PRE-BLOG NOTE: Happy Mother's Day to my Mother and all the other hard working, under appreciated Mom's today! My Mother's Day family plans will take place in a few weeks as a combined Mother's/Father's Day event in a different state, so until then ~ Lots of love to Mom, Dad and the Fam!
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Have you ever ran a race where you knew before it started that this would be your first and last? Ever finished that same race with an uncertainty as to whether you liked the event or not but still knew you had no desire to repeat it? This was one of those. The mixed emotions are not necessarily the result of a poor event but rather the hodge podge of particulars related to the race overall.
+ The location is fantastic. John Chestnut Park had ample parking, lovely scenery and a wide asphalt trail for the course. Easy to locate in Palm Harbor with even easier access in and out of the park.
- The course was an oddity. Out, back, out again but further and then back for the finish. Mile markers, yes, course volunteers en route, no. One water station with tepid "Nestle" flavored water. (Those that truly can taste the difference between Nestle, Dasani and Aquafina know what I mean.)
+ Flat. Totally flat. No complaints whatsoever.
- Manually timed. I mean seriously manual. A volunteer stood at the finish corral to hand out notecards (764 to be exact) at the finish line, in numerical sequence, with instructions to add your name and your finish time and turn in to Registrar. This particular aspect was actually my biggest disappointment and the source of my 'no return' verdict.
+ Saucony Technical Shirts. Major positive aspect. Logo was really cute, pink Superman emblem with Mom across it. Impressed. Newton running socks were free and given out to all who crossed the finish line.
- Post Race amenities. While they were more than enough and an ample selection (doughnuts, cookies, bananas, chips, water, Coca Cola products, MIX protein drinks, etc) the coordinators (one in particular) actually yelled at a family for allowing their small children to eat a banana pre-race. Get real. Ever have kids lady??
+ Family event. 100%. All ages present, and a kids fun run. Lots of walkers for this race and since it was a park, there was a playground (large) for the kids to be entertained while the adults finished their event.
- Sponsors. This has limited sponsorship. To the best of my memory I only saw two or three vendors present. For family style community events, this is the norm and often preferred. It is a matter of preference for runners. Vendors are twofold for many of us. One side of the coin - they are sales oriented quite often. Other side of the coin - they bring tremendous support and encouragement to the running community as well as those life saving magnetic chip bag thingeys.
+ Photographer. This event did have a local photography company present. Cards were handed out liberally telling runners which website to use for photos taken at today's event.
- Shirt Sizing. For those that pre-registered and listed their shirt sizes, adult XL was all that was available for pickup on Sunday morning (line lasted until race start) before the race. While the site guaranteed all pre-registrants a tech shirt, they somehow failed to have kept appropriate sizes for the pre-registered. Walk up registrants were given tech shirts until the allotted amount was exhausted, leaving sufficient shirts for the pre-registered but in the wrong sizes until that supply was diminished. Many pre-registered runners did not receive their shirt, their socks or the sunglasses (as promised in the race promotion) and were quite disgruntled with the coordinator's response. As always, if you're a fan of "I got the shirt" then early packet pickup is a must.
+ Cost. This race is only $17 if you pre-register, 20% less if you register as a family of 3 or more. For many, this is/was the deciding factor, especially given it is a flat race. It is also no doubt part of the reason for a successful turnout.
- This is a FOR PROFIT race. Failure to meet expectations is unacceptable. The event was hosted by Premier Racing Institute and does not encourage participation in their other events.
+/- Digital clock apparatus. There was one. Only one. It was at the Finish Line. For a race with a turnout over 500 people, this and the lack of chip timing is, again, a disappointment.
+/- Awards presentation. Actual trophies are given to "Mother" categories only. The amount of time taken to calculate those handwritten, manual finish time cards was excessive. Many runners, myself included, simply left. Some of the elite runners, who would have also won for their finish times, also left early, directly after crossing the finish line. It's not that we aren't a patient group, its that we've been to events where this is a non-issue.
+/- START Line. Baby strollers were not given specific entry points, nor were walkers and in this instance, if you're at the rear of the start off, you hear the horn and wait, wait some more, walk, walk some more and then walk across the start line and wait for the crowd to thin so you can actually run. Since it is geared as a family event, some have genuine appreciation for this. Others would rather see organization.
For those that read my posts, I've missed four races in a row recently due to traveling and scheduling conflicts so this was a sigh of relief to have broken my streak. I did walk the majority of the course and ruled out a PR early on due to the crowd, small children on the course and the loss of time at the START (manual timing rarely allocates for varied start times).
I would never discourage anyone from participating in this race, I would simply state "cool shirts and good exercise"
OFFICIAL TIME: 43:58
764 Result Cards were handed out at the Finish Line
513 Cards were turned in for scoring to Registrar
360 Females posted
153 Males posted
The Active.com reviews seem to be echoing similar thoughts:
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