Tallahassee's 2019 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run

2019 Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run

Saturday, 27 July 2019 @ 7:00 PM ET

Florida State University's Mike Long Track

Chieftain Way and Spirit Way, Tallahassee, Florida

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We all learn from our mistakes. Of course, sometimes we only learn what they look like. "Wow! I did that again!" Tallahassee's Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run is that kind of mistake.


The first Devil-Take-The-Hindmost in Tallahassee was back in the 1970s. You'd think we'd know better after that. Instead, we kept doing it again, year after year. There was actually a seven-year stretch after 2004 where there was no Devil-Take-The-Hindmost, but the run inexplicably returned in 2011. Instead of abandoning the event entirely, the rules were occasionally refined in hopes of making the race less miserable. That hope was not realized. Since 2013, these have been the rules:

• There is a two-minute limit on each lap.
• You must finish the lap before the two minutes are up, and you can't start the next lap until the two minutes are up.
• The first lap will start at 0:00, the second at 2:00, the third at 4:00, and so on.
• At the end of each lap, the Devil will take his due, removing the last runner from the track, plus anyone who didn't complete the lap in two minutes.
• The run continues until one runner is left on the track.

Oh, and before the first lap, there is a "lap zero" where the only rule is that you must stay behind the Devil. No one gets to leave the track on that lap; casualties and the clock start on the next lap.


Who wins? The Devil, of course. The Devil's own far-from-idle hand, Bill Lott, will keep time.


No entry fee. No T-shirt. No finisher medals. No personalized race bibs. You enter by showing up on the starting line, and you register when the Devil gets you (and the Devil will). Spectators are welcome, but are reminded that it's poor form to say that they wish they had participated instead. Participants are reminded that it's poor form to say they wish they had watched instead. Refreshments? As they say in River City, Iowa, "You can eat your fill of all the food you bring yourself."


Questions? Post them below! The Devil may answer. You may even like the answer. Don't bet on it.


Links

• The Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Run over the years, with results and links to photos
  
  
  • 2018: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/07/devil-2018.html
    
    
  • 2017: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/07/devil-2017.html
    
    
  • 2016: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/07/devil-2016.html
    
    
  • 2015: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-2015.html
    
    
  • 2014: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/08/devil-2014.html
    
    
  • 2013: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-2013.html
    
    
  • 2012: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/07/devil-2012.html
    
    
  • 2011: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-2011.html
    
    
  • 2004: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-2004.html
    
    
  • 1993: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-1993.html
    
    
  • 1992: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-1992.html
    
    
  • 1990: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-1990.html
    
  
  
• Announcements for previous Devil-Take-The-Hindmost Runs
  
  
  • 2011: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-returns-2011.html
    
    
  • 2013: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/devil-returns-2013.html
    
    
  • 2014: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/07/devil-returns-2014.html
    
    
  • 2015: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/devil-returns-2015.html
    
    
  • 2017: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/07/devil-returns-2017.html
    
    
  • 2018: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/07/devil-returns-2018.html
    
    
  • 2019: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/07/devil-returns-2019.html
    
  
  
• Find upcoming races of a more usual sort on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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