Come Together

Spreckles Organ Pavilion - Balboa Park

TIART

Runner's Lounge "Take It and Run Thursday" question:

"If you had the knowledge, time and/or means by which to Organize a race - what would your "Race Info" include?

Would you chose an organization to donate to? What distance would you choose? Other questions to ponder - Location? Time? Race Expo attendees (guest speakers?)? Shirt design? Get as creative as you want...!"

I am so into this!

My dream race would benefit the Arts in schools. It would be called "The Arts Run." The Arts are something I've been passionate about for years, even though it sometimes does not come across that way in my blog. The art of motherhood sort of took over, but I'm slowly making my way back. School programs in California have been cut to shreds, and the first things to go are always Art, Theater, Dance and Music programs.

Expo - I think I would skip the pre race expo part and leave the festivities for the day of the race, but have an optional race number pick-up on two separate days, plus the pick up on race day. This would include picking up the swag, t-shirt and timing chip. Yes, I said "timing chip."

Distance - I would offer a 1 mile kids walk/run, a 5k - 10K walk/run. Only the 5k and 10K distances would have the option of using the timing chip.

Crown Point

Location - I have three places that come to mind. Somewhere along Mission Bay in San Diego, perhaps an out and back that goes to Crown Point, with very little concrete involved. It's gotta be mostly asphalt. Concrete just slows me down and I end up more achey... OR the race would go somewhere relatively flat through Balboa Park, which would start and end somewhere near Spreckles Organ Pavilion. The third place is around the flat parts of Shelter Island, which makes for a delightful and scenic morning run.

Shelter Island

Time - probably around 7 or 8 AM.

Time of year - Fall or Spring.

T-shirt - The t-shirts would be that tech-y, dry wick fabric. The t-shirt would be designed through a student competition, and the winner would have their art work on the back, along with some of the sponsors logos below it. The front of the t would have "The Arts Run" in smaller print, somewhere on the upper left or right hand side. Posters of the artwork would be available for sale, and the proceeds would go to benefit the Arts in schools.

Swag - The bag would be one of those reusable cloth-like bags, made from recycled materials or a simple backpack. In the bag: Information about the Arts and places to go to get creative, some sort of electrolyte powder sample, lip balm, samples of sun screen, samples of unscented anti-perspirant/deodorant, flashlights, small packets of wet wipes, a small art pad with a few colored pencils/crayons/pens, coupons for stores that support the arts, like music stores, art supply stores, costume stores, dance stores, and, duh, running/sporting goods store coupons. I'd purposely leave out things like granola bars and candy type bars. Those always seem to end up smooshed or melted at the bottom of the swag bag.

Prizes - The usual protocol : Prizes go to winner(s) of the - race male and female, age group/gender/top three. Since this an Arts race, costumes will be encouraged - and prizes for the best costumes will win. There will also be a random drawing. The prizes would range from artwork, tickets to a theater/art show/performance, massages, restaurants, sporting goods stores, etc...

The race - The National Anthem would be sung live or played by a live band or musician, preferably a student (or students) in the Arts. Whitney Houston's version of the National Anthem is great, but it's time we have some of our local talent take charge of the song. Walkers would have different bib colors than the runners, and walkers would have to start at the back or at a different time. (Weaving between walkers at the beginning of a race is not fun!) Water/electrolytes at mile 2 for the 5k, and miles 2 and 4 for the 10K. Mile markers at every mile, and splits at the 2 mile and 4 mile points. Ipods and/or MP3 players encouraged. Several race photograhers would be throughout the course of the race. Port-o-Potties would be plentiful and have a water pump and/or hand sanitizer kiosk near by. I'd prefer an actual restroom, but on race day that can have quite the line.

Race Medals - Still thinking about this one. For the kids it would be great to have a finisher's medal, but for the adults I'm thinking something like jewelry, perhaps a pendant or key chain.

After the race - Champagne Brunch. All the best brunch foods you can think of made by the winning contestants of Top Chef. (Hey, this is my dream race!) It's gotta have champagne so we can have mimosas... There would be bands and/or musicians, people creating art, dancers, etc, a place for the young-uns to play/paint, color, etc... Since this is an out and back race, no shuttles are needed. My choice of locations all have ample parking available close to the start/finish area.

Guest speakers - I find that some events really don't need guest speakers, especially for smaller local runs, but we would need someone, a celebrity type who runs and appreciates the arts, to announce the winners, hand out the prizes, and say a few words about the Arts Run.

There's so much to think about. I'm sure I left out a ton of things I would like to have at a race, but I suppose it's a start. A dream race would have to include me winning my age group, but, perhaps that's asking for a bit much...

Monday's song:
Mixed Emotions - The Rolling Stones

PEACE