Run like you stole something...but maybe don't actually steal anything

When I read the post from the race bandit blogger—you know, the one for whom it was beneath her to pay to run a local half-marathon—I thought that while it certainly isn't the worst thing a person can do, it's not that cool.

It's even less cool to take resources from said race, take photos of strangers without their consent in order to make fun of them, crack a joke about rape (seriously, what the hell?) and then take to your blog to boast about the whole endeavor. It's even less cool still to offer a non-apology by saying it was meant to highlight the city and the race when it was clearly just a narcissistic romp through the city streets for attention.

But it did give me an idea. I was registered for the Run Seal Beach 10k, but in the last few weeks I've been having some IT band problems. I didn't want to skip it altogether, so I decided to drop down to the 5k, walk most of the route, and have a little fun.

So, I give you Seal Beach in selfies (and a bunch of non-selfies because who really needs to see that many photos of me?):

1. The "check it out, I actually paid for my bib" selfie

2. The obligatory running shoe selfie

My blog isn't fancy enough to get me free shoes so I paid for these too.


3. The "I'm not very skilled at taking selfies" selfie

For the record, I felt like a complete tool. I'm not sure how people do this on the regular. P.S. Note the Renegade half-zip...representin'.


4. The quarter-mile mark "motivation" non-selfie

Hah. Well, it was true. Guys, thanks for keeping it real.


5. OMGBOGART'S

Not a selfie, not race-related, I just love this place.


6. The "I guess that's gonna be stuck in my head a while" non-selfie

Ohhhh, we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue. And then we'll take it higher. (Now it's stuck in your head!)


7. The "man, this place is paradise" non-selfie

Because who needs a stupid selfie when there are rows and rows of palm trees!


8. The "hey, you're cheating!" non-selfie

Don't worry, I still beat him.


9. The posing with the Big Guy himself selfie

He's friendly, but he doesn't say much.


So here's the deal: Run Seal Beach didn't put me up to writing this blog post. I just think they put on a well-organized race with a beautiful view and my opinions are 100% my own yada yada yada.

I do feel however, that bandit-ing a race is poor form. According to our blogger friend, THE ROADS ARE PUBLIC Y'ALL but here's the thing: the roads are so public that they allow cars on them, and those cars don't magically disappear on race day. Registration fees take care of stuff like police detail and aid stations. If everyone thought they were a special little snowflake exempt from the rules, then where would we be?