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What factors do you consider when running a race? (Read 375 times)

DoppleBock


    Value - 5K <= $20

    10k < = $25

    1/2M <= $40

    Marathon <=$70

    50k / 50M < = $80 ~ But now coolness of course and proximity to house increase in importance

     

    For 5k-10K I love a no T-shirt option that is $3-$5 cheaper.  For these races, The perfect race is No T-shirt, No finisher or AG award.

    Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

     

     

    LeighDS


    Live Free & Run

       

      I take that back, I would not sign up for a race if I knew it wasn't going to be professionally timed.

       

      Have you done this before? Do you know what you're getting into? Timing a 500 person 5k/10k event is not to be taken lightly. Feel free to PM me for advice if you don't feel 100% confident you can do it.

       

      Funny you should mention professional timing at a race. I recently ran a 5K in my wife's hometown on St. Patrick's Day. 120+ people showed up and while weather was kind of cold it was a fun race. However I was aiming for a PR so I was keeping a close eye on timing. I started my stopwatch as they shouted start/go. However by the time I go to the finish line there was about 5 seconds difference between my watch and their clock (their clock was 5 slower). No big deal. However, when the official times were posted I notice my time was 15 seconds slower than what was shown on the clock AS I CROSSED the finish line.

       

      I didn't get my PR nor did I mention it as it wouldn't have changed my positioning. But I will say I was kind of annoyed with the whole SNAFU.

      PRs

      1-Mile - 6:18 on 4-4-2015

      5K - 21:48 on 10-31-2015

      10K - 47:57 on 10-24-2015

      HM - 1:52:36 on 3-25-2017

      FULL - 4:41:12 on 1-11-2015

       

      Upcoming Races

      Tanger Outlet 5K

      Disney World 19.3 Challenge

      Race the Runways 10K

         

         I go to the finish line there was about 5 seconds difference between my watch and their clock (their clock was 5 slower). No big deal. However, when the official times were posted I notice my time was 15 seconds slower than what was shown on the clock AS I CROSSED the finish line.

         

        --When I note my PR's in my spreadsheet (or in my log here), 95% of them are the official electronic clock times, but there are a couple where there was a SNAFU with the timing, so I went with the time on my watch.  I just use the old Timex Ironman 40ish dollar Chrono, and what could be more accurate than me pressing "start" right when I cross the blue mat and "stop" right when I cross it again?   All of my log PR's currently have an electronic time posted out there to back them up, but if there was an error that occurred in a PR effort race,, I would use my Chrono time as my PR.

         

          So, in the instance (rare, but sometimes) where there is a messup in electronic timing,  why not use the chrono time as a PR???  Hey, it is official, you know it is 100% valid.   You know when you started and stopped, so it is a valid PR.  That is the way I have learned to view it.

        The Plan '15 →   ///    "Run Hard, Live Easy."   ∞


        Right on Hereford...

          I didn't get my PR nor did I mention it as it wouldn't have changed my positioning. But I will say I was kind of annoyed with the whole SNAFU.

           

          Absolutely. Runners deserve accurate timing and results at any race. A surprising number of events don't live up to this, even events that do have "professional" timing. The last race that I ran was a timing disaster -- no results (zero, nada) until 10:30 PM. They tried to do awards but these were all screwed up. They called out a female as the winner of the 10k in 25 minutes, and a 99 year old man won his age group in the 5k in 23 minutes. Um, yeah. So, having a good timing company matters.

           

          By the way, the clock you see at the finish line really doesn't have much to do with the timing system. It's there for the runners themselves so that they have an idea of their finish time. But, it's not tied into the actual timing system and is not used to produce results. Generally, they are set by hand using the low-tech "eyeballing" method, but should still be within half a second of gun time.

          jojo61397


            Professional timing in this area costs nearly $1200-2000 for a race 150+ runners for chip timing.  Until I have the money to buy my own system, I'm not going to use it.  If I go professional, then I will invest in more professional timing. There are four races that weekend, the timing companies were booked.  If I did professional timing, I would have to raise the price of the race, and we would not be giving as much money towards autism as we are.  So far the shirts are paid for, the beer and food have been donated.  100% of the registrations go towards local children and adults with autism.  I will not do that.  If someone has an issue with their official time, I am more than happy to change it (within reason).  In fact the last race I directed, there was a mess up on the start time and a few people showed up late.  I used the time on their garmin as official results, because it was the fault of the newspaper that many of our runners were late.  But for such a "small" race, I would rather limit overhead, especially when the run is for charity.

            Jodi

             

            PR:

            Half: 1:48 (March 3rd, 2013)

            Full: 4:05:40 (March 17th, 2013)

             

            2013/2014 Goals:

            Sub-4:00 hour Marathon

            Sub- 125 pounds
            Sub- 1:45 hour half.

            jojo61397


              Yes, this is my third race.  First one had ~500 runners, second one had around ~300-400 runners, we are estimating ~300-400 runners.  I had no issues timing the event.

               

               

              I take that back, I would not sign up for a race if I knew it wasn't going to be professionally timed.

               

              Have you done this before? Do you know what you're getting into? Timing a 500 person 5k/10k event is not to be taken lightly. Feel free to PM me for advice if you don't feel 100% confident you can do it.

              Jodi

               

              PR:

              Half: 1:48 (March 3rd, 2013)

              Full: 4:05:40 (March 17th, 2013)

               

              2013/2014 Goals:

              Sub-4:00 hour Marathon

              Sub- 125 pounds
              Sub- 1:45 hour half.

              TJoseph


                I just got home from a six week business trip to Guam.  I ran five 5K races while I as there.  I wasn't worried about PRs as I am way out of shape.  I am not sure if the races are professionally timed, but none of them used chips and they don't publish results until days later in the local newspaper.  I never saw my results, but I used my Garmin time in my log.  I had a lot of fun running them with my friends and none of the races cost more than $10 and included a shirt and prize raffle afterwards.

                 

                Modified to correct grammer.

                  ... But for such a "small" race, I would rather limit overhead, especially when the run is for charity.

                  +1 . I'll continue to support our low-frills races where they put as much money back into the nature centers as they can.

                  "So many people get stuck in the routine of life that their dreams waste away. This is about living the dream." - Cave Dog


                  Right on Hereford...

                    Yes, this is my third race.  First one had ~500 runners, second one had around ~300-400 runners, we are estimating ~300-400 runners.  I had no issues timing the event.

                     

                     

                    Sounds like you have it covered, then. Well, good luck!

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