On the table is the possibility of implementing drug testing, as our top 3 runners each year are generally East Africans, and we do offer prize money.
to persuade others you need to be clear in your own mind why you want to implement drug testing. which means you need answers to the following:
1. do you think the top-3 who are East Africans are more likely to be on drugs because they are a) East Africans, or b) in the top-3 at your road race.
2. when you hand over the cheque to the top-3 East Africans, how does that make you feel, inside. would you rather that money went to some white dude, or someone from your local community, or an American citizen. what exactly is it about them that means you would prefer to give that money to someone else.
if you don't know the answers to those questions you are not going to persuade anyone else to think like you.
having answered those, you need to know how the board feels about the future of your road race. if the board, collectively, want to grow the race to having 100,000 competitors annually then you will need to have more prize money, USATF certification, and drug testing. drug testing deters cheats, but attracts quality. once you get named professionals coming to your meet it becomes more popular. every man and his dog wants to race against the guys they see on TV.
and, drug testing at road races is not as expensive as other posters have suggested.
cheers.