Are There Different Types of Races ?

Mick Rice

I was a bit surprised to see that one of the races here in Galway got a bit of stick online in the last while and it got me thinking about how people view races in general.

The race I have in mind is organised by a local athletics club and it represents a huge amount of work for their membership each year. They don't have to do it, it's all voluntary, but year after year they slog it out attending meetings late into the night and then they have the stress of the actual day itself and making sure it all goes off well. In fairness, most of their feedback afterwards was very positive but there was also a critical or negative strand there and it really surprised me. I was putting myself in their shoes and wondering if they felt like giving up and staying at home next year.

I realise of course that just because a race is organised by an athletics club that it doesn't absolve them of the responsibility to do the job correctly and safely, but, personally, I'm much more inclined to cut a club some slack than I would be in the case of a private race promoter. That's a bias, pure and simple, but I'm happy enough with that. Of course, it has to be said that I've no fundamental beef with private enterprise and of course without it we certainly wouldn't have some of the best races in the country, but where the organisational motivation is private profit rather than competition I'm inclined to cast a more critical eye over the privately organised races.

I know that the races which are organised by the larger clubs and which attract large fields will sometimes generate quite a lot of surplus money but in fairness these funds go back into the club itself to support whatever else it is they do.

I've made this distinction because I've been racing for a good few years and I'm not sure that many newcomers to the sport see any difference - they just see a race, good or bad.

Am I right to give an easier ride to the clubs or should we all be just as critical of both types and the few races that are a hybrid of both?

T runner

Mick Rice wrote: »

I was a bit surprised to see that one of the races here in Galway got a bit of stick online in the last while and it got me thinking about how people view races in general.

The race I have in mind is organised by a local athletics club and it represents a huge amount of work for their membership each year. They don't have to do it, it's all voluntary, but year after year they slog it out attending meetings late into the night and then they have the stress of the actual day itself and making sure it all goes off well. In fairness, most of their feedback afterwards was very positive but there was also a critical or negative strand there and it really surprised me. I was putting myself in their shoes and wondering if they felt like giving up and staying at home next year.

I realise of course that just because a race is organised by an athletics club that it doesn't absolve them of the responsibility to do the job correctly and safely, but, personally, I'm much more inclined to cut a club some slack than I would be in the case of a private race promoter. That's a bias, pure and simple, but I'm happy enough with that. Of course, it has to be said that I've no fundamental beef with private enterprise and of course without it we certainly wouldn't have some of the best races in the country, but where the organisational motivation is private profit rather than competition I'm inclined to cast a more critical eye over the privately organised races.

I know that the races which are organised by the larger clubs and which attract large fields will sometimes generate quite a lot of surplus money but in fairness these funds go back into the club itself to support whatever else it is they do.

I've made this distinction because I've been racing for a good few years and I'm not sure that many newcomers to the sport see any difference - they just see a race, good or bad.

Am I right to give an easier ride to the clubs or should we all be just as critical of both types and the few races that are a hybrid of both?

I would give an easier ride to clubs having more "amateur" motivations than a professional organiser who is getting well paid.

That said the club organised race is usually a better experience as the organisers are often much more clued in to what is actually important to teh runner.

I would judge races differently based on whether it is club organised, professional or charity for sure. In my experiences club races are usually superior.

Gringo78

Mick Rice wrote: »

Am I right to give an easier ride to the clubs or should we all be just as critical of both types and the few races that are a hybrid of both?

you're right. If they cork my bottle of wine in a restaurant I send it back....if my dad corks it at sunday dinner, I doubt I notice. As long as a club race doesn't get the distance wrong (tantamount to dropping the wine bottle - I won't lick it off the floor), not much else bothers me. Commercial races though...they need to get a lot of things right.

BeepBeep67

I would judge typically on price. If I pay less than €20 I have a certain expectation of the race, not expecting a goodie back, decent tshirt, road closures or policed main junctions, etc the reverse is true if I pay more than €20.
I always expect safety and reasonable organisation otherwise I won't be back.

dna_leri

Mick Rice wrote: »

I was a bit surprised to see that one of the races here in Galway got a bit of stick online in the last while and it got me thinking about how people view races in general.

The race I have in mind is organised by a local athletics club and it represents a huge amount of work for their membership each year. They don't have to do it, it's all voluntary, but year after year they slog it out attending meetings late into the night and then they have the stress of the actual day itself and making sure it all goes off well. In fairness, most of their feedback afterwards was very positive but there was also a critical or negative strand there and it really surprised me. I was putting myself in their shoes and wondering if they felt like giving up and staying at home next year.

I realise of course that just because a race is organised by an athletics club that it doesn't absolve them of the responsibility to do the job correctly and safely, but, personally, I'm much more inclined to cut a club some slack than I would be in the case of a private race promoter. That's a bias, pure and simple, but I'm happy enough with that. Of course, it has to be said that I've no fundamental beef with private enterprise and of course without it we certainly wouldn't have some of the best races in the country, but where the organisational motivation is private profit rather than competition I'm inclined to cast a more critical eye over the privately organised races.

I know that the races which are organised by the larger clubs and which attract large fields will sometimes generate quite a lot of surplus money but in fairness these funds go back into the club itself to support whatever else it is they do.

I've made this distinction because I've been racing for a good few years and I'm not sure that many newcomers to the sport see any difference - they just see a race, good or bad.

Am I right to give an easier ride to the clubs or should we all be just as critical of both types and the few races that are a hybrid of both?

I think experienced runners and club members do distinguish between commercial run races and club run events, but if you are outside this group you may not notice the difference, particularly when a race reaches a certain size.

Many people will not know whether a race is commercially run or not. Take a race like Streets of Galway or Connemarathon, on the surface they look similar - well established races, large fields, professional orgnisation, external sponsorship etc. It is not surprising that many people will not know which is a club run event. Also if only 25% of runners are members of a club, the majority may see all races as equal.

In a way it should not matter, you pay your money, you get a t-shirt at the end and in between you get value for money, or not and that's how a race should be judged.

As regards complaints, clubs are more likely to have a forum for people to air their views - something like the Great Ireland Run or Mini-marathon may not have this instant public feedback. For the people that run the event, they should keep in mind that only dissatisifed people are likely to complain, whether justified or not. Most satisfied runners will not leave a comment but will come back next year. Also 10 unhappy runners are a small % of the total.

I think we should judge all races by their cost of entry and value for money and if there is room for improvement then let the organisers know, also if we get a good experience then give that feedback too.