A Different Look at Racing

Two years ago my children's school started a 5K race at the end of the summer to kick off their back to school events. The first year had an ok turnout and the second year was dismal. This year, the school contacted me and asked if I would be willing to organize and promote the race this year. Here are the objectives I was given in February when they asked me to organize the race.

1. Include the community more this year
2. Change the date so that it is while school is still in session
3. Increase the participation
4. Spend no more money that is earned from registrations

#4 is the one that gave me a double take. Because the last race occurred on the 2008-2009 budget and the fact that the race registration didn't cover the expenses, I have had no budget for the race.

I took on the challenge though and it has been a worthwhile eye-opening event.

The official race day is May 2 (this Saturday). Two weeks ago, I was ready to throw in the towel and cancel the whole thing. We had a fair amount of sponsors lined up, spent time getting advertising up and talking to various public officials to get all the permits and permissions handled. The logistics were being handled, but we had only 5 people who had signed up. Then the heavens opened, the flood gates opened and we're now looking at 60+. Compared to a lot of 5K's this is a drop in the bucket, but going from zero to 60 is fabulous.

The t-shirts are on order and scheduled to arrive this week, the timing system is in process (we are hand timing this year as we can't afford anything fancier) and things are looking good. We've had a few hiccups with the weather which has shifted things a little. The fundraiser car wash for the 9th grade has been moved to the same weekend as the race, so we're adjusting the race a little so both functions can occur.

Hat's off to all the race organizers out there and all the volunteers.