Posted by Jon Adams on January 19, 2010 at 07:54:08:
In Reply to: Man on a budget posted by Victor Birch on January 18, 2010 at 21:09:44:
Victor, yes you can reduce the cost of police participation to a point, depending on the course itself. This is why the Bay Area Runners require so many volunteers for the Joe Cain 5K. We man all of the intersections once we are off of Canal St....we have been able to drastically reduce our cost in this area by doing so, which has allowed us to give much more money to the "charity/cause" as intended. One thing that may be of help to some of the local races is for the race director to actually meet with the police before the race and help work out the logistics of course "protection" and try to keep the number of police required for the race to a minimum.
As to the subject of having "professional" runners at ATR (or any race for that matter), my opinion tends to run closely with Leon's.
I DO like having the "invited" runners here, BUT with the awards/prize money restructured in such a way that would require those leaders to run the fast times they are capable of.
There are two reasons I like seeing the "invited" runners here at ATR...
first there is the reason Leon mentioned, when you have a group of world class runners in your race and they are actually RACING and not simply picking up a paycheck, you would see that race gain more exposure and prestige on the national scene. The ATR used to always gain the honor and exposure of being one of the "Top 25" road races in the U.S.......and this coincides with a time that the world record for the 10k distance was always under assault on the ATR course. When you have the "names" in the race and the "times" on the course, you will find the race being written about in the national publications. What's the big deal with this you may ask???
.......SPONSORSHIP! I'd be willing to bet that if you were to ask ATR race director Peggy Olive what was one of the biggest headaches or concerns in regards to producing the ATR she would answer..."finding sponsorship money".
The more exposure the race gets, the more appealing it is to potential sponsors and their money. Another "plus" for the positive exposure and prestige is the interest it brings for the "out of town" runners who may be looking for a "special" race to attend as part of a vacation (admit it, we all do this,LOL) or long weekend trip. When they see this race being touted as one of the "Top 25" races in the U.S. it naturally gets their interest.
The other reason I like to see the invited runners brought in is for those who may have just started "racing". Nowadays, I truthfully don't take as much interest in "who" may be running in the lead pack....BUT I do remember when I was first getting into the racing scene I DID. I always thought how cool it was that I was able to get out there and be a part of a sporting event and actually compete/participate with the "Best in the World". It was almost like being able to get out on the football field and play running back alongside Peyton Manning or someone like that. I think this still happens to a certain extent, I think that young runners or perhaps novice runners get that same feeling of awe when seeing the world's best out there.....especially when that subject is promoted and those who are out there running are truly battling to win the race and perhaps set a world record along the way.