15k meltdown and some manners

Normally I'm a positive person.
Really.
I am.

But today...not so much

Source: Uploaded by user via Kris on Pinterest

I woke up feeling under the weather, and came >thisclose< to going right back to bed. But I hate DNS-ing a race unless the circumstances are catastrophic. So I rallied. I spent most of the pre-race in a port-o-potty line. But hey, at least I was there, right?

Once the starting gun went off, I cruised through my first mile in 8:18. Maybe I can do this!

Unfortunately, by mile 4 I was nauseated. I gave up any hope of a "good" time and focused on making it to the finish with my insides still in. Before this morning, I thought these were silly:

Source: visboo.com via Myles on Pinterest

Now I want one.
So useful!

I survived the race with no complete catastrophes (thanks to several strategically timed walk-breaks to let my stomach settle), but this goes down in the books as my worst race. Ever. I've had my share of bad training runs, but on race day I can usually hold it together. Today was crappy. Really. (Sorry. Couldn't resist.)

Oh, and I might have mentioned that on top of all the other issues, the race officials didn't record my time! So I sent them a formal, but polite letter:

Hello -
This morning I ran the 15k at the Double Bridge Run but my results are not listed. I tried searching by first and last name, and by gun and chip time. My Bib is #### (worn on front, left leg of shorts). I finished in approximately 1:29:30 (elapsed time, which I presume is closer to 1:32 or 1:33 given the wave starts).
I would like to see this error corrected.
Thank you for your attention to this matter!
-Beth

The first response I received from the chip timing company was snarky, to say the least. I desperately want to quote their email here, but copying another person's personal correspondence into a public forum is probably going too far.

Suffice it to say: their reaction was to blame me (I must have hidden my bib!), rather than admitting that there was some mistake, or simply not saying anything at all and fixing the problem. Um... I race all the time, and I'm pretty sure I know how to use safety pins.

Sure...
I'm the one who made the mistake.

Proof that I ran! (Far left) I made it into the local paper!
(Note: even in this side view you can tell I'm wearing my bib on the front of my left leg.)

Later this evening the company let me know that they found my results and fixed the problem. (Hooray!!! But...) In that email they switched their blame from my alleged bad pinning skills to my use of a hand-held water bottle! Because, you know, water bottles are to blame.

Um.
Yeah.

In short, this email exchange seals it: I should have stayed in bed...
And this is one race I won't be running again.

Have you ever skipped out on (DNS-ed) a race you registered for?
What's the most unprofessional thing you've seen at a race?