I’d offer a 4K or 5k on the ski trails and a trail half marathon on the twisty trails, if that can be put together somehow.

Then I’d do finisher bling. One of the nicest (and least costly) finisher awards that I’ve received is a rock from the area, mounted on a small wooden plate, to hang on the wall. You could write the race and year on the awards with a soldering gun, or a silver or gold Sharpie. The award could also be a root, or something that represents the unique challenge of the race or trail.

Not it sure if AG awards make sense with a small crowd.

I always like the Subway subs at the finish of most Tussey Teaser runs.

Not sure about entry perks or the raffle.

Maybe the RD can make a deal with Bigfoot for pictures?

To help keep costs down I like the suggestions above for bling.  Has he given the race a name yet?  That also may feed into what to offer.

For feed at finish, it's simple for me.  Beer if you can swing it, legally (or not).  Pretty cool project.

This is fun....Thanks for asking our opinions.

I mentioned in the dailies that the guy that has created and runs the place where I mt bike and ski up near my cabin wants to put on a trail race event and I'm sort of his consultant. He has about 11 miles of twisty, turrnny, up and down single track and roughly another 10-12 miles of ski trails.  He maybe be interested in a 50k down the line a bit but for now wants to start out with something a little smaller to get more peeps out to his venue. So if you were in charge give me your thoughts.

 

What distances would you offer? (we're talking 5k and 20k right now.) 5k and anything between 10 and HM distance which is what you have in the 20k.  In future years, adding a 50k distance would be nice. 

 

Finisher bling? No medals but that is just me.  Whatever it is, make it unique.  Work with someone in the area to design something.  Maybe a carved pencil, or a carved ...anything really.  And I like the idea of playing off a theme or whatever you call the event.  Don't do the bigfoot thing though - IMO. 

 

Entry perk? Shirt? Hat? No shirt.  Hats are nice.  Really anything unique.  Actually shirts are nice if they are a tech shirt, maybe long sleeve depending on the time of year you have the race.  But the cheap cotton shirts - no thanks.  Socks are nice too!

 

Feed at the finish? YES! Oh you are asking what type.  Ummm....I always liked the races that did some original home cooking.  BluesCruise 50k here in PA does some nice German food.  The RD does a German theme for everything!

 

Cost? If you can get sponsors, that should keep the cost down.  You could always do the "t-shirt" or whatever you choose as optional that runners have to pay extra for.  I always appreciated those races and usually opt not to buy the extra item. 

 

Raffle? Not sure I have an opinion on that. 

 

Anything else you can add? I think it's always nice to see that races are giving back to the trail or local community.  So maybe a portion of the proceeds go to whatever fund or whatever local town. And don't forget about how to recruit your volunteers.  Volunteers can make or break your race.  And make sure your volunteers somewhat know the course for when runners ask them questions. 

Also, make it different and unique.  Maybe not so quirky that it turns some people off but something that makes people remember it. 

 

He has an awesome facility there with lots of parking.  The trails are absolute biking nirvana with the flow and also are very runnable but still with plenty of rock, roots, etc.  He has organized bike and ski events in the past and has experience in road races so not a newb. Both he and I have a disdain for the usual t-shirt given at events but realize for some it's a big deal.  We don't want to give stupid medals out just for finishing but again some people  like them.   He wants to put it on the first weekend in Oct. knowing that it is late now to do that but says it wouldn't be bad to do it this fall anyway just to get it rolling with a smaller crowd.

 

Any thoughts or opinions. Now is your chance to pretend to be an RD. What would you do?

Well marked course, especially if you have multiple distances. If you can stagger the starts even better.

Timing and results. While I am indifferent about AG awards I do like to know where I finish overall and within my AG. AG award of something useful if you are going to give them out. Who needs a medal for such distances?

Raffles are sort of fun and keep people engaged after the finish. Assuming you can get some decent stuff donated or on the cheap.

