maintain that speed very long. The vast majority of runners I would leave in the dust! But, alas, I agree that it wouldn’t be safe or practical to be in the “mix” with lots of runners; too much chance for collision and injury to me or someone else. I guess I’ll just stick with the bike 10k instead.
I think it’s all up to the organizers, who bear the liability for the event. I’ve heard of past cases of unicyclists being allowed to ride ahead of the runners, which I believe is what Floyd Beattie did back in the 80s when he set a marathon record for himself at 1:58.
I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t want you in amongst the runners. They don’t know you well enough, and the runners don’t know unicyclists well enough for it to be a comfortable environment for them. But if they let you start 10 minutes ahead…
I’ve done a 12km fun run, which had a rollerblade category in front of the runners, which was where I entered. That started 4 minutes before the runners I think. I knew I wasn’t going to have any hassle, because I knew I could beat every world running record from 5km up to 15km, and the runners didn’t catch up with me. I averaged about 14mph. The first runner came in about 8-10 minutes after me, I think his average was about 12.5.
For speeds, in a local club 10k, typically the winning time will be just over half an hour. Which puts them at about 12.5 mph average. Unless you’ve got a lot faster in the last month, I’d expect you to average 10-11mph over that distance.
With a 10km, the start makes a big difference, so the start of a 10km race like that is always mad, no way I’d want to be on a coker in that. For longer races, like Ken’s 70km, the start doesn’t make so much difference, you can chill out there and overtake people once it spreads out.
A coker is particularly bad, cos any fall means you potentially take out a lot of people with that big wheel, and with the height you’re falling from.
Well I’ve been doing 12-20 mile [36er] rides several time per week, and yesterday, we did a 20 miler and my max speed was 14.8mph, and an average of 12mph. Currently 12mph seems to be a good, comfortable cruising speed, but I’ll fluctuate sometimes between 10.5 -13mph. I’m really feeling like I’m ready to move to 110mm cranks, but I’m not sure if it will make much difference in speed, but I sure know my new brake will come in handy for dh with 110’s.
