Don't Assume.....

I enjoy writing my blog and I also enjoy the comments that I receive. My latest blog titled "up and up" had many responses. Some online and many emailed directly to me. I would ask those who respond not to ASSUME you know all the answers. Lets start with entry fees.....I DO NOT set the entry fees for the organizations that hire us. I only SUGGEST what they should charge for their 5k's. When talking about routes you can not assume that we run the same routes all the time. We try not to reinvent the wheel due to permiting and costs. We have multiple routes at Rockford Park and usually try and run the flat route. We have numerous routes on the Riverfront and try to run either Dravo Plaza route or Overlook Pavilion route which are both fast and flat and usatf certified. What you may or may not realize is that there is a City of Wilm. ordinance that does NOT allow us to run on Kentmere Parkway. We were able to Grandfather in our oldest events. The CR Half, Icicle Run and Run walk for MS. When talking about groups that take over events such as Miles for Molly I was contacted by them to get this race organized for Childrens Beach House in Lewes, DE. I suggested Dead Presidents as host and set up a new route for this 5k starting and finishing at Dead Presidents. Miles for Molly is a great event with a fabulous organization behind it. The Logan House 5k is another example of folks assuming that this race is great because of the organization behind it. Let me clue you in....Parkinson Fdn. the beneficiary provides NO help for this event. They are the beneficiary. My wife and i recruit vols (some paid) and we handle all aspects of this 5k from tee shirts to sponsors to awards to permits to management and timing. As for Mimi's 5k the organization is once again fabulous....They hire us to time and manage this 5k for DE Hospice. We run the same route that all other races run from the Overlook Pavilion. We only use Harry's for registration. I always say that we are only as good as the folks that hire us. So please do not assume you have all the answers. You may have some but promise.....you do not know what goes on behind the scenes. Feel free to email me with any questions or concerns you may have.

Up and Up

I remember when i started organizing road races back in the 70's. Entry fees were $6 pre and $10 day of race. How things have changed. Our current entry fees seem to have come to a halt at $16 pre and $20 day of event. These fees have been in place for at least ten years. My goal is always to keep our events affordable and get sponsors to help pay expenses. But....when outside fees continue to go up I may be forced to increase entry fees. When i do a 300 piece mailing the cost is .42 each or $126. Postage goes up .2 in May. To help save money I do not mail out paper forms to those who register online. One month out I email those who entered online to let them know that online registration is open and hope they will join us. I just got word that the City of Wilmington Police are raising their hourly fees by $6 per hour per officer. Four officers use to cost us $320 will now cost us $368. This is still a good deal compared to other police jurisdictions I work with. I will continue to do my best to keep expenses in order but don't be surprised if you start to see entry fees go up a few dollars. To help those who may have difficulty paying entry fees in today's economy I am offering a FREE 5k pre entry to any volunteer who helps us out at our Kelly's Logan House 5k on March 7th or our Citizen's Bank Caesar Rodney Half Marathon March 15th. Just email me that you are available to volunteer and I will give you a coupon good for one FREE entry fee to our 5k's. Who said there is no such thing as a FREE lunch?

Stats don't lie

How do you know how many tee shirts to order when your event is 3 months away and you have no idea of how many folks will attend. With the way our economy is going I would think our numbers may be down. Folks may not want to spend the money to travel in tight times. What we do have is a way of tracking our participant numbers each year. Since we work on excel we can get a pretty good guesstimate of how many shirts to order by looking at previous years participation. Using this method we can see how we stack up with years past. This is what we have so far for this years marathon compared to years past:

09 08 07 06 05
Marathon 199 vs 233 153 180 93
Half 99 vs 50 19 na na
Relay 15 vs 18 17 9 4

As you can see we are holding our own with the marathon entries. Last year was our best yet. And this years numbers show us above years 2005-2007. This is the first year of our half marathon and it shows 99 pre registered or twice as many as this time last year. Last years event was a ten miler. The relay continues to stay close to the last two years numbers. Most relay teams wait till the last minute to sign up. With these numbers in mind we then use a formula to order our performance tees. Stats.....they just don't lie.

