DRC HALF - Dallas Running Club Half Marathon

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! :-)

I'm still looking for a few Team Leads for the DRC Half on November 2.  Team Leads get New Balance gear and apparel as a thank you from us for going above and beyond the standard volunteer's duties.  We have 3 meetings between now and the race that we ask our Team Leads to attend if they are available.  And then each Team Lead puts in several extra hours to make the area they supervise a success.

I've added 3 Team Lead slots for folks who want to help out (and earn free gear!) but are already planning on running the DRC Half Marathon.

And, even though I know we'll find enough volunteers in the end, to look at our spreadsheet of all the volunteer slots we have to fill to make this race happen, makes me queasy at this point.  We need about 400 volunteers for this race.  This includes packet pickup during race week and Saturday race site set-up for those that are running the race.  And then, if you are running the race, recruit your friends and family to help out on race day morning.  We need volunteers for aid stations, yelling out times at mile markers, course monitors, finish line helpers, etc etc etc.

See where we need volunteers here...

Read the Team Lead descriptions here...

Email us to help out...

If you are reading this, you are probably running the DRC Half.  But maybe you have a super supportive family member or friend, or maybe you have a running friend whose goal race this winter doesn't include the DRC Half.  This blog post is for those people.

We need Team Leads for the DRC Half Marathon.  These are the key volunteers who supervise our different volunteer assignment teams (like finish line, chip distribution, timers, coning, aid stations, etc).  They also earn New Balance apparel and gear as a thank you from us.  Now I have your attention!

We have three areas where we are seriously need of a Team Lead: Packet Pickup, Bag Check, and Race Site Layout.   Full descriptions of these jobs are here on our website.

We also need Assistant Team Leads for the following groups: Course Monitors, Chip Distribution, Finish Line, Coning, Post-Race Food and Beverage, and Aid Station Management.

If you or someone you know can help us out, email me and let me know ASAP!

Get your coworkers out of those desk chairs and a little more active! Show your company pride and bond as a group while you are at it!

It's this simple - get them to register for the race and list your company name under Employer when registering.

Before October 1:
Get 10 employees from your company to register: We will put your company name under your name on your bib.

And for those companies who really support getting their employees active...
Get 40 or more employees from your company to register: We'll put your company name on the bib and give you and your co-workers a special-colored bib!

It doesn't matter whether people do the half marathon or 5K, both goals are admirable!

All companies with 10 or more employees involved in the race will be listed at the bottom of the Sponsor section of the DRC Half website out of appreciation for their commitment to the fitness of their employees!

Need some brochures for your break room? Contact us and we'll help!

They are training 450 Dallas Running Club members who are enrolled in the DRC Fall 2008 Half and Full Marathon Training Program, and now they will pace you too!  14 coaches from the training program will be serving as the official Pace Team of the DRC Half Marathon.  Each Pace Leader will run even splits (every mile will be run in the same amount of time) throughout the marathon, and by following your Pace Team leader, you'll cross the line within a couple minutes of your goal finishing time. During the race, your Pace Team leader will also remind you to drink and eat, as well as offer words of encouragement.  We have bios and pictures of the full Pace Team, and there are opportunities in the next few months to meet your Pace Leader. Learn more about the Pace Team...

New Balance, the official apparel sponsor of the DRC Half Marathon, will be donating technical training tops to our adopted Marine platoon "Legion 1".  We could not send clothing supplies to Legion 1 because of military rules - clothing they receive have to all be the same, no one unique, kind of like their uniforms.  So we are thrilled to have New Balance step in to help out Legion 1! 

We've heard from several of the local media outlets about covering our story.  And the word has spread to other running groups and clubs in the area.  One way to help is to continue to spread the word to get more people involved.

We are continuing to collect donations to provide supplies and shipping of these supplies to the group.  Click here to donate to our adopted Marines...

We are so excited to announce that the Dallas Running Club and the DRC Half Marathon have “adopted” a Marine platoon.  Before "Legion 1" (or more properly, 1st Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division) deployed mid-July to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit in Okinawa, their platoon leader asked about the possibility of becoming "Running Mates" with the Dallas Running Club.