Food/drink. Please, no bagels or bananas! I guess I am fan of grilled items and beer if you can swing it without breaking the bank. However I've done events that had beer and the good stuff seems to disappear before the longer events finish. I would not be opposed to a race that has a vendor pouring beer and charging a few bucks post race to keep your costs down. In fact, I think it's a good option.

Shirts. I like races that allow you the option to purchase one, but can imagine an RD does not want to eat the cost of shirts.

Distance. 5k seems relatively short unless you are just trying to pull in locals. 15k is rather popular around here for trail races.

Cost. $35 max

Love the pie idea! That might just make me run faster...

I have some experience as an RD and planning races. Good luck.

 

What distances would you offer? (we're talking 5k and 20k right now.)  5K is the local HS distance for XC, so that always works well in our area as an entry option.   If your going to do 20k, might as well just make it a Trail 1/2 Marathon.  You'll get more road people looking at that distance.

 

Finisher bling? Make the Hat a finishers award. You have to earn it.

 

Entry perk? Shirt? Hat? +1 on the Ball Caps.  A good option is to offer a Hoodie or T-Shirt at an extra cost, and find a local artist to create something.  Stone Mill sells their shirts (not included with entry) and a lot of people buy them. It keeps the enrty fee down for those who don't want or need another race shirt.

 

Feed at the finish?  Simple, or find a restaurant that wants to advertise and provide.  Food trucks are catching on, and are always fun (finishers get 1 ticket for food truck of their choice and pay cash after that), and local craft beers are popular around here.

 

Cost?  Here's the hard part. If you want sponsors, then you need T-shirts or something that gives then a bang for their buck.  If you have T-shirts, cost goes up, etc.  Our local races are typically $25-35 for 5k and $40-50 for up to 1/2 marathon.  With swag, the price goes up.

 

Raffle?  Always good idea, and a great way to get sponsor recognition without having to do T-shirts.

 

Anything else you can add?  Some people love AG awards and look for them, most could care less.  At our HS XC Fundraising race (I've help RD) we have parents bake pies and the AG winners get their choice of pies.  It started simple, but has become a huge hit.

I think post-finish pie for everyone is better idea!  (Mostly because I love pie and I never win AG awards.)

I mentioned in the dailies that the guy that has created and runs the place where I mt bike and ski up near my cabin wants to put on a trail race event and I'm sort of his consultant. He has about 11 miles of twisty, turrnny, up and down single track and roughly another 10-12 miles of ski trails.  He maybe be interested in a 50k down the line a bit but for now wants to start out with something a little smaller to get more peeps out to his venue. So if you were in charge give me your thoughts.

 

What distances would you offer? (we're talking 5k and 20k right now.) 10K and 30K

 

Finisher bling? I don't care for medals...just more trash on the earth but my last race  there was no medal and a girl we went with had medals made for all of us.  So guess it is important to some.  Maybe have a first time box and they get medals. 

 

Entry perk? Shirt? Hat? Socks..with the race name or logo.  or nothing I have plenty of shirts, pint glasses and hats...socks you don't see that often and are very useful.  Also  you rarely receive a singlet...so that would be nice too. 

 

Feed at the finish? Yes!  and Beer even if it's a donate a couple of bucks at least they have cold beer. 

 

Cost? Our cheap races in CA are $75.00so being new and id west can he get it done for $50?

 

Raffle?  No

 

Anything else you can add?  Start the longer race before the shorter race.  I like when races do that. 

 

He has an awesome facility there with lots of parking.  The trails are absolute biking nirvana with the flow and also are very runnable but still with plenty of rock, roots, etc.  He has organized bike and ski events in the past and has experience in road races so not a newb. Both he and I have a disdain for the usual t-shirt given at events but realize for some it's a big deal.  We don't want to give stupid medals out just for finishing but again some people  like them.   He wants to put it on the first weekend in Oct. knowing that it is late now to do that but says it wouldn't be bad to do it this fall anyway just to get it rolling with a smaller crowd.

 

Any thoughts or opinions. Now is your chance to pretend to be an RD. What would you do?