DRC Half Race Directing 101 Series - Insights #1

I had planned that I would also use this blog as a way to let people know more about race directing also, so here goes.  There is always 10 times more going on behind-the-scenes than the standard runner even realizes!

We're doing some additional marketing this year, so you should be seeing the race logo or mentions of the race in different places - including on KLUV 98.7 FM and billboards on the sides of Dart buses!

Finisher medals for all the half marathoners have to be designed and ordered way ahead of time due to how long production takes, so that order was placed at the beginning of August.  Over-order and you end up throwing aways hundreds of medals and wasting a lot of money that could go to the beneficiaries.  But of course we use past entrant counts to try to order the perfect amount.  Since so many people wait until the last minute, race week, to register, it's hard to know ahead of time that you ordered that perfect amount.  You will love these finisher medals though - a great design and very colorful!

I'm starting to get the word out about the upcoming end of early registration pricing.  It's September 15, and we typically see a big spike in registration numbers a few days before that as everyone realizes that procrastination does not pay! 

We've had a lot of companies asking about the Corporate Challenge, so I've been mailing groups of brochures to different area employers who request it.  I know many employers and employees working to get that magic number of at least 10 signed up by October 1 (the deadline because we have to order bibs then).  Remember that it doesn't matter if they run the 5K or Half Marathon - the point is to just get people active.  And unlike some Corporate Challenges, it's not a competition between corporate teams - again, we just want to get people active. 

And then there's the large amount of daily inquiries about the race, its policies, and even about training that I receive into our DRC Half email address.  If I don't get back to you right away, email me again.  I try to get to them all very quickly, but every once in a while something falls through the cracks.

More to come later as there is a lot going on with this event, but thought some people might be curious about the behind-the-scenes of the race that they love to run every year! :-)