webmaster Wayno

Winter months are the perfect time to update my website for the coming years events. Not only doI work on my races2run website but also on our DE Marathon and Seven Sisters of Dewey Beach sites. This year I have used a large font for my r2r site to make it easier to read. We have picked up some new events for 2009. I like to call these events Inaugural rather than First Annual. I get plenty of emails and phone calls asking what our fees are to stage a 5k fundraising event. What it comes down to is a 200 person 5k costs around $2800 to $3000 to stage depending on location you choose. This includes mgt. fees, timing fees, advertising, police, permits, tee shirts, awards, etc. Your income IF the weather is good is around $3600 so you will make some money. It is so very important to have sponsors help with your expenses. We have done 5k's with 50 participants and the charity raised $10,000. The low turnout was due to horrible weather conditions. Charity race directors must understand the importance of sponsors. These folks did a fabulous job of covering their bases. Race season is only a few weeks away!

filling in the blanks

We continue to work on our CCHS Delaware Marathon. It really is one huge puzzle. Getting folks to participate is only part of the game. One major concern is the safety of the runners. With CCHS as title sponsor this event will have the best medical organization around. These folks volunteer their time to help you the runner in case of an emergency. We are also working with New Castle County Para medic teams. These guys are great. With the move to Tubman Garrett Riverfront Park these folks are very aware of how important it is to get you out of the park and to the hospital in case of an emergency. They were on the medical team when President elect Obama and VP Elect Joe Biden stopped in Wilmington on their way via train to Washington,DC. O'Bama and Biden spoke in Tubman Park. The medical teams had a plan that they would follow in case of an emergency. We are also working with the Delaware Volunteer Fire Police to help fill in positions that the Wilmington Police need help with. One huge issue is communications of all these folks. This is where the CCHS communication specalists come in. Known as CARES they will be positioned around the course and in radio contact with medical units at the finish area. If someone goes down they will notify medical and help is on the way. We are still looking for teams of volunteers to help with residential intersections as course marshall's. Most of these positions are around Kentmere Parkway, Bancroft Parkway, and Wawaset Park areas. If you would like to volunteer just drop me an email. Plenty to do.....you can help us make our CCHS DE Marathon a safe fun and enjoyable day for all.

Woggers

I remember when I first started to stage walking events within our 5k running events. I noticed right away how many folks really walk fast! We award (and still do) prizes to top 3 male and top 3 female finishers. I guess the only problem we have is that some walkers break into a run while trying to race walk. I received a nice email from a new walker who calls herself a "Wogger". I never heard of a Wogger but i really like the name....kind of says it all....someone who walks but mixes it up with a jog. I thought I would share this email with you. Keep on Wogging.....

I am a fairly new Wogger (walk / jogger) and just wanted to take a minute to thank you !! I just started Wogging a year ago at 41 and am grossly out of shape and overweight. Through the help of some friends and family and your web site I have been able to drop 55 lbs in the last year and a half and go from not even being able to walk 3 miles to being able to do some jogs along with finishing every 5k I have entered.I'm sure you get hundreds of e-mails a week but after reading your last blog and you not being able to do something you love to do … I just wanted to thank you for helping me to find something I enjoy .. And hope to some day love to do !See you at the races !!!!

New Years Resolution

I am not much for New Years resolutions.....loose weight, run more, stretch more, eat less. Boring to say the least. So this year I decided to do something I have not done in 38 years. Stop running. You think this one is easy.....no way Jose. One of the hardest things I have ever had to do. You ask why? A bit of arthritis in the hip is the reason. I was at the point where i could not get up after sitting at my desk.....or i could not get out of my car when driving to the store. My doctor gave me the ok to get an injection of cortisone. So for now the pain is gone. I am getting my life back. My good friend Paul Schweizer told me I should try hydro therapy. Basically running in water. I have been doing this now for 2 weeks. I feel like an injured horse. 40 minutes 6 days a week I hit the pool wearing a wet vest to keep me afloat. I must admit.....i feel great! Almost to the point of where i could start running again. I will give it 6 months. I will then head back to my orthopedic Dr. Steve Dellose and see what he says. My marathon days may be over.....but i am not ready to throw in the towel. I envy all who are out there putting in the miles.....keep on running.