Wristbands help keep unauthorized runners out of Pikes Peak Ascent, Marathon

Big Brother, meet Pikes Peak.

Runners participating in this weekend’s Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon will be easily identifiable around town.

The giveaway won’t be their toned bodies or tanned faces but purple and neon-yellow wristbands that must stay on until they cross the finish line. Or else.

Some runners who arrived at Memorial Park in Manitou Springs on Wednesday to pick up their bib numbers balked at the races’ new rules, which dictate that each participant present photo identification and put on a wristband to receive a race bib. Purple for the ascent, yellow for the marathon and one of each for those running both. Those trying to pick up race packets for their friends or relatives were rebuffed.

The ascent has 1,981 entrants and 911 runners signed up for the marathon.

John Gaudette tugged at the plastic band on his wrist, first gently and then a little harder.

“It’s kind of annoying,” said Gaudette, who ran track at St. Louis University and lives in Denver. “It seems a little extreme.”

With spots in the races in high demand, organizers say they had no choice but to institute a stricter identification policy to prevent unauthorized runners — sometimes called “turkeys” or “bandits” by runners — from buying their way into the races and wreaking havoc on age-group standings.

Volunteers will be checking for wristbands at the start and finish lines and will be looking for signs of tampering.

“Because these are such coveted entries, people try to circumvent the system and sell the bibs,” race director Ron Ilgen said. “It’s not so much the scalping aspect but that it’s not the person it says it is.”

The entry fee was $85 for the ascent and $75 for the marathon.

Ilgen said he has heard of people selling bibs for $300.

Ilgen views the wristbands more like VIP accessories than handcuffs.

“They’re kind of cool,” he said. “They help the runners interact when they see each other on the street.”

A few managed to convince race organizers that they had legitimate reasons for not wearing the wristband immediately.

Jorge Klajnbart, an orthopedic surgeon at Evans Army Hospital on Fort Carson, dodged the rule because he has to scrub down for surgery today.

“I smiled and they took pity on me,” Klajnbart said, adding that he understands why the rule is in place. “It’s because of the depravity of humankind, because people are people.”

CONTACT THE WRITER: 476-4803 or kate.crandall@gazette.com