April 13, 2008 Shirts, medals, coolers start to pile up for race directors like myself A runner enjoys a well-organized race with good aid stations, food after the race, nice awards and a nice looking T-shirt to wear at other races to show you are a runner. As long as things go well, not much is said; and a few “Thank you for the race” comments from some of the runners is about all a race director and the volunteers can get. For the most part, that is all anyone wants; and even the volunteers appreciate the encouragement and thanks as the runners go by after grabbing some refreshment. It is always nice to know that runners appreciate a well organized race. Once in awhile a few minor things go wrong; but for the most part, runners may not even know that there was a miscue somewhere along the race, and most are forgiving since they understand how difficult it is to put on a race and the work that goes into it. The one thing that goes unnoticed most is what happens after the race. It seems minor for the majority of the time; but after many races, these little things tend to build up. A few examples are: Where, or who, is going to store the finish-chute poles and banners? Where do the 5-gallon coolers go? What about leftover T-shirts and awards? Who is responsible for the mile markers and poles? Is there leftover food, such as bananas, cookies, bagels, oranges, and fruit drink (especially if it is still in the big cooler)? Storing this stuff can take up quite a bit of space after awhile. Fortunately, David Alexander and the San Marcos Runners Club have one of those storage units that are used for much of the stuff used on the course. The things that you do not necessarily want to put in a shed include awards, T-shirts and leftover food. If there is quite a bit of food left over, the volunteers may take a few cookies and a bunch of bananas; but on occasion this still leaves food left over. If it is possible, some of it is dropped off at the womens’ shelter or a place that will be able to use it. Kids can always use an extra cookie now and then. If the drink mix is still in a sealed container, and there is another race in a few weeks, it might be used again at that race. Open containers of drink mix sometimes go home with a volunteer to use when they go for runs during the week. The drink left in the large coolers often ends up watering the grass or going down the drain. If all of the volunteers get a leftover race T-shirt for their time and service during the race, that is good. All in all, it is a small price to pay for the help they contribute to the success of the race. That leaves a few T-shirts left over; and if the race director did not plan very well on sizes, the only sizes left are XXL. There are just not many runners that wear that size. A few left over is not that bad; but what happens after four, five or more races, and you have six or so left from each race remaining? Now several dozen shirts in boxes tend to accumulate. A race director can try to sell them at other races, or at next year’s race; but with only very large sizes left over, it is difficult to even give them away. Next on the list are the awards that are left over. You have to order enough for every age group and place. Each age group has six awards for male and female winners. In some of the popular age categories, it is easy to give all the awards out to the runners; however, some of the small age groups, such as “under 19 years” and “over 60 years” or “over 70 years” are often not filled with enough runners to give them all away. It seems especially true with the upper age limits for women. After 50 years, there always seems to be some awards left. This is also true for the younger age groups for some reason. Since most of the awards are handed out, what can you do with those that are left? There are not enough to use for another race; and if the award has a date or year on it, the idea of using it again is gone. I had some leftover finish medals for the Half Marathon some years back. Some of the numbers ranged into the 100s. With a date and race name on them, it was hard to ever use them again. It turned out that some of the elementary physical education teachers were able to use them for rewards for activities in class. The XXL shirts left over didn’t fit the kids, so I still have some of them. When you enter a race and get your shirt, and maybe even an award, think about the race director, and if he or she has a plan for the food you did not eat or the big runner who did not show up to claim that big shirt size. Dr. Maurice Johnson - better known around San Marcos as “Moe” - is a professor in the Department of Health, P.E., Recreation and Dance at Texas State University - San Marcos. Moe has been a fixture in the San Marcos running community - both as a runner and race organizer - since way back when Moby Dick was a minnow. His column on running and fitness appears each Sunday in the Sports section of the San Marcos Daily Record. • Recent “Running With Moe” Columns • Home • About the Club • Current News • Club Runs • Places To Run • TX Running Clubs • Running Links • Useful Stuff Upcoming Races • Race Results • Country Roads 10K & Kids Run • ARA-Moe’s Better Half Marathon • “Running With Moe” Contact Us!