If you could tell race directors to improve at one thing, what would it be?
If you could tell race directors to improve at one thing, what would it be?
PORTA POTTIES!!! You can never have too many!!
Women hiding their butts under their too large shirts.
high registration fees
Make sure the course is accurately measured (certified) and that the certified course is what is actually used on race day.
Also, have beer at the post race.
Make a Pokémon Go incorporated race already!!!!!!
let if flow wrote:
PORTA POTTIES!!! You can never have too many!!
very few events have enough bathrooms at the starting line
mellow seeds wrote:
Make sure the course is accurately measured (certified) and that the certified course is what is actually used on race day.
e.
This. so basic but so often lacking.
let if flow wrote:
PORTA POTTIES!!! You can never have too many!!
Some at every mile marker would be nice too. Or at least at every aid station
Lack of any system to guard against cheating, i.e. course cutting, etc. No timing mats are placed anywhere on the course to ensure that everyone runs the same course.
100% agree with this, big problem in almost all of the races I run.
Better organized starting line. I'm Tired of weaving around walkers. At the last 5k I participated in, some gal intending to stroll the course while drinking a fancy coffee lined up in front. She about got knocked to the ground several times, and was rather indignant that all these runners were elbowing past her. Put up some signs - Race, Run Jog and Walk - and most people could probably figure out where to start
1. Accurate course.
2. Well-marked course to prevent any wrong turns.
If you fail at either of these two things, your race is a failure. All other complaints are secondary to these two essentials.
Regarding portapotties. If runners are complaining about not having portapotties a few miles into the race, they don't know how to hydrate or how to race. If you need to pee a couple miles into the race, then you over-hydrated which is stupid and you should know better.
And guys, why do you complain about portapotties? Learn to use a pee cup. Or a gatorade bottle. You slip it under your shorts, pee, and then dump it in the sewer. I've peed in a cup while standing at the start line talking to friends and they never knew it.
Yeah an inadequate supply of bathrooms is my #1 problem with many road races I've been to. I know I'm not the only one here who frequently has to take a last minute poop before races because of nerves. But when there's 15 minutes to start time and still a 100 person line for the bathrooms, you're very often shit out of luck.
Don't stop a late Spring race because it gets a little warm.
Yeah. I'm looking at you Vermont City Marathon.
Mr. Obvious wrote:
mellow seeds wrote:Make sure the course is accurately measured (certified) and that the certified course is what is actually used on race day.
e.
This. so basic but so often lacking.
Amen. I've seen many races where the volunteers were clueless about the course they were monitoring or how to direct runners. This year I ran one race on a rail trail where there was a guy sitting in the middle of the path in a lawn chair. As I approached him I asked where the turnaround point was and he said, "Run around me!"
in order
1) innacurate course
2) poor course marking
3) price
4) long delay before awards
More amenities for your top runners.
Even worse than an inaccurate course is an unpublished course. If you can't take the trouble to measure the course accurately, at least take 10 seconds to map out the course on Google Maps and put the map on your race website. If you change the course compared to the previous year's race, say so! The moment I want to find out about course changes is not a half mile into the race.
Get your course USATF certified. Nothing irks me more than a short course.