Is there a doctor in the house?

A few weeks ago at one of our 5k events the organization that hired my company told me that they did not want to hire para medics for their 5k due to the cost. Now you have to understand that when I am hired to manage a race the first thing i do is put together a budget estimation so each and every event knows up front what these road races will cost. Under medical I have 2 para medics. Cost $160. My wife Barb handles ALL medical issues for me. She arranges to have para medics at all our events. Especially in the heat of summer. For the City of Wilmington events she deals directly with Cheif Kalanowski of the Wilmington Fire Dept. Emails go back and forth and we get a final email stating which two para medics will be there and at what time. For this event the organization said they had a nurse who could handle medical. Now ....don't get me wrong. This just does not cut it. I told these folks that they ok'ed the budget when they hired us and that a nurse is not going to handle an emergency and would just call 911. They did ok the expense and the para medics were at this event. Wouldn't you know it.....a runner goes down at the finish line with an asthma attack. The nurse standing by watched as the para medics went into action. They put on an oxygen mask to help this person breath and she ended up scared but ok. The nurses comment to me, "thank god the para medics were on hand." With 32 years of experience I can say that things can and do go wrong at a road races and for $160 you just can't justify NOT having para medics there. Like my Barb says...."better to be safe than sorry." BTW....this is my
100th blog and counting.

road trip

I love it when folks ask how my weekend was......well....lets say busy.
Here is a quick rundown of how I spent my holiday weekend.
Friday at 4 pm I chalked out route for Saturday's Firecracker 5k. Up Sat. morning at 5:30 to meet at Rockford Park for set up of registration. Race starts at 8:30 am.....awards done by 9:45am .....home posting results and photos by noon. 1pm to my garage to load up for Jimmy's Grill 5k in Dewey. Leave Wilm. at 3:30pm. Arrive in Dewey at 5:30pm. Unload groceries in condo and then off to Dewey Beach Liquors to pick up tee shirts, computer label print outs of pre registered runners, and gift certificates for award winners. On way to do this I chalk out route for Sunday's 5k. At Dewey Beach Liquors we load the 6 boxes of tees in my van and head back to our condo at Spring Lake. We count out pre reg shirts and then place labels on race numbers......have dinner with Barb and then watch some Tour de France. Bedtime at 10 pm. Up at 5:15 and out the door by 6:15. We head back to Dewey and on the way we stop to place mile markers and turn around signs on route. Set up is done by 6:45 am and registration opens......race starts at 8 am and 470 runners take off. At 9:05 Barb starts award presentations and I clean up finish line area and re load my vehicle. 10 am we are hanging out at Jimmy's. 10:30am I drop off check to police for their services and then it is finally time to relax and have a beer. Make that beers. A typical weekend in the life of a race director.

Fast times.....

We had some fast times at our 5k on Saturday at our 3rd annual Race for Time 5k.
15 male runners ran under 18 minutes. I received emails asking if the course was short. My answer is NO. It is USATF certified and YES they ran the correct route. In fact Doug White who certified the course stopped by Joe's Crab Shack to check the course to make sure they did run the correct route..... and all was ok. Of all the 5k routes on the Riverfront this may be the fastest. Not many turns and there are many nice long straight a ways. When you get over $2500 in gift certificates on the line folks take notice. Our Michelob Ultra Race to the Finish Line Series is going strong. Our participant numbers are way up from a year ago. With the point system many are coming back each series race to try and improve their age group standings. I did receive a nice email from a runner who was at this race that I would like to share with you:

wayne - just wanted you to know that I love the races on the waterfront. Easy to get to, plenty of parking, fast times. this year it was great to be inside the crab shack after the race. I hope the crab shack and iron Hill realize that it provides me an opportunity to check out their place. the crab shack and Iron hill are on my list of places to go when i am in Wilmington. Feel free to pass this on to the crab shack crew.

Always nice to support a sponsor.

