1234

Race give aways, Like them or hate them? (Read 777 times)


Bruno


    FWIW
    Now that my wife and I have kids I like it when the packet has a something that my kids will like, for example a race that I generally do every year has a "Free Wendy’s Frosty" coupon in the bag. I know it may seem silly with the resources available on the internet, but I also like when they have promotional material for other nearby races.  This probably just makes srlopez's point--some of what I like is probably what others are dumping in the trash.




    A Saucy Wench

      See, this gets to my (personal) issue with answering the question directly.  The generic answer is "eh, do away with that stuff and make the race cheaper".  But when the stuff is done right... and alas, I can't answer what that means easily... I LOVE it.

       

      For example, I have a keychain from a local 50k.  I love it.  Don't know why.

       

      Well, one thing I could do without.  Socks as the cool item.  They almost never fit, and they aren't my trusted brands anyway, so I don't wear them.

       What he said.  Except for the part about having anything from a 50K

       

      I love love love that my local running club has the opt out option on shirts for almost all of the events except the 2 ultras.  It means the average race costs ~$10-15.  They have the shirts available for the people who dont already have a million of them.  I often do the 10K series, wth would I do with 8+ new shirts a year.

       

      I do think (and this is hard to gauge sometimes) if you have the type of event that the majority of the people are going to consider a "big" event in the year, you can lean to a little more swag.  If there is something unique about your event.  Relays, for example, are about  the community and the experience as much as they are about the run, so swag is probably more appreciated. 

       

      As I recall you tend to the ultra RDing which IMO a bit more in the swag line is good. While there are plenty of jaded maniacs and the like, a larger % of the crowd sees this as a big deal.  (Also judging from my volunteer experience last week at an ultra, things got downright ugly for awhile until we realized the top half of the box of mens mediums were actually womens and there were actual mens shirts farther down)

       

      OTOH if you are the RD of one 5K out of 20 being thrown in your town this summer, you might be better served to keep the costs down.  Attract the people who want to run hard but not shell out.  But have swag available for those who want on a pre-order basis - order some extra - give them to volunteers and sell at packet pickup.

      I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

       

      "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

      Trent


      Good Bad & The Monkey

        I miss white cotton shirts. My undershirt stock is running low...


        an amazing likeness

          I miss white cotton shirts. My undershirt stock is running low...

           

          They still happen...I got them at 2 races last year.

           

          Have to agree fully with the VS man (SRL), when they're done well, the swag bag really can influence your feelings about the event and bring a smile. And to Rocken's post -- the most useful swag I've gotten in recent memory has been the actual bag which was a really great drop sack.

          Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.


          Feeling the growl again

            I miss white cotton shirts. My undershirt stock is running low...

             

            I used to pretty much live in race shirts.  I'm now running out of cotton ones that are new enough (the date is typically right on them) for me to wear for anything but beaters.  But I don't wear them to work anymore so it's a bit less of an issue.

             

            OTOH, I have a bunch of tech shirts I never wear.  If I raced as much as I used to I'd be buried in them.

            "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

             

            I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

             

            LedLincoln


            not bad for mile 25

              I imagine most of the swag costs the race nothing. As for the shirts, they cost a bit, but may bring in more entrants who want to proudly show off their first 5K or marathon or whatever. Nothing wrong with that. Making shirts optional for less $ would be a huge hassle for race organizers and volunteers, I imagine.
              spinach


                I wish that marathons would have an optional no medal registration.  I don't understand finisher medals, it is an example of treating everyone in American like second graders.  And I heard that marathons will spend $8 or $10 on the stupid medal.  I would gladly split that with the race organizers, give me a discount and mark on my bib "No Medal" .  Most of my marathon finisher medals never got out of the finish area where the end up in the trash.

                xor


                  Throw it in the trash in the finishers' area... huh??

                   

                  Why not just refuse the medal?

