Award Ceremonies?

[Jay]

Hi all,

It was interesting to note at last Thursday's meeting that some races
are holding abbreviated award ceremonies (just for top finishers, but
not age group winners), if at all. What are your thoughts about award
ceremonies? Are they part of the 'race experience' and should be
continued? They help give recognition to other than the top finishers,
and thus keep those who are recognized in other categories a reason to
come back? Or are they a waste of time because only the award winners
stick around for them anyway?

If you don't have a full award ceremony, but you do have age group
awards, how do you distribute them?

Thanks,

Jay

[Maccabe, Patti]

Hi everyone,
We give prizes to the top male and female and medals to the divisions
listed below 1st-3rs male and female.

I hear mixed reactions every year in evaluations. Most of them are
distributed during the ceremonies which tells me they like to be
recognized at the race for their accomplishments.

AWARDS (Prize - GC)
First male
First female

AWARDS (medals)
3-deep male/female 10 age categories
Medals with ribbons - blue 1st, red 2nd, gold 3rd

DIVISIONS
0-9 years - male and female
10-14
15-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70-79
80 +

Patti Maccabe
Regional Development Director - NH, ME, VT
Arthritis Foundation New England Region
6 Chenell Drive, Suite 260
Concord, NH 03301
800-639-2113 toll free
603-224-0177 direct line
603-224-3778 fax
603-867-9799 mobile
pmac...@arthritis.org
www.arthritis.org

[Stearns, Guy]

Hello,

I think age group awards are a key ingredient to a successful road race. The awards don't have to be extravagant as the recognition is the key thing.

At the Great Island 5K, we give out cash to the top 3 male and female fishers and top 3 male and female age graded masters. We generally award a hooded sweatshirt to 1st, a GI5K bag to 2nd and a Runner's Alley certificate to 3rd in the following age groups:

10-14
15-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70-79
80 +

We have a large raffle that we conduct after our award ceremony, and on a good day two or three hundred people will stick around through it all. We try to keep things moving and have had very few complaints.

Guy

[Steve Moland]

There are some events which don't do award ceremonies for logistical
reasons. Some events don't do ceremonies during cold weather or on a day
where runners want to leave early like, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, some
races have no or abbreviated ceremonies.

What hurts the attendance at awards ceremonies in general and particular the
next few events a runner attends is where the ceremonies are:

1) out of control
2) slow and late
3) excruciatingly long and some are brutal.

========================================
As to : Out of control.

Nobody but the poor RD assigned to control it. Bad plan (no plan actually).
The RD is almost always distracted before and after a race. If the RD hasn't
picked up on that, then perhaps the RD needs help.

Not organized with prizes labeled as to who they go to. Assign someone to do
that.
Be ready to hand them out and have help. Futzing around in a box while the
winner and the crowd are waiting looks bad and take time.

At applefest we have 3 people each assigned to get the next 1st, 2nd or 3rd
medal/prize. Not one person who has to hand out an award then turn around
the get the next one. Over the course of 30 to 50 awards the seconds added
add up to SLOW.

Call all 3 winners up at the same time. Tell them to remember which position
they won because the folks handing out the awards aren't going to know who
to give the award to.

Calling winners up separately might seem a way to eliminate that possible
confusing part but it takes forever to call up each one, shake hands. The
crowd is always waiting, waiting, waiting.

The announcer should be a bit firm to ask(demand) the crowd pay attention
and ask the winner to put up their hand as they start through the crowd and
come forward so that the announcer can move on to the next winner quickly if
a winner is not there.

==========================================
As to : slow and late awards.

* Almost always caused be sloppy data given to the timing company. Wrong
ages and genders.
* Race day registration by "Valley Girl" teenagers with boy friends sniffing
around. They are poison to the process. Select only 3 digit IQ people and
tell them not to chit-chat with the runners as that causes distractions and
errors.
* Not having someone independent of the race day registration people
checking the forms BEFORE they are given to the timing company.
* Using a ridiculously small race flyer for race day sign up. It should be a
large piece of paper with large areas to write, no promotion, just clear
registration stuff.
* Not putting names, ages and genders on pre-assigned bib. Couples, families
regularly put on the wrong bib.
* Not writing name on multiple bibs when handed to runners so they know
which bib is which.
* Not assigning your brightest and unflappable people to write numbers at
the END of the chute in a non-chip race.

============================================
As to: Excruciatingly long and some are brutal.

It is of course a races decision for what to do, but some races
traditionally have way too many raffle prizes and it takes forever and the
crowd by the end is minuscule. What is the point? Advertising more prizes
than other races means nothing if runners won't stay the extra time to get
them.

The races that do this have fewer winners stay simply because the race has a
well know reputation for being excruciatingly too long.

My personal opinion is I do NOT MAIL any award or endure the horrible
process of trying to arrange a meet up with runners who won't stay for
awards.

