On St. Pat's, Strollers, Volunteers, and the Winter Series.

[Jim]

I got a question the other day about the "no dogs or strollers" remark
on the St. Pat's app. No, I don't hate kids, and I don't want to keep
kids away. Frankly, I wouldn't put it in at all if I hadn't had the
initial complaint.

It's not safe to have kids in these races. Not with the snow & ice,
and the difficulties in getting them through the finish line.
Strollers on the race course are harder to handle, and a crowd and ice
together make it a hazard (hence the complaint from a runner). As for
the finish line, to make it work SAFELY, I would need 3 more
volunteers and another finish line to handle them safely. So. My
daughter will be there (in a stroller, maybe), but not in the race.
My dog will stay home. Simple as that. It's the kind of thing a race
director has to make, and some won't like it or won't understand. I
hope I've cleared it up a little.

Volunteers - I have 4 already. YAY! I still need about 20 more, so
if you're free, or you have family members that will put in a little
time to gain you entry, or you need community service hours, I can
sure use you. I especially need road marshals and finish line folks.
As stated in the newsletter - each volunteer results in a free entry.
Some (like my registration people) are running for free themselves.
Some (like the road marshals) are welcome to give their free entry
away to someone else. It's a great way to get out and help out. And
get my thanks.

Winter Series - there are a little over 100 (I think) eligible for the
winter series this time around. My thanks to everyone who came out
already, and to those planning to finish it. I'm handling it a little
differently this year. I hope to have the series awards ready at the
race. And I hope I have the series premium hand-out handled as well.
We'll see. If I haven't learned anything from last year, I'll just
drop it. But that's not going to happen.

Feel free to drop me a line or make suggestions. No promises (I'm
still responsible for the race, after all), but I do try to keep an
open mind.

Thanks.
Jim.

[Jim]

Oh, and one other thing - registration is now open. Print the app and
pay regular price. Register on Active.com and save a buck. We even
eat the cost for this one. ERC Members - check your newsletter for
the coupon code to get your member's discount (another buck...)

Jim.

[Jim]

As it stands now, it looks like I have enough folks to man
registration and post-race. I'm now looking for road marshals and
finish line help. Unfortunately, they're not "help & run" positions,
but they are very important and very much needed (and appreciated!)

Thanks,
Jim.