Horribly unorganized race (Read 966 times)

I ran my local firecracker 5km race over the weekend and... Well... Registration began at 6:30. I was there at 6:35 and they were already out of small and medium shirts (it was by no means crowded). I then had an hour wait for the race to start, which is fine, except that there were absolutely no public bathrooms available. This race has previously had portable restrooms, but this year there were none and the bar hosting the race wouldn't let runners in to use the bathroom. My bladder was sloshing the entire race. The best part, though, was that there were no announcements of time before the race (5 minutes to go, etc.) or even a starting gun. Runners and spectators alike were milling about in the street when we realized that the race had already begun and I and many others had to play catch up. There are a few things that I think are among the bare minimum for holding a race. Letting the runners know that it's starting is one of them

.....maybe they had a new race director and he didnt know the details..............

I wish I could say that this was the case. The woman who does most of the work on the race has been doing so for several years, and things just keep going downhill. She's a secretary for the company that my dad works at and he's said that she does an awful job there, too, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised

My girlfriend ran a 10k once that was pretty poorly organized. Well, it was supposed to be a 10k. At the six mile mark, the cop who was leading the race turned the wrong way, and instead of 6.2 miles the race became a 7.5+ mile race in which most people just gave up and ran back to the start. It was a disaster.

Was it a charity race? If its for charity, I generally throw expectations out the window. I figure its for a good cause and they can have my money. The race is for me. The only time I've been annoyed lately was when it took forever to get the awards, and that's because I was being a selfish weenie. But an honest one. If its a private, for-profit race, on the other hand, I expect decent service. Which isn't really much - just the basics: bathrooms, a marked and accurate course, decent hydration if necessary, accurate time. I don't care about the frills beyond that. Although I'm a sucker for good swag. And I'm a lot pickier with a marathon than a 5k. A marathon has to be done well; its a safety issue. If they screw up a 5k, no big deal. Just run and get out. I try to look at the bad races as learning lessons. I've had a few bad ones, and it taught me a few key things: 1) Do research. Learn about the race ahead of time. Most of the time, the complaints are already out there, and you can know the bad stuff ahead of time. 2) Know who the organizers are. In my area, I know my local running club will do it right; if its not them, all bets are off. 3) Know the course. Learn it on your own. 4) Come prepared to handle everything on your own. I mean everything. Bring a bottle of water. Bring a little money. Bring some toilet paper. Stick your cell phone in your little shorts pocket. I show up at every race now assuming I'll get no support - and treat it like any other run. If it turns out to be well organized, great: ditch the phone and the rest, and have a nice run. If it sucks, you'll be feeling smart. Not to mention that all that preparation gives you an edge. And here's some great advice:

Wow. I've never seen a race that didn't provide porta-potties. I can guarantee you that I'd be peeing behind a car, a tree, or whatever. I typically don't make a practice of peeing in public, but on race day, all niceties go out the window.

There is never, ever, ever a need to have use the bathroom during a race and not be able to. There is no modesty on race day, with less modesty required the longer the race is. Use a little common sense and have some courtesy and find a tree or something ... but do your business. Nobody will mind. And if they do mind, just pee on them.

I'm sure the runners who were DQ'd at Grandma's this year felt the same way you do ... right up until they were DQ'd.

How many runners were dq'd for it? I had seen a few along the way (in the half) before we actually hit Duluth.

I live in Duluth and there were a few articles in the paper the week or two before Grandma's that were about people peeing public. Its too bad they feel the need to DQ them but I'm pretty sure it gave everyone a fair warning in the race packet.

Was it a charity race? If its for charity, I generally throw expectations out the window. I figure its for a good cause and they can have my money. The race is for me. The only time I've been annoyed lately was when it took forever to get the awards, and that's because I was being a selfish weenie. But an honest one. If its a private, for-profit race, on the other hand, I expect decent service. Which isn't really much - just the basics: bathrooms, a marked and accurate course, decent hydration if necessary, accurate time. I don't care about the frills beyond that. Although I'm a sucker for good swag. And I'm a lot pickier with a marathon than a 5k. A marathon has to be done well; its a safety issue. If they screw up a 5k, no big deal. Just run and get out. I try to look at the bad races as learning lessons. I've had a few bad ones, and it taught me a few key things: 1) Do research. Learn about the race ahead of time. Most of the time, the complaints are already out there, and you can know the bad stuff ahead of time. 2) Know who the organizers are. In my area, I know my local running club will do it right; if its not them, all bets are off. 3) Know the course. Learn it on your own. 4) Come prepared to handle everything on your own. I mean everything. Bring a bottle of water. Bring a little money. Bring some toilet paper. Stick your cell phone in your little shorts pocket. I show up at every race now assuming I'll get no support - and treat it like any other run. If it turns out to be well organized, great: ditch the phone and the rest, and have a nice run. If it sucks, you'll be feeling smart. Not to mention that all that preparation gives you an edge. And here's some great advice: There is never, ever, ever a need to have use the bathroom during a race and not be able to. There is no modesty on race day, with less modesty required the longer the race is. Use a little common sense and have some courtesy and find a tree or something ... but do your business. Nobody will mind. And if they do mind, just pee on them.

It was not a charity race, so they don't get off the hook haha. I think what was so frustrating to me was that it wasn't a new race or a new RD - the organization just keeps getting worse every year. Last year and other previous years, porta potties were available, so I made the mistake of assuming they would be this year. I do always bring my cell phone, my own bottle of water, and extra pins for race numbers, and I would have brought toilet paper if I had known. Since it was only a 5k, I figured I could suck it up and pee when I got home, but the fact that I had a full bladder on top of the lack of an official start had me pretty irritated. And as far as runners getting DQ'ed for urinating in public...

I had a similar experience a few years ago in a very small race in Clearwater, FL....2000 Y2K Run Against Drugs 5k. In my case, the few of us who ran the race just made lemonade out of lemons.