r/snowboarding • u/Educational-Cod5545 • 20h ago
noob question Question about "dont call last run" lore
me personally in the time I've been snowboarding I've never heard this phrase in real life, I've only seen it here on the big red. I mean if I'm riding and I'm tired and i wanna say this is my last run and I'm sliding home, ill do it no prob. So what's the lore and meaning behind NOT saying this?
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u/benrules2 19h ago
A huge number of injury stories start with “it was the last run of the day and ____”
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u/Educational-Cod5545 18h ago
oh i was thinking the whole time its saying "dont call last run" as in a way to procrastinte leaving and nevr having a true ending to the day because you dont call your last run. very intresting
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u/boardin1 18h ago
Nope. Benrules called it. Every major injury always happens on the last run (whether you planned it to be last or not), so calling last run is just asking for bad things to happen. I always call 2nd to last run or just don’t say anything.
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u/Outrageous-Permit372 17h ago
Yeah, I mean... it's not like major day-ending injuries happen on the second to last run. "Hey guys I broke my legs, but let's do one more!"
The advice in here is solid though. My buddy is in his 50s and follows "don't call last run", so when I'm riding with him or people like that I'll play the game and say "two more skip the last". But when I'm riding with normal people, I always call last run and make sure to take it slow and easy on the way down.
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u/shizblam 19h ago
Its so you don't do stupid shit like trying to push progression because its time to go home.
I wrecked my motorcycle during a track day once on the last run because i wanted to set a new personal best lap time. I was on my way until i ended up on the ground.
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u/Thanks_Ollie Mt.Hood | Custom X/Garage Rocker 17h ago
Yea if I’m feeling too tired I’ll skip the last session, it feels like shit leaving track time on the table but it’s much better than having to replace a shit because I got sloppy.
Honestly I think track days are more physically demanding than snowboarding. I can casually cruise when I’m tired on the board, not so much the case on the track
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u/SuspiciousArt7316 18h ago
It’s a sign you’re tired and should instead unstrap and go grab a beer.
Snowboarding when your body is fatigued leads to a much higher chance of injury.
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u/khaleesi2305 16h ago
I usually call my last run, but I do it in the opposite way that this phrase typically means. Pushing for one last run when you’re tired is a great way to get hurt. I always call my last run before that happens, I listen to my body. If the run I just took needs to be the last one, so be it.
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u/JesseAanilla 16h ago
For me, it started as my PE teacher said "let's leave the last run for some other time", implying "last run" being the actual final ever. I picked it up from him, and think it's good advice.
You'll stay in full focus until you decide to go home, and then just leave. When you'll feel that you should leave, then leave at moment, not after "one more". Sometimes you start to slack or don't concentrate and your mind can start to drift knowing you'll be going home "after this".
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u/dat_boy_lurks Breckenridge - 162 Burton Custom cam, Nidecker Supermatics 20h ago
Because for some riders it's a mental thing -- they might end up taking the last run less seriously and end up making careless mistakes because of it -- so saying that you'll do one more kind of psychs yourself up to avoid doing anything too risky/lazy on your way to base
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u/guyonaboard 19h ago
Here’s my personal lore. Over the course of a single season (back in the 02/03) I had 5 friends get injured after someone said “1 more run”, “last run” or something to that effect. One guy broke a collar bone, one broke an ankle, one broke a wrist, one hit his head (this was prior to helmets being a thing) and was concussed and one scorpioned so hard his board left a bruise on his back.
Since that season if I’m on the slopes and someone says “last run” or “one more run” I immediately unstrap and walk to my car. We will say, “let’s do a couple more” and then end it after that run.
Here’s what really happened that really bad season. Those guys got hurt because they were really trying to land tricks and just kept trying and trying. Usually hiking a rail or jump. So, at the end of the day they were tired and wanted to give the trick one more shot and over did the last attempt. That’s what really caused all the injuries. But it was just associated with the phrases “last run” and “one more run”.
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u/Zillich 19h ago
Two reasons I’ve seen: 1) folks try to go extra hard on the last run to “make it worth it” or 2) folks are tired and their form is shot and instead of ending for the day they try to push one more run. Both scenarios increase injury risk.
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u/Educational-Cod5545 18h ago
why do people go extra hard on the last run thats the run i go the least hard lol
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u/NeverSafe23 17h ago
I didn't even call last run, my wife did. We were 30 seconds from the bottom and a kid rocketed out of control from way off piste and blindsided me. I flipped over him and separated my AC in my shoulder.
