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Since you weren't at that race and I was, I'm not sure you have all the facts.
I failed to mention in that already long answer that I had said something along the lines of "Let's go, the race has started", more than once. Even prefacing it with "Ladies...".
At the point of my putting my hands in the small of their backs, they had made me come to a complete stop because of their inconsiderate actions in wanting to stop and chat with their friends.
Normally I do keep my hands to myself in a race except in the situations you mentioned.
I just don't appreciate a slower runner getting in front of me and IMHO deliberately impeding my foward progress. (Saying to each other: "Let's stop and talk with so-and-so..." is pretty much deliberate.)
But if you think that no one is going to touch you at the start of a marathon, especially where you say you'll be lining up, you are sadly mistaken. And, if you follow through with "grab their hand off me and break their arm in two" also in for a lawsuit.
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IMO, if there were only two slower runners in front of you, I find it hard to believe that you couldn't get around them and they brought you to a sudden standstill. But whatever the scenario, intentionally laying your hands on another is wrong.
Is this acceptable behavior in other parts of the country? In the Northeast I know it's not.
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1) Coming upon a hunched over runner, putting a hand on the shoulder and asking "You okay? Need the medics?"
2) After the finish, seeing a younger guy who just finished in the top 10, gasping and laying on the ground, I saw he was putting on "a bit of a show", so I reached out and grabbed his hand to pull him up saying" don't sit down, you'll never get up"
3) It's always a great gag to come up behind a running buddy and push their elbow forward as you come up, it really messes with your form for a bit
4) And when I've volunteered at a race at the finishline I give high fives and back pats and big cheers to everyone when asking for their bib tag.
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I've seen some pretty rude stuff happen at Philly races, I don't think any place is really "proper" when it comes to competition. The few times I've seen, the person didn't politely nudge someone out of the way, they plowed right past them, and once it was in a pack on the way to the start line, when everyone else was just "shuffling" at that point. I myself have gotten stepped on plenty and I start nowhere near anyone who runs fast, nor do I stop to talk to friends or pose for pics in the middle of the road. Nothing personal meant to anyone who lives up here, because I obviously live here too, but the whole NE Corridor contains some of the rudest mo fo's I've ever seen....it's much more civilized down south in general (having raced down there also I do have a good comparison).
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I'd rather have a hand on my back then an elbow to the ribs anyday.
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