Quote Originally Posted by SheFly View Post
OK. A promoter called me last night looking for my input on an issue he is facing with a race this coming weekend. He and I are friends, and I am an advocate for women's racing, particularly 'cross, so he wanted to hear my thoughts.

Here's the issue - he has a Women's 3/4 field racing in the morning, for 30 minutes. The preceding race is a Cat 4 men's field, also racing for 30 minutes. All other fields during the day are racing for 45 minutes - for the same fee...

So, some of the women have been inundating him with email to increase the time of the race to 40 minutes - comparable to MANY of the other events in the region. His belief is that if there are TRUE beginner women (Cat 4 = beginner), they should be racing for just 30 minutes, and if a Cat 3 woman wants to race longer, they can race the 1/2/3 field later in the day.

Question for the good CX ladies of TE - if you are a beginner racer, do you want to race for 30 or 40 minutes? Please indicate how long you have been racing if you reply.

FWIW, this is an informal poll that I am conducting. I will be making a recommendation to regional promoters at the end of the season base on inputs received, and numbers of racers at all of our events (yes, a separate Cat 3 field would be ideal, but we're not sure we quite have the numbers to support that).

Thanks for your input!

SheFly
i have to disagree with the folks above me. there are 4s who are 4s bc they're new to the sport, want to compete, and want to move up. it's hard to get upgrade points at big races because the 3/4 fields are combined, so there are women in 4 that could potentially be 3s in the not-too-distant future. i think cutting races down shortchanges this group.

addionally, from an optical perspective, it feels patronizing. oh, those women are beginners, they can't handle 40 minutes... now, i know that's not the intent but it can be interpreted that way. i think most cx races are in the 40 minute range. on the one hand i understand the desire to be "beginner friendly," but on the other i think the 4 races should be true preparation for 1/2/3 races. i'm a true beginner (now 3 races into my career) and as much as 40 minutes is painful, i don't think it's unapproachable.

just my $.02