Sprint tri at St. Andrews

For the last 22 years I have spent my Father's Day at St. Andrews School in Middletown for our Sprint triathlon. I did miss one year to run in the Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska as part of Team in Training. For those not familiar with St. Andrews School it is an exclusive (and expensive) boarding school in Middletown, DE. It is also the site where Robin Williams movie Dead Poet Society was filmed. Back 23 years ago I came up with the idea to stage a triathlon. I thought of St. Andrews because I knew someone who worked there. We got the ok and what a 22 years it has been. The distances are 1/4 mile swim in Noxontown Pond, 16 mile (2-8 mile loops) bike ride and a 3 mile XC run. I like this distance because we get so many first timers and once they do this event they come back year after year. St. Andrews asks us to limit the field to 250 participants which is fine with me and the athletes like the low key approach we take with this event. After 22 years my set up crew have given me notice that they all plan to retire working this event. Thus the rumors that this event would not continue. Let me be the first to tell you.....we received permission from St. Andrews to continue with our event so like they say, "the show will go on." I have a new group that will help with course set up and clean up. One neat story I have to tell you. I got an email from a women who was signed up to do our tri 12 years ago. The doctor told her she could not due due to her pregnancy. So she came back this year and competed with her 12 year old son ....how cool is that.

friendly neighbors

This will be the third weekend in a row that we use the Bancroft Parkway to Gilpin Ave to Williard to Rockford Park route. St. Anthony's, Kid Shelleen's, and Saturday's Miles for Molly. All 5k's. I live on Bancroft Parkway and know many of my neighbors. I always try and warn them that a run walk is coming.
All say, "no problem....we enjoy watching the parade of runners." Thank goodness! At our DE Marathon not only did we use both sides of Bancroft Parkway as part of our route but we made up distance by running a loop in the residential neighborhood of Wawaset Park which connects to Bancroft Pkwky. I received many emails after the marathon. I would like to share with you one paragraph that a marathon runner emailed to me:

"The course was about as scenic as a city marathon can hope for. I never ran the previous course but this years was very nice. I especially liked the river walk, Brandywine Park, and the residential area with the really nice houses. For what it's worth, the last area had the best fan support by far! "

So many emails like this one.....I purchased a thank you sign that i have placed at entrance to neighborhood. It says, "thank you for your support and enthusiasm," the Delaware Marathon. Wilmington shines once again.

New race series

I had a nice meeting with representatives of the American Cancer Society on Tuesday. They asked me about the possibility of staging another race series in the month of August as a fundraiser for the ACS. I explained to them that our Seven Sisters of Dewey Beach and my Michelob Ultra Race to the Finish Line Restaurant series have been both very popular with the runners and walkers. Why? Cause runners like to hang out and relax after a race especially if good eats and a beer are available. With this in mind I was able to work with Bob Ashby owner of McGlynn's Pub and the Deer Park for a 3 race series to be staged in the month of August.

Sunday, August 16th at McGlynn's Pub in People's Plaza in Bear, DE
Saturday, August 22nd at The Deer Park in Newark, DE
Saturday, August 29th at McGlynn's Pub in Dover, De

All events start at 8:30 am. All 3 events will feature Michelob Ultra beer. 5 year age groups scoring top 2 and a gift cards from sponsoring restaurants. Come hungry.....work up a thirst......relax and have fun......Support the American Cancer Society.

A special lady......

I had an aniversary of sorts today. Thirty years ago this week I staged the first of now 30 St. Anthony's road races. Hard to believe. Back then the race was a
10k with crowds of 600 runners. One of Delaware's largest road races at the time which would be 1980. What you may not realize is that there just were not that many road races to choose from. In fact I would bet that there were more 10k's (called mini marathons) than there were 5k's. Thus the huge crowds at our 10k I decided to make the move to a 5k when high (90 degree) temps hit one year and we had to cart folks off and pack em in ice. Yes......we no longer get the huge crowds at this event but with 250 entrants this year the St. Anthony's Italian Festival continues on. This year was special as our gal Becky Yencharis joined us once again. She is using a walker now but as she approaches 90 years of age she is still able to get around. Her mind is still sharp and she will tell you that "St.Anthony's is where I started my running career 30 years ago." This year she walked about 1/4 mile with an aid at her side. She was almost in tears as the runners cheered her on as she crossed the finish line. A special moment....a special lady.