The Perfect 10 Race

This isn't a critique.  I'm not allowed.  See, The Perfect 10 Race was a race organized by me:  I'm a Runner.  It came after a dare from a fellow friend and athlete.  He called me out...

"You never give a 10/10 to a Race, even when you really seem to like it.  I'd like to see what your idea of a 10/10 Race is..." 

Wheels started turning.  Then ideas started developing.  Then fear kicked in - I'm not a Race Organizer, I'm a Runner.  And then, again more ideas kicked in... next thing I knew, I was drawing a line in the sand:  8/4/12 would be the inaugural Perfect 10 Race!

Great.  What to do now?  Why, set up a Facebook Page, publicly... gulp!

The biggest concern everyone had for me, was the size of the Race.  Too large, and I could be in trouble... Too small, and well, that would be embarrassing.  The trick was how to engage my friends, but not get in over my head.

Needless to say, I had 11 fans initially.  Yup, 11.

Next up was my Race Plan.  The Number 1 criteria I have for a Race, is the Beer Garden.  Almost everyone knows, if there isn't a Beer Garden you immediately lose a point.  So, without a doubt the Race had to end at Cook's Corner (aka the only place that will serve beer at 7am).

And then, the course.  Starting and ending at Cook's presented a slight problem:  Hills.  Almost every turn you take out of Cook's, you climb a steady (long) hill.  I didn't want to lose friendships over the Race Course, so I opted for infamous dirt/mountain bike trail called The Luge. 

The Fisherman and Shirtless Josh raved about The Luge.  And what sold me was the idea that at the top, you sign your name in at the Flagpole.  A testament to your accomplishment.

A few weeks later I ran The Luge.  But by then it was too late... I'd already committed to the location via communications. 

With location for the Race Course and Beer Garden locked in, I came up with the following list that I considered a requirement in order to achieve a Perfect 10 score:

• Cheap Registration
• Aid Stations
• Bathrooms
• Cool Medals
• Cheer section/crowd support
• Easy Parking/Shuttle (including no parking fees)
• Easy Registration Process
• Costumes

At the end of the day, here's how I met my requirements for a Perfect 10 Race:

• Registration was $15 and all proceeds went to Beer
• Rich and Carolyn (my parents) were my aid station/race photographers
• Due to the lack of bathrooms on the trail... handy wipes were made available for use
• Medals were legit (Thanks Julie) and also, the medal itself was an actual beer bottle opener

• Admittedly, I lacked on this department.  My original plan to recruit some young runners out to the middle of the course didn't happen. 
• Unless you parked by the (previously warned about) old security man, then things were pretty seem less.  Of course the Snails Pace Club Meetup, threw us off for a brief moment.
• Registration was done at Parking. 
• Costume award was announced a week or so before the Race.

With my ideas bubbling over... I needed some serious help on broadening my reach.  11 participants, assuming I'd get all 11 fans, was fine but I wanted more.  So after stealing social marketing tactics from my friends at work, I'm happy to say I almost tripled my fan base to 32 :)

All that was left to do, was wait (stress about) for 8/4.

As I mentioned, I'm not allowed to critique the Race.  I'm passing it off.  My recollection of the Race is totally different from a participant (and not just cuz I had a few beers).  And besides, I doubt any of the participants had as many nightmares regarding the Race as I did the night before!

So, if you'd like feel free to give me your honest feedback on The Perfect 10.  After all, if I don't hear some opportunities, you'll most like get more of the same... next time*

*Did I just say that??

The Perfect 10 Race is in the books!

Facebook Page:  The Perfect 10 Race