Last week was a landmark for problems with putting on a race.
Because of severe weather the Capital 10K was canceled at the last minute. It is unusual for a race to be canceled. There are very few reasons for a race to be called off. It takes some severe weather to call off a race. Rain, even a very heavy rain, is not a good reason to cancel. Years ago I canceled a race here in San Marcos because of a very heavy rain storm. It was not so much for the few runners that were there ready to run as it was for the volunteers who would be forced to stand out in a driving rains storm to pass out water and point the runners in the right direction at a turn. Runners were upset at my decision but the rain was a real storm and visibility out on the road was very limited. The other factor was not so much for the runners but more for any cars that may have been out on the road and had a very limited visibility. There is a very good chance that a driver will not see a runner on the side of the road until it is too late.
While rain seldom cancels a race the combination of rain and lightning is a different matter. The general rule is if the race director sees lightning within a 15 mile radius from the race you either cancel the race, or try to delay the race until the storm passes. Basically the rule to follow for most race directors if lightning is visible is you try to check the direction of the storm on your cell phone. Hopefully the weather station will let you know the size and direction of the storm. This lets the race director decide if a delay will let you run later, or cancel the race. The runners will understand if you have to delay the start of the race for up to one hour for their safety. This is a case of better safe than sorry.
There are extreme cases like the bombing at the Boston Marathon. Any runner that was still on the road was told that the race was canceled and to get to a safe area. Fortunately this is a very rare, and extreme, case. But, the lesson was learned and at major races limitations were placed on people at the race to watch. The spectators had to go through an inspection if they carried a back pack or package. Police protection was increased and a crew double checks the course before the race for any suspicious looking package.
There have been several races in San Marcos that were canceled because of a lack of runners that had entered. For one reason or another runners did not register for a particular race. Many times a race is scheduled on the same date as six other races in the area. With a limited number of runners in the area this race was the one not chosen. The race may have had a bad reputation from previous races and the runners chose to run another race instead. This is a tough decision as the incident that caused the mishap may have been a one-time occasion because of a volunteer error or a shipment delay from an outside company supplying the awards or T-shirts. It is very difficult to get the runners to return the next year even though the problem was a one-time error.
When a run is canceled it is a major setback for the organization putting on the race. The larger the race, the greater the cost to the group. The race shirts have to be ordered a minimum of two weeks before the race. Once they are printed the organization must pay for them. Some race directors make sure the race shirt does not have a date on it. If necessary the shirts can be used next year. Shirts vary in cost from $4 to $15 depending on the type of shirt. Awards are another expense that needs to be ordered a few weeks in advance. For some awards that have a small plaque on the trophy, they can be used again by prying off the label and sticking on a new one for a very small fee.
One problem last Sunday for the Capital 10K is that it was not canceled until the last minute. The first message said that the race would be delayed 30 minutes because of the weather. When the weather did not change, the director had to be safe and cancel the race. All of the barriers at street crossings, cones, direction arrows, water and aid stations, traffic control, and finish line timers, are already set up and will need to be paid. Race participants will want their registration fee returned since they were not able to run. A few runners may have picked up their race packets early, and rather then get a refund, they can apply the refund to next year’s race entry fee.
This is why it takes a serious weather problem, or some extreme reason, to cancel a race. The cost to put on a race can be quite an amount for even a small organization. The larger the race the greater the possible cost to the organization. If the race is canceled because of a small turnout, the race director has the benefit of checking the number of pre-registered runners several weeks in advance. If early registration signs point to a very low turnout the race director can cancel the race before shirts, awards, etc. are ordered. It seems that race directors are in a similar situation that farmers face every year where weather can be the deciding factor of making a go of it or not. The cost and consequences are not as serious as it is for farmers but for some organizations it has the same results.