Live is tough, we have to make choices. If a runner has to leave, that is
their choice.

An award ceremony is as much for others as it is for the winners, sometimes
even sponsors.

If a runner does no see fit to stay and honor the other winners I do not
feel they in turn deserve to be so honored. They are essentially stiffing
the race and the sponsors who may be putting up money. I stood there next to
a sponsor who was getting upset that about half the winner were not there.

That sponsor said: "I standing here wondering why I did this?"

So,,,,, are few socially uncooperative winners worth doing that to the
sponsor, the RD, the race committee, the other runners. I don't think so.

But that's me.

regards
Steve Moland

[Todd Hanson]

I agree with you Guy.  I noticed you just told all the other race directors that Jeanine gives you loads of gift certificates.  Do you think her phone has started ringing yet?

-----Original Message-----
From: Stearns, Guy [mailto:Guy.S...@LibertyMutual.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 10:39 AM
To: road-race-directo...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: Award Ceremonies?

Hello,

I think age group awards are a key ingredient to a successful road race.  The awards don't have to be extravagant as the recognition is the key thing.

At the Great Island 5K, we give out cash to the top 3 male and female fishers and top 3 male and female age graded masters.  We generally award a hooded sweatshirt to 1st, a GI5K bag to 2nd and a Runner's Alley certificate to 3rd in the following age groups:

10-14
15-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70-79
80 +

We have a large raffle that we conduct after our award ceremony, and on a good day two or three hundred people will stick around through it all.  We try to keep things moving and have had very few complaints.

Guy

-----Original Message-----
From: road-race-directo...@googlegroups.com
[mailto:road-race-directo...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Jay
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 10:11 AM
To: Road Race Directors of Northern N.E.
Subject: Award Ceremonies?

[Todd Hanson]

Guy’s race is well known for a terrific post race event and the award ceremony is extremely well attended.  It doesn’t hurt that it’s in a breath taking spot and usually has very nice weather.  The number of age group categories varies, if you can support the number of awards to break it down that much, great.  Personally as an athletic competition, I am good with the “open division” being 20-39.  There is no fall off in ability that gives a 29 year old an advantage over a 30 year old, at least not at the level we’re talking about.

Food and raffles make the none-competitive runners stay interested.

Todd

[Steve Moland]

Some events like Great Island have a mix of many things that glue it all together.

 

There is no substitute for venue when post race attendance is the subject. If runners have to move any significant distance, most will choose their car and home.

 

You can only herd runners to a start line, but like cats you can't herd them very far from a finish line.

 

Steve

 

---

From: road-race-directo...@googlegroups.com [mailto:road-race-directo...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Todd Hanson
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 1:08 PM

[Arlon Chaffee]

My view is that, unless you have a terrific finish area & raffle (ala GI5K!) or some other hook, you lose many folks during the wait for awards. Longer races (we do many Halfs) put even more strain on the wait. An approach we are using more frequently is this:

• Top 3 M&F finishers - announce as soon as that 6th runner arrives (ask the other 5 to stay close, can cool-down after award).
• All other top 3's in age groups can check results & pick up their award at the Awards Table (pre-filled goodie bags - socks, shirts, certs, etc.).
• NOTE: winners must pick up award at the event - we make this very clear if we use the above program.

As races get larger the focus is more on providing all participants with a rewarding experience and less on awards (ex: 10 year age groups, 3 deep, is 40-50 people.......against a 1,000+ field?). I find a lot of winners (overall & age group) don't stick around for awards (or are out cooling down) and, depending on timing, the crowd of others has thinned too, taking some of the luster off the ceremony.

A

--
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 Friends don't let friends ride slow

Arlon A. Chaffee
Mobile:  603.682.9954

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

[Jay]

For those of you who do have award ceremonies, especially following
longer races, do you post in your FAQs the approximate time when the
ceremony with start? If you do, it will tell your winners how much
time they have for a cool-down, shower, etc. before the ceremony. It
might help to insure that more of the winners are there to receive
their awards. How many times have we heard that someone missed the
ceremony because they were out on a cool-down run? (Whether they
should plan better is another story...)

Jay

[christopher bernier]

Hey everyone, 

This is Chris Bernier from Sub5 Racing.  Got a question for y'all.  When do you see the most sign-ups for your races?  1 month before, 3 months before, 1 week before, etc?  I know that some races have a great email list that once blasted....can fill up a race in a few days.  I don't have that luxury just yet.  We just launched our registration for our Monadnock Half Marathon for Aug6th over here in Jaffrey, NH and am not sure when to expect the influx of registrations?  Thoughts based on experience?

Thanks!

cb

[Mike St Laurent]

Hi Chris.

Typically it is hard to tell for a new race.
But longer races, you may get the following,

Up until 4 weeks before you might get 50% of your runners
you will get 50% of your runners the last month..
Registration slows down 8-12 days before as everyone wants to wait to see the  7 day forcast.