2nd Lieutenant Ryan Bintz had heard so much about the DRC and its support of the community that he believed it would be a great opportunity for his platoon to establish a state-side connection for the men of Legion 1 while away from home. They will be gone for at least six months, training, traveling, and missing home. Conceptually, each marine in Legion 1 could have a running mate within the DRC that can be his state-side training colleague. LT Bintz calls his platoon "a running platoon," one that prides itself on its ability to move fast on foot and get the job done, much like the members of the DRC.

Legion 1 is planning to participate in the DRC Half Marathon remotely, wherever they are stationed, on November 2.  We are looking for people to donate money or supplies for our adopted Marines.  Money will cover their DRC Half entry so we can provide them bibs, event technical shirts, and finisher medals, and then additional donations will allow us to cover buying additional much needed supplies and the shipping costs for all these things.  We will also assign you one of the about 30 Marines when you donate, so you will know who you are sponsoring and we encourage folks to consider sending a holiday card when it’s that time of year or letters about your own running and training.

For more details and a list of supplies needed, click here...

To donate money and sponsor a Marine, click here…

It's my fault perhaps.  My fault for not continually reminding Dallas runners and walkers that the DRC Half makes the Dallas Running Club possible.

I know this won't be the only time I talk about it, but now's as good a time as any either to be the first time I bring it up.  I had independent conversations today with Mel Cyrak (White Rock Lake area resident, dedicated DRC member, WRL VIP founder, and generally involved in all things White Rock Lake) and Chris Phelan (big-time running/cycling person in Dallas, Tuesday Night Track founder, Ride of Silence founder, Phast Times News founder).  In both cases, I ended up talking about how the DRC Half proceeds completely fund the Dallas Running Club and that if Dallas runners stopped supporting the race, they wouldn't be supporting the club either, and the club couldn't survive.

All the membership benefits DRC provides each year actually cost way more than the cost of an annual membership.  We depend on the proceeds from the DRC Half to fund the club's membership benefits and allow us to make all the great donations we make to the local community.  For example, our big donation each year is to our Tal Morrison Scholarship Fund to provide scholarships to Dallas public school seniors who participate in Cross Country running in school.  But we also donate to a variety of charities throughout the year, including For the Love of the Lake, which benefits White Rock Lake improvements.

After seeing all these races that tout that they gave $X,000 this year from the race proceeds to the chosen charity, I guess I see now that I'll be sure to have a photo op after this race with the big fake check.  I'll show how the race proceeds of the DRC Half allowed them to donate $X0,000 back to the Dallas Running Club, and maybe we'll all remember.

Thank you to all the runners that help account for our higher than usual registration count so far this year!  Maybe this will be the biggest DRC Half yet! And to those not registered yet, Support Local Running, and Support the DRC Half!

As the Dallas training programs swing into high gear, we've seen a lot of people registering for the DRC Half Marathon the last couple weeks.  Whether you are in the DRC, Run On!, or Luke's Locker training program, training with your buddies, or going it on your own, one of the ways to help keep you motivated is to sign up for that goal race today!  It helps keep you committed to your training plan when you have committed $40-50 (if you are doing the DRC Half, OR go ahead and pay $20 more for another half marathon).  And you get to take advantage of that early registration pricing!

Training for a marathon?  Running the DRC Half is a good chance to test your training and your running pace in a true race situation.  If you haven't done a lot of racing, this can be especially helpful to help you not fall victim to the excitement of the starting line, where new runners end up starting to fast and burning up all their energy.

I'll leave you with a quote:

“When you put yourself on the line in a race and  expose yourself to the unknown, you learn things about yourself that are very exciting.”

- Doris Brown Heritage, 5 time World Cross-Country Champion

Dallas Running Club Half Marathon is happy to have Ozarka back again this year as our Official Water Sponsor.  At the finish line, runners will receive the ½ Liter Ecoshape bottle.  Ozarka is working to help the environment, so this bottle contains 30% less plastic than other brands’ water bottles.  And for runners, this means that the bottle was designed to be carried and held, as it is the lightest plastic water bottle on the market.

With its eco-friendly practices, Dallas Running Club and Ozarka Natural Spring Water encourage everyone to recycle and do their part to help the environment.   The Eco-shape bottle is 100% recyclable and has a paper label that approximately 1/3 smaller than their usual bottle so it uses less paper.  And the bottle is flexible so it crushes more easily for recycling.