There Was Smoke EVERYWHERE 🤯 #runningnews

Canadian athlete @rachelhannahrd got a nasty shock as she came into the last km of the Ottawa Marathon on Saturday, as enthusiastic supporters filled the course with smoke and confetti canons! 😰

Have you had smoke and confetti at a race you’ve done?

[icejam-xqhj]

Bunch of clowns. I don't know who thought this would be a good idea. I see too much of this in pro cycling especially in the big tours. Let's hope this stays out of the running scene.

[bikerdude]

Sadly my comments keep getting removed... All I can say is this fella on the left, his behaviour is nothing new and has interrupted others at other races doing the same shenanigans.

[jonathantsou]

I think instances like this are the reason top 3 female finishers should have a bike escort to part the way for them. This is unfair to the girl running.

[andrewtse]

smoke hampers breathing, hence affect the result

[walied]

This is organizers failure, they should have more strict rules to prevent idiots getting into the runners way

[doernerrr]

WTF, unbelievable. Anyone who has run a marathon knows how this lady hurting as she fights to get to the finish, and to shoot a confetti canon in her face, absolutely criminal. This is exactly why the Boston cops pushed spectators off the marathon course last year.

[AM]

What the heck! Was this the male runners friends? Sooo inconsiderate!!

[michaelmulligan]

If that’s support, I’d hate to see what they would do if they weren’t supporting

[bushmasterflash]

There is not much she can do but endure. If I was a spectator I would 100% have intervened on her behalf
Who needs this at the end of a Marathon?

[josephlowry]

I have seen this in many sports lately and it really doesn't belong.

[crownonpoint]

That's terrible for all the runners

[BvTClan]

Come on. They really thought this was a good Idea...

[lilianhayes]

Parallels to what we see in the cycling grand tours - all for fans enjoying the sports but I’ve never understood people who think smoke is a good idea and those who are so inconsiderate to the competitions they think they are supporting

[richardleesl]

These spectators are nothing but nuisance

[Ligerpride]

So did the guy to be fair, although it's unclear if he arranged this

[skirtonbear]

I think the same things about “color runs” where they toss powder and smoke at the participants: asthmatics don’t want this, and we still compete.

[ScaredNerd]

i cant find any of this on the news. it's hard to believe its' real. this kind of interference must be against the rules somehow.

[ljadf]

Yet another example of 'men' making it all about them. I wonder if they'd even notice if she just stopped.

[MrAwseal]

This is not a sexist thing. OK, this would be ridiculous for anyone to do to anyone else. Stop trying to create this false sexism. We treat women better than we ever treat men even in the running community. Women are given more advantages than men are. So where yes the person doing this to the other runner is horrible. It has nothing to do with sex.