January 11, 2009 San Marcos Runners Club meets this week The San Marcos Runners Club is holding their first meeting of the year this Tuesday, January 13th at the San Marcos Activity Center at 7:00 p.m. This meeting is open to the public, and there are two main agendas. The first is the election of officers for this coming year, and the second is to have a speaker that will be of interest to walkers, joggers and runners. The club is always looking for new members to join; but meetings are open to the public, and joining the club is not required to attend the meeting. Runners are often people that like to do things their own way, and they do not necessarily join in group runs. The San Marcos Runners Club understands this; and while it is not required to participate in the various projects that it helps with, they do offer a run for anyone wanting a partner to run with on Tuesday evenings at the Hays County Courthouse on the square. The runners meet at 6:00 p.m. and everyone goes for a nice run. There are all levels of ability at these runs, ranging from the faster, more competitive runner to the beginner who would like to start a running program and would like the benefit of someone to run with. Many runners in the group go for something to eat after the run, and they like to discuss running topics. If a beginner is looking for advice on running or training tips, there is usually someone in the group willing to help them out. One of the purposes of the Club is to sponsor support for runners and organizations in San Marcos and nearby towns. The San Marcos Runners Club helped with the organization of a dozen or so runs last year in San Marcos. There are a number of organizations in San Marcos that like to use a run to raise some money for their projects for scholarships, aid for the needy, etc. The problem with using a run to raise money is that it is not as easy as saying “The group will put on a run this Saturday and make some money for the group.” An organized run takes about three months or more of planning to make it work. It takes about two or three members to put in some serious time on this, and there are many small details to complete. One of the major items to make sure the run makes money is to get someone to pay for the run. Finding sponsors is one of the first items to cover. Someone has to buy the T-shirts, the awards for the winners, advertising, food for the runners, traffic control, and possibly insurance against injury. Then the group has to pick a date for the run, and check to make sure it is not running up against a “big” run that will take most of the runners in the area. The next thing to decide is where will the race be held, and how long do you want the race to be? Do you want a 5K, a 10K, a 15K, a half marathon, of a combination of those along with a 1K children’s event? As to T-shirts, you need to decide how many will you need, what sizes, who will do the printing at the best price, what type of shirt do you want (such as cotton, 50-50, or high-tech material), what color, what will the logo be for the race and what is the race going to be called? The same type of decision needs to be made for the awards. Will you have 10-year age groups or 5-year age groups, and what age groups will be awarded? And then overall champion and master’s overall champion trophies all add up to the cost of putting on a race. Where will you get the necessary equipment to put on a race, such as a clock for timing the runners, finish cards, bib numbers, a finish chute, direction signs, tables for registration and aid stations, cups for drinking, and tables for refreshments, to name a few things on the list of equipment? Depending on the location of the race site, the key to having the race all come together is finding volunteers to help on the day of the run. This usually means finding about 25 people willing to get up about 5:00 a.m. to help you out some early morning. Some volunteer jobs require very little knowledge of running; but there are quite a few jobs that need a person that knows what goes into making a run a success. If the organization does not have these people, then someone needs to train them. One of the main functions of the San Marcos Runners Club is to help guide an organization through the maze of putting on a successful race. If you would like to help out with a race now and then, instead of always running in a local race, the San Marcos Runners Club will welcome new members and let you see what goes on behind the scenes of putting on a run. If your organization is thinking of holding a run here in San Marcos, it would be worth your time to check out what the club can offer your group in a fundraising effort of a run. It is more complicated than it looks to the average runner showing up for a race that morning and expecting a race to be well organized. 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!