On 1/2 marathons you dont get a ton of post entries
our biggest year was 2011 this year with 76.. out of 1200 that is 5%

Hope that helps
MIke.

BE SURE to put your listing in Cool Running right away and get a live link..
MIke

On Mon, Apr 11, 2011 at 12:11 PM, christopher bernier <chris...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hey everyone, 

This is Chris Bernier from Sub5 Racing.  Got a question for y'all.  When do you see the most sign-ups for your races?  1 month before, 3 months before, 1 week before, etc?  I know that some races have a great email list that once blasted....can fill up a race in a few days.  I don't have that luxury just yet.  We just launched our registration for our Monadnock Half Marathon for Aug6th over here in Jaffrey, NH and am not sure when to expect the influx of registrations?  Thoughts based on experience?

Thanks!

cb

On Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 10:11 AM, Jay <coastw...@gmail.com> wrote:

--
Mike St. Laurent
LOCO Sports, Inc.
603 659 2824

[chris...@gmail.com]

Hello Mike.
Thanks. That really does help. Ya, we got our listing in there & are toying with paying for more exposure. We are getting a lot of activity from his site, but am trying to figure why they are not signing up? Are they just in "shopping" mode or is there something about our race or site that stinks.
Thanks again!
Chris.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

---

From: Mike St Laurent <mi...@locorunning.com>

Sender: road-race-directo...@googlegroups.com

Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:15:35 -0400

To: <road-race-directo...@googlegroups.com>

ReplyTo: road-race-directo...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: Award Ceremonies?

[Mike St Laurent]

Still early
what is the site.?

On Mon, Apr 11, 2011 at 12:32 PM, <chris...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello Mike.
Thanks. That really does help. Ya, we got our listing in there & are toying with paying for more exposure. We are getting a lot of activity from his site, but am trying to figure why they are not signing up? Are they just in "shopping" mode or is there something about our race or site that stinks.
Thanks again!
Chris.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

---

From: Mike St Laurent <mi...@locorunning.com>

Sender: road-race-directo...@googlegroups.com

Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:15:35 -0400

To: <road-race-directo...@googlegroups.com>

ReplyTo: road-race-directo...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: Award Ceremonies?

[christopher bernier]

Thanks Mike, 

www.monadnockhalfmarathon.com  

still some changes to be done, as I just threw this up because we had people asking about it.  any feedback is appreciated....but be gentle as I know I got some work to do on it.  

cb

[Stearns, Guy]

Hey Chris,

 

You have a very impressive website and you clearly have your stuff together.  It is hard to believe this is your first year after looking at your site.

 

I echo Mike’s feedback on registration.  If you put on a good show which it looks like you will, your numbers will take off next year.

 

Good luck pulling it all together.

 

Guy

[Steve Moland]

Chris,

How does the world know to visit the website?

And I would add the DAY OF THE WEEK to every reference of your date.

Steve Moland


On Apr 11, 1:25 pm, christopher bernier <chrisbi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks Mike,www.monadnockhalfmarathon.com

> still some changes to be done, as I just threw this up because we had people
> asking about it.  any feedback is appreciated....but be gentle as I know I
> got some work to do on it.
> cb
>

> On Mon, Apr 11, 2011 at 12:56 PM, Mike St Laurent <m...@locorunning.com>wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Still early
> > what is the site.?
>

> > On Mon, Apr 11, 2011 at 12:32 PM, <chrisbi...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >> Hello Mike.
> >> Thanks. That really does help. Ya, we got our listing in there & are
> >> toying with paying for more exposure. We are getting a lot of activity from
> >> his site, but am trying to figure why they are not signing up? Are they just
> >> in "shopping" mode or is there something about our race or site that stinks.
>
> >> Thanks again!
> >> Chris.
>
> >> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

> >> ------------------------------
> >> *From: * Mike St Laurent <m...@locorunning.com>
> >> *Sender: * road-race-directo...@googlegroups.com
> >> *Date: *Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:15:35 -0400
> >> *To: *<road-race-directo...@googlegroups.com>
> >> *ReplyTo: * road-race-directo...@googlegroups.com
> >> *Subject: *Re: Award Ceremonies?

[christopher bernier]

@ Guy, 

Thanks for the kind words.  We're working on it.  Hopefully we wont have to wait until the 2nd year to see some good numbers.  

cb

[christopher bernier]

@ Steve
We listed it on all the directories (coolrunning, racemenu, etc) with free listings and are researching as to where our ad $$ would be best spent on these.  We also did some fairly in depth keyword research on where to optimize it for organic listings and PPC ads. We will be cranking that out soon. Of course brochures and high end cards with the domain plastered on it for offline stuff.  We might pull a publicity stunt or 2 to get some attention but that is in the works and up for debate.  

Great suggestion  on the day of the week.  Thanks!

cb