Don’t run naked in marathons.
Brett Henderson was Tased and arrested for running naked in The Flying Pig Marathon. The running man was first Tased when he refused to stop for his crime of indecent exposure.
Mr. Henderson defended his actions in the race, claiming that naked running was encouraged in San Francisco and that other runners in other races had similar offenses, but weren’t arrested.
This is something that happens and is tolerated in the running culture, along with runners who sometimes (urinate) or defecate during a race. Shouldn't that be considered indecent exposure, too, if what I did was indecent? In fact, running naked was encouraged in a marathon I ran in San Francisco, so I don't know why this was such a big deal.
He further claims that his crime of naked running wasn’t his original intention when starting the race, but that the drawstring on his borrowed shorts came loose and left him literally pantsless. His intention was to finish the race, so he continued running, even without his shorts on. As Mr. Henderson describes it, the other runners hid him from police for quite some time until he was Tased and brought into a police car for no less than four hours.
As was the case in several other Tasing incidents, I am thinking that the punishment—he still has to go to court—does not fit the crime. Protecting any race-watchers from a naked man who tried to keep himself hidden does not in any way warrant the use of a Taser.
As for Mr. Henderson’s words about racing culture, I’m not quite as sure there are many naked marathon runners out there as he claims.