“Looks like the weather will be great,” or a derivative with the same meaning.
I learned to keep quiet in the early years of Race Timing Unlimited. When at a packet pickup, I said, “Looks like it will be good in the morning.” Only to hear thunder at 3:30 am, which fortunately cleared before we needed to set up. Never again.
Recently, I was helping coordinate a race. I was one of three who were responsible for different aspects. At our Tuesday meeting, four days before the race, the forecast looked promising. I said nothing. The other two said, “Looks like we’re going to have good weather”. Two days later, I was fretting over the forecasted thunderstorms. It was an evening race, and we didn’t have much wiggle room to delay before dark. Though I heard a clap of thunder while running my heat, the downpour stayed 10 miles away.
A couple of weeks later, Parks and Rec was hosting an outdoor event where we were a vendor. At the Tuesday orientation, the event coordinators commented about the nice weather that was forecast. Darn if it didn’t rain.
We need to stop having Tuesday meetings.
Not only do race and event directors need to remain quiet, but participants and helpers also need to watch what they say.
I’ve been asked if I miss managing and timing races. No, I don’t miss getting up at 3 am every weekend. It’s even worse when it rains. It’s ok to get up at 3 am to run. Even with rain, it’s easier to run a race than to work a race.
Working a race? Running a race? Keep your lips tight.