Monday, February 13, 2012

Racing must haves.


Last week, This girl, This girl, This girl,and This girl, I went to an event put on by Ram Racing.  The executives of the company wanted to connect with people in the Southern California community and generate buzz for the Hot Chocolate 15k series.  It was cool to go because simply learning about the management side of racing is so interesting to me.   They were nice to host us, and I think connecting with the community is a great step on their part.  (No, I didn't confront them about the DC disaster, but rest assured that the rest of the girls did multiple times.)




One thing they talked about was who the race series is marketed to: 
Just like any product, there's a target audience to any race series.   In the case of the Hot Chocolate race series, the executives said it's targeted towards first time runners, women, and people wanting a cool experience.  This is probably a really good idea, because that's the fastest growing segment of the running population and a good way to make lots of $$.

If you talk to any runner that's been running since the 90s, they will give you this "back in the day, stuff was cheap, people but their heads down and raced, and races didn't fill up in a day" spiel .  I'm more of a 90s runner, but things have changed, and the growing population of runners has a growing number of needs and wants.  Which made me think my own race "must haves":

Stuff I Gotta Have:

Aid Stations: People who carry water when racing deserve a medal because that sounds really hard and annoying.  When I race, I want water and a sports drink that is not coconut water (yes, that happened once, thank you Malibu Marathon).

Accurate Mile Markers:  Measure the mile, put a marker.  'Nuf said.

Accurately Measured Course:  I have yet to race a course that is short, but this would be a heart breaker.  What the heck was drinking all that water and going to bed early the night before for if I couldn't even race the distance?

Good Logistics:  This means corrals if appropriate, enough parking, quick packet pickup, and an on-time start.  Gear check is nice too, although seldom works as planned. Basic, yet surprisingly hard to achieve.

Ample places to pee:  With toilet paper and short lines, please.  Woods are an acceptable alternative.



Would be nice: 

Chip Timing:  I've run a couple non-chipped 5ks.  This is fine if the race is small.  A race without chip timing should be cheap.

Entertainment on Course:  This one is kind of a dumb one, but I can distinctly remember running around mile 17 of the Chicago marathon in 2009 and hearing one of my favorite songs at the time.  It was magical.

Race Day Packet Pickup:  Come on y'all, you're gonna make me drive to your race TWICE?  Unless you're expecting 20,000, just let me get my stuff on race day.  I'm more sensitive to this because I live in the boonies for Southern California and everything is a drive.

Tech Tee:  Only if it fits.  I'll pay more for something fitted and non-ugly.  Of course, those things are in the eye of the beholder.

Pretty Course:  Great scenery or crowds help me get through a long race.

source


Don't Care

Cool after race "party":  The last thing I want to do after a race is party.  An after race free ride home would be even cooler.  Unless there is beer.  Then it's nice to have.

Medals and Schwag:  I get that some people like medals.  I just don't care.  I have enough junk in my house.

Money Prizes:  This opinion could change about cash prizes if I can knock off about a minute per mile off my current races.   I expect that to be not hard to do at all.  NBD, y'all.

Age Group Prizes:  This may require a separate post, but I don't get age group awards.  Unless you're under 15 or over 45, we're all in the same age group:  The "Healthy Adult" age group.

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What are your race must haves?  What do you not care about as much?  

Any race horror stories (or awesome stories) to share?

19 comments:

  1. Woods and creepy barns...

    ;)

    I agree with your must-haves, but I do like to get a medal.

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    1. what? I remember nothing of these woods and creepy barns. Or running out of a van...

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  2. I like age group prizes, but I'm closer to 45 than you are. :^)

    Very much with you on the must-haves.

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    1. yeah, I mean 45 was an arbitrary number. I just feel a little peeved when 23 year olds brag about an age group award. But I should probably get a life :).

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  3. I didn't run the Dallas version of the race this past weekend (mostly b/c of a friend who ran DC and explained how horrible it was), but it got good reviews from all my friends who did it. Think they learned some valuable lessons in DC about how to export a race. My best race mgmt idea has yet to be implemented (as far as I know): primo parking if you have 4 race bibs (and racers) in your vehicle. I rarely carpool, but that would certainly encourage me. I like a good afterparty with beer, but it has to be a good one, otherwise, like you, I just don't care.

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    1. I like your carpool idea! Ah glad to hear Ram is redeeming themselves. I mean...unless they want no one to do their races, it's probably a good idea they get their act together!

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  4. Your stuff I gotta have is my stuff I gotta have, too. And the don't cares match up as well. Most of your would be nices also fall into my don't cares. Inexpensive is pretty awesome.

    Nightmare? Would have to be this past RnR Vegas. Wish someone had given me that Mexican warning...you know the one... "don't drink the water." And the logistics blew chunks.

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    1. Inexpensive is a pretty awesome one for sure!

      I really hoped someone was playing "don't drink the water" by dave matthews band somewhere on the course. The irony would be fantastic.

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  5. When I ran the Baltimore 10-Miler last summer they had like 50 porta potties, which was awesome. But even more awesome was that there was a volunteer who was assigned to shouting out which ones were free. This was amazing because there were so many that it would have wasted so much time to walk by and check each one. He probably didn't think his job was that awesome, but he seriously made my race day.

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    1. hah. Yeah he was probably hating his life at that moment, but that's a great idea!

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  6. A course must be measured correctly. End of story. My first 5k the course was short. I was so mad!!! Forever I had this "sketchy PR."

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    1. it seems to happen really often with 5ks! Those should be the easiest to measure, right?

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  7. I agree with almost everything you said. It drives me crazy when mile markers are way off and when races start late. So so so annoying to get up at the butt crack of dawn only to shiver your ass off waiting for a race to start.

    I think Vegas RnR was probably my worst experience ever. Wow seriously I'd rather pay $15 for a small organized race. The RnR series is just ridiculous in my opinion....and I'm sure you don't care to hear me rant to I'll shut up now. :)

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    1. haha. I kind of love it when you rant. I ran RNR LA and it was so well run. Although honestly I'm a bigger fan of smaller companies that donate to charity and such...

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  8. I'd add decent post-race snacks to the must haves for anything over a half. I'm fine with a banana, a bagel and some water. I usually don't get around to eating a decent meal for a couple hours after a race and don't bother with bag checks so I need something to tide me over for a little bit.

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    1. I'm totally with you, I've just never run a marathon without a lot of food at the end! Although the only thing I want to do after a marathon is collapse and die, not eat. =)

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  9. Good list that pretty much sums up my wants and desires too. If it's not a half marathon or a marathon, you definitely don't need to give me a medal (in my opinion anyway). At the Atlanta Half they had electronic timing at EVERY mile marker (so it showed you how much time had elapsed from the start). Yes, a watch would do the same thing... but I still thought it was a nice touch! I really can't stand it when there's no mile markers whatsoever or they're in the wrong place. Or when everyone turns the wrong way and a 5k turns into a 3k!

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    1. That electronic timing sounds pretty nice! Although I've run races where the electronic clock is off and it gets really confusing. :)

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  10. What's this Big Sur you speak of? ;) I love your list--ultimately its the experience not the medal we remember--so cool you got to hear the other side of racing!

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