With the pandemic around, runners are finding that races are hard to find. Race organizers are having to come up with different strategies to host a race. The two types of races are the in-person race and the virtual race. In-person has the runners at a site and with safety modifications actually run a race. The virtual race has the runner sign up for the race, run on their own time and location, report the results to the race headquarters and get the race shirt and possibly a medal.
An example of the in-person race is the Red Arena 5K/10K Hill Country trail runs in Dripping Springs on Oct. 18th. This is a fundraiser for the non-profit therapeutic riding center Red Arena, located in San Marcos and Dripping Springs. The race is on a private ranch on some wide and well maintained trails. Looking at some of the photos of the area, the run will be very scenic and enjoyable. It might be worth the time just to go and view the scenery. The day is part of a Roundup Weekend and also includes a BBQ plate and a silent auction for runners to stick around and make a day of it. I remember running in races where the community has a local celebration and people from the area come over for the festivities. Runners knew that this was a race where staying afterwards was well worth the time. The address in Dripping Springs for the Red Arena Trail Runs is 1601 Bell Spring Road. Look at the Athletes Guild website for registration and information.
The virtual example is the Kiwanis Pumpkin Dash 5K on Oct. 31 — Halloween Day — in San Marcos. It is a great race to enter and wear a Halloween costume. The actual run can be run within the next week to count, but with a race called the Pumpkin Dash 5K, it is almost imperative to run on Halloween. The cost is $25 to enter and this includes a race shirt and a medal for those that sign up. Check the Athletes Guild website for registration and reporting your race time. The proceeds from the race go toward scholarships for local students. This race is usually held out at the Toyota Car Dealership and is an out-and-back route on Posey Road. I think it is the only race held out at Toyota and hopefully things will improve for next year’s race to be an in-person race. A good alternative to a full in-person run is to call a group of your running friends together and all run the race at a set location and time.
Talking with Scott Wood, owner of Athletes Guild, who puts on, or times, many of the races in the area, there are more and more organizations trying the virtual runs. With small businesses struggling in many cases to make ends meet the sponsorship for a race is often outside of their budget. While the profit from the race will be reduced considerably, it keeps the race alive and will bring in some benefit for the organization. As for the runners, it gives them a reason to put in the 5K or 10K distance, and in some cases, record the time for the distance. It is not the same as arriving at a race site and meeting friends and runners and talking over the events since the last time you met at a race.
The key for an organization to make any profit from a virtual race is to recruit, advertise, and encourage, runners to enter the race. Less than half of the entry fee goes to the sponsoring organization for their charities. With very limited sponsorship from businesses, the race is not always a big fund raiser as it was in the past years. The main benefit for having the virtual race is to keep the race name and sponsor visible to runners so that they know that the race is still on their schedule.
So many races disappear if for some reason the race is not held one year. If it was a well-organized race with a good race route, runners will tend to put the race on their race calendar for the next year. Looking back over the past years there are only a very few races that last for any length of time. Some races may be held for three or four years, but many of the races are a one-time event. The reasons for the short length of time to hold a race varies from the organization feeling it is not worth the time and effort to put on the race, the organization may have trouble finding one of their members stepping forward to be the race director, or the race was facing too much competition from other races in the area. Runners are hoping things will improve in the future and getting back to normal.
