Forums >General Running>I'm organizing a 5k (Dallas Area 4/21/12)
At the risk of sounding like Don King, what about "The Race for Jonathan's Place"
+1
Having the name of your organization in the title is key. Using just the name Jonathan could be a memorial race for one person, your race represents an actual facility. Good Luck!
+2.
Don't overthink this. A descriptive name is better than a clever name. The other key thing is a date...pick one. Once you have a name, a date, and a course, the rest is details.
Runners run
pick a date and then go all over google and active.com to make sure you're not using the same date as another race.
A name is probably the least important detail of any race. Tell me if calling a race Rocktoberfest Half Marathon and 5K is an improvement over the prior "Dowd Y Run"
+1: It's a good, descriptive name that rolls off the tongue nicely. What more do you want in a name?
Jay
Without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos.
I recommend striking a few names off the list, particularly ones that are not descriptive. You might not be choosing the name, but you at least have the power to make sure they don't pick duds by crossing them off the list. You also up the odds of them picking a good one by making them a bigger proportion of the list.
The Race for Jonathan's Place sounds great.
Get the route USTAF certified. I hate running a course only to find it was short/long. Generally will only sign up for ones that are certified.
Options,Account, Forums
Also, runners have different desires from walkers. Some charity races have a large contingent of walkers, so for them, it makes more sense to prioritize accordingly.
I'll stereotype and say that runners like tech shirts, and accurate courses, and good timing, and fast results, and nifty awards for the fast people, whereas walkers like pretty t-shirts, esp. with a good message about the cause, don't care about accuracy or timing or awards for fast people, but are more likely to enjoy raffles (eg, by bib number) and door prizes and random prizes, and general free stuff (eg, sponsor donated coupons).
But I think both groups are likely to enjoy food and drink.
It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.
The date will be Sat 4/21/12 and "The Race For Jonathan's Place" gets the nod.
Thanks for all the suggestions so far - including the name! I'm looking forward to a great inaugural event and I appreciate your help.
King of PhotoShop
i write the Dallas Morning News running blog with Debbie Fetterman. Send me an email 6 weeks before the event telling me the info you would like to see in the blog and I will give it a mention. In general I like races for causes other than the RD profiting. My email is spareribs823 at gmail dot com. You can see the blog at runningblog.dallasnews.com. Spareribs
That's you???
HA. I never knew that. Cool.
Wow, that's awesome - thanks Spareribs!
I like the name but you may want to consider appealing to a slightly different set of people than the hardcore runners. There is a race around here that is a similar size to yours (~250 I think) and is also off road and for charity. I am impressed every year by how much money they raise from this cheap, well run and fun race (~$12,000). What is noticeable to me, as someone who competes in a lot of the local races, is that the crowd is rather different - a lot of people come out for the charity and the event. These folks are less concerned with a tech shirt and a certified course. Many of them walk the course and are not in it for the run. But they love the raffle and the silent auction (which raise about half the money since the race is only $25 to enter).
I think one thing you could aim for, although maybe not in the first year, is to get EVERYTHING donated and so every penny goes to your charity. This then becomes a great advertising tool, encourages people to dig deep for the raffle and auction (especially if you have great prizes donated).
Good luck,
John
Instead of "Jonathan's Run" ..... use "Jonathan's Pace" ..... The extra moment people take to make the mental connection to "Jonathan's PLACE", may make them remember the event, and cause. After all, having lots of race donations is the short term goal,,,, but getting the name of your cause out there is much more important in the long run (pun intended).
I found out there was a race using the same course in 2008. I talked to the organizer for that race, and she sent me the USATF certificate with backup detail. Everything is identical to what we’re doing – start, finish, direction, etc. Does anyone know if I can use the same certification even though it’s listed under a different name?
The certified USATF Course Number is TX08073ETM. You can find the existing documentation by searching the USATF website if that helps.