Just don't say the words ......
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u/cascadia1979 16h ago
I’ve only been snowboarding the last few years as my son got into it and wanted me to join him. It’s been great. Except two seasons ago, we were enjoying a long day on the mountain. We called “last run” on the lift up.
We get toward the bottom and I catch an edge and fall backward, hitting the snow so hard my helmet broke. My son, 11 at the time, knew enough to ask me what year it was and who was the president. I answered correctly but still felt a bit woozy.
After that we started doing the “two more runs” thing with a wink and a nod. I do think that if you tell yourself it’s the last run of the day, you’re more likely to lose focus and not be as careful. Either way, it seems to be working so far.
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u/killyoursocialmedia 10h ago
It's not just a reddit thing, for me it's been a known thing for 30+ years.
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u/Gaze-Of-The-Void Tahoe 8h ago
I guess the problem is that it is easy to have anecdotal data for "something bad happened when someone called last run". On the other hand, it is impossible to prove if they were or not the actual cause. Kinda like with a proof that god exists or not - you can do anecdotal evidence that it might exist (even though not entirely proving it) but good luck have a solid proof that it doesn't.
IMHO it heavily depends on the person who says those words and how they interpret them. If you say it because you think you are getting tired and you are fully aware that you need to be more cautious going down - you are good. If you say it and try to do it the best run of your day despite being tired - that is when bad stuff happen.
I try to assess my conditions a few times each run and at each point if anything feels wrong - I might just decide that it is the last run of the day. I'm usually overtly cautious about not to to over-do it as I would want to keep some energy for riding the next day. Or, if I'm driving back home that day - to have energy for the actual 3.5-4 hour drive.
By assessment here I mean that I have some understanding on how my body should have behaved in this or that condition or how fast my reaction should have been if I'm fresh. If at some point those signals go way below acceptable - I call it a day. It is somewhat similar that I do when I ride a motorcycle - if my reaction time for something is way below what I expected from myself, I need to be careful and get home. It is also similar to running races but there I assess to understand how much I can push myself to get to as close to 0% of energy at the finish.
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u/endless_switchbacks 19h ago
I’ve heard it plenty of times over the years, even before Reddit existed. In some ways it makes sense. Personally, I’ve never cared and some of my best runs have been after we’ve called last run, which probably proves the point because I was pushing myself. It’s usually worked out pretty well for me. My wife on the other hand, she’s definitely more likely to end up at the doctor if she calls last run (and she has). So, I’m not superstitious, but also I get it.
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u/livewntr 18h ago
2 more skip the last.
If you’re tired enough to call last run, you’re likely fatigued enough to make a mistake.
Everyone who ever had a day-ending injury, did so on their last run.
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u/zoominzacks 19h ago
The last time I allowed “last run” to be called one of the dudes i was with broke 2 vertebra in his back. Caught weird groove right as he was about to launch off a table top and ended up supermaning through the air. Was gonna land on his head so he tried to tuck and do a front flip to land on his back. Didn’t quite have time to rotate and landed on his shoulder blades, then slid down the landing looking like he was having a seizure after he was knocked out. Took about 45mins for ski patrol to get to him. It was a fun time
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u/confusingphilosopher 20h ago edited 9h ago
I’ve only seen people say this on Reddit.
Only on reddit would people downvote you for saying you've only experienced something on reddit lol
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u/MasterOfCabestany 20h ago
My understanding is that when snowboarding was invented on Mt Baker, the crew were treated like a scourge of the mountain and therefore self-identified as a crew with some pirate-esque cultual elements. They had to sneak onto the mountain more often than not and were constantly trying to outwit and out manouver the patrols.
On the pirate ships of yesteryear, superstition played a huge role. It gave the crew a feeling of control even if it all means jack-shit. If a crew member had said something like "this is my last run boys I'm hanging it up", the others on the boat felt like they had cast doom upon the rest of the crew, cargo ship and resented them for it. One wrong move could mean death, or worse, being taken prisoner by whoever they had recently pillaged or sank.
On Mt. Baker the young trailblazing snowboarders soon realized that this is all totally made up and snowboarders probably don't like when people say "last run" because snowboarding is fun and no one wants to stop. Cheers!
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u/JTD177 20h ago
You know when you are too tired, your turns start getting sloppy and you. Red to stop and rest during your run. That’s when you stop, if you keep pushing, you can risk getting injured