March 1, 2009 You may not know what goes on behind the scenes By the time this article appears in the San Marcos Daily Record it will be Sunday morning, and a group of volunteers will have been hard at work organizing the ARA - Moe’s Better Half Marathon and the “Speak Up for Kids” CASA 5K races out at the Tanger Outlet Center. Looking at pre-race registration, the numbers suggest that there will be a good turnout for the races. The half marathon has entries from Colorado, Georgia, Kansas and even one from Ontario, Canada. There is a group of 20 military runners over in Afghanistan that will be putting in 13.1 miles around an airfield at about the same time. While runners appreciate the volunteers on the day of the race, most do not know that race organizers and some volunteers have been busy for the entire week before the race. Tricia Schneider at CASA, along with Eloise Hudson and Amanda Smith, have been hard at work getting names on lists, getting numbers assigned to the runners and verifying details such as portable toilets being delivered, sheriff’s deputies being there for traffic control and volunteers knowing where they are to go when they show up at 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning. Race awards were picked up from Hill Country Trophy and then a trip was made out to KC Sportswear to get the runners’ T-shirts. On Friday morning, volunteers from Kiwanis and CASA met for over three hours and stuffed the race packets for runners, so that when they show up for the race, we can just hand them a bag with their race number, gift certificates from Tanger, goodies from Blue Cross Blue Shield and Austin Radiological Association and pins to attach the bib number to their shirt. On Saturday, members of Kiwanis and CASA traveled to RunTex in Austin and the Tanger Outlet Center here in San Marcos so that some of the runners that want to pick up their shirts and numbers early can do so. There have been quite a few phone calls from runners wondering if they can still register on Saturday or on Sunday morning, so arrangements have to be made to accommodate them. All in all, it has been a busy week for the race organizers. Looking ahead at the weather reports, it seems that conditions will be very good for the runners. Temperatures are predicted to be in the upper 30s and low 40s, which will make excellent running conditions for 13.1 miles. It will warm up to the 50s by the time the race is over, so runners will not get chilled as they wait for the award ceremony. There will several tables of food for the runners after the race with bagels, big cookies, fruit, etc., that will help replenish the energy spent running the race. RaceWorks out of Austin will arrive about 5:30 a.m. with cones to mark the route and provide extra coolers and fencing for the finish area and on the course. About the same time, RunFAR Racing Services will also arrive so that the runners can get an accurate time for their efforts in both the 5K and half marathon. Before the race, the runners will be handed a chip that will record when they cross the starting line and also record the time they finish, as well as giving them their average pace during the race and also what position they finished in the race. Race organizers go over the little details several times just to make sure that everything is covered to make it a successful race for the runners. It is always nice to have the support of Michelle Carswell, manager of Tanger Outlet Center, and her staff, who arrive very early and open doors, provide tables, trash containers and transportation to help put up road barriers and are a great help on making the race a success. For the volunteers arriving at 5:30 a.m. or before, it is always nice to have a wake-up cup of coffee provided by Mochas & Javas to warm them up and to clear the cobwebs from a short night’s sleep. All that is left now is to make runners have one of the best races that they can have, and want to come back again for next year. 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!