In Oct. runners have the option of four races held in San Marcos. All four are with different organizations and most have experienced volunteers helping with making sure things go according to plan. I started putting races back in 1979 and most of the learning came from making mistakes and not knowing the details that needed to be done to make everything work. I finally wrote a booklet about what it takes to put on a race. I was looking over it and it needs a major upgrade on some topics. Entry fees and the cost of awards and race shirts have all increased. Advertising has gone from handing out flyers at other races to signing up online. Putting on a race is a good fundraiser for an organization and is a quick one morning effort from the club. A few members had to do most of the work about three months before the day of the race. When I started putting on races I tried to get someone to follow me around to learn what it takes to put on a race. A few stuck with me to the end leading up to and including the day of race. All of them commented that they did not realize the duties and things that need to be done to put on a race. It is quite an experience for a first time race director volunteer.
Details of the race need to start a good three months before the day the race is planned. Things like the date of the race and the number of big races that same day that might hurt your number of entries are important to consider. Then the distance needs to be decided between a 5K, a 10K, a 15K, a half marathon and even a marathon. For a first time race director it is recommended to try a 5K race. Fewer volunteers and usually an easier setting up the course before the start of the race. Then another decision is where will the race be held? It helps if the race director can recruit a few other members of the organization to be on the planning committee. One person is in charge of finding volunteers to help. Another can get the equipment ready for setting up the course with direction arrows and signs to have the runners follow. Another gets the refreshments for runners ordered and set up while another volunteer can be in charge of making entry forms and advertising the race. To make money from a race organizers need to find sponsors to help defray the cost of the race. Depending on various factors a small 5K race can cost between $2,500 and $5,000+. For advertisers it can be an inexpensive ad campaign as for a small race there will be 100+ runners that will wear the race shirt for many years after the race. I wear shirts today that show the sponsor on the back for a race that was held over 10 years ago. One item for putting on a race is to make sure the race tee shirt is good quality and has a neat design on the front.
A lot of putting on a race for the first time is guess work. Ordering race tee shirts usually needs two weeks to order and print the shirts. Awards may need to be ordered in advance also. You can estimate the number of entries from other races that have been held in the town. But the problem of having too many shirts left over to not having enough is a guess. This is true with ordering the awards. Do you want 10 year or 5 year age groups and Male and Female Overall Champions, Masters Champions, Senior Master Champions and Grand Master Champions, or just one Overall and some age groupings? Shirts and awards will need to find storage space for the leftovers. And chances are you can’t use them again, so the race director has to start thinking of a garage sale after a few years of gathering race items. And when you order 120 race tee shirts how many are small, medium, large, extra-large and a few XXL sizes? Guess which sizes that you will have the most of left over?
A big item is advertising the race so runners will come. For local runners a few notices in the daily paper helps. Push cards dropped off at high traffic areas and fitness gyms help. Most use online media resources. Whether it is Facebook, or TikTok, or a race calendar, the race needs to be put on a runner’s calendar several weeks in advance. Making entry forms and waivers for day of race runners is necessary. If the runner pays in cash, do you have change? Or if they want to use a debit card do you have the necessary equipment for that? That’s where the “small” details need to be addressed.
And if a runner is coming from out of town have you contacted motels for a special rate for runners? Maybe the local Chamber of Commerce can help you promote the race. And now you know half of some of the things necessary to put on a race. Any volunteers to be a race director?
