Ethical Dilemma

Every Runner for Himself?

Jim West/Alamy Stock Photo

November 20, 2017

I’m on a high school cross-country team. We race through woods where there are rocks and roots on the trails. During a race, am I ethically obligated to tell the runners behind me about any debris on the trail?
—William, New Jersey

This is an outdoor race over natural . That’s why it’s not called “track.” In other words, there’s no obligation to warn other runners about rocks, twigs, roots, or ice patches. Tell them, however, if you see a sinkhole or a minotaur.

—Adapted from ‘The Ethicist’ in The New York Times Magazine-

Life and Culture

Ethics

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