                   

                  As for treating us like second graders, I've never understood this comment.  I'm pretty sure many folks aren't treating the medal as "we're all winners"... it's just part of the tradition and the cool thing to take from the race.  (says the guy who puts most medals in shoeboxes, or gives them away, or refuses them. I'm perfectly a-ok if the race has no medals. I'd like a cheaper race w/ no medals.  And I'm frustrated with Little Rock's dinner plate-sized medal this year.)

                   


                  A Saucy Wench

                     Making shirts optional for less $ would be a huge hassle for race organizers and volunteers, I imagine.

                     

                    It's really not.  We put a register by X to be guaranteed a shirt, in reality order at Y and order a selection of extra.   in the area in the race data where shirt size normally goes is a blank for no shirt.  Extra shirts are sold at race day - by now most of our RD's have a decent feel for it.  We end up ordering a few extra but charging a bit more than cost if you want it.  Quite frankly packet pickup is easier because we have fewer shirts to deal with and fewer "ooooh this is smaller/bigger than I expected".  And since we order a small overage we usually CAN trade out without screwing late arrivals.

                    I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

                     

                    "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

                    Wing


                    Joggaholic

                      I'd rather have the money available spent on good food / drink for after the race rather than goodie bag filler / shirts.  

                       

                      But that is just me.  I like good food and drink.

                        

                      +1

                       

                      My first marathon was expensive ($130!) but it was great except for the bananas and dry bagels at the end. I would have gladly exchanged all the other junk I got for better food...


                      A Saucy Wench

                        You've got good swag though, Tnert.    It's a destination race.  Wink

                        I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

                         

                        "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

                          Generally speaking: I'd prefer less swag, better post-race food/drink/stuff.  I kept precisely ONE medal thus far (the one from my first marathon back after 20+ years of no running).  But people seem fixated on them, so deleting them is unlikely.

                           

                          Exception: I like tech shirts -- they cost delta is usually less than what I can buy them for, I like advertising the race and the sport, and they make good conversation starters sometimes.

                          "I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."

                          -- Dick LeBeau

                          Slo


                            See, this gets to my (personal) issue with answering the question directly.  The generic answer is "eh, do away with that stuff and make the race cheaper".  But when the stuff is done right... and alas, I can't answer what that means easily... I LOVE it.

                             

                            For example, I have a keychain from a local 50k.  I love it.  Don't know why.

                             

                            Well, one thing I could do without.  Socks as the cool item.  They almost never fit, and they aren't my trusted brands anyway, so I don't wear them.

                             

                            This says it for me...Or should I say +1

                             

                            Plus...Bring back the cotton!

                             

                            All I ever wore was race t-shirts. Now I've had to resort to buying T-shirts because everyone has gone to tech shirts. Most of these are el-cheapo crap. You can't even use these things for rags.

                             

                            Nothing wrong with a good quality Tech shirt but I don't wear these things in public. If I was an RD I would want something classy that first and foremost advertises my race and 2ndly provides the advertising that my sponsers paid for on a shirt that gets worn.

                            vegefrog


                               

                              Plus...Bring back the cotton!

                               

                              All I ever wore was race t-shirts. Now I've had to resort to buying T-shirts because everyone has gone to tech shirts. Most of these are el-cheapo crap. You can't even use these things for rags.

                               

                               

                               

                              Yes! I now have 3 tech shirts and I have never worn any of them. I mean, NEVER. I love, love, love the cotton race shirts. I am short so I look for races that will have youth size shirts. All of my YL race t-shirts are the most perfect all around shirts I own.  I wear T-shirts and jeans to work so I pretty much wear a race t-shirt at least once a week.

                               

                              I could do without those strappy bags that all races give out. I probably have 20 of them. The straps always get tangled and I just don't find them to be very practical for anything. Anybody found a great use for them?

                               

                              Also, since I'm just getting started with half-marathons and marathons, I like the medals Smile

                              1234