2012: Back to RACING

NOTE: This is an open letter to all of our compatriots in racing.  I hope the members of Howard County Striders, Georgetown Running Company, and anyone else who might read this blog, including, but not limited to Annapolis Striders, Baltimore Road Runners Club, RASAC, Westminster RRC, Montgomery County RRC, Potomac River Running, etc, read this message.

The response that we received from the recent post about the rising cost of race entry fees was emphatic.  It seems that we aren't the only ones who are tired of paying for sub par events.  All we need is a start/finish line, a distance, and a competitive field.  Ed had started the discussion with members of GRC when he met them for a run recently, and also with Carlos, and after a few more emails got circulated, I was overwhelmed by the feedback.

The proposal is this:

1) Create a race series for the year, similar to a Grand Prix or the IAAF's Diamond League Meets.

2) Use pre-existing events that we know people will race already, and supplement by adding our own events, including track meets, cross country meets, and other road races.

3) Scoring tables could be figured out to rank individual leaders, but primarily this would be team-oriented.  It would effectively add team competitions to races that don't already have them.

Most of all, the goal would be to enhance the quality of racing.  Actually make races about the RACE.  There are plenty of very fast events each year that are always going to be competitive, but outside of those, some of the races are either too low-key, or are huge clusters (like most "participation" races).  If you want to be the best, you have to race against the best.  Our ideas have included hosting track meets, rotating who hosts, as well as which events are held; cross country races; road events. 

And really all it takes is coordinating efforts by establishing a schedule of races that would be part of a series.  Races like Shamrock 5k, Cherry Blossom, Pike's Peek, of course would be on there, but then we'd look at including other races that can be agreed upon.  We can make a calendar, and figure out which people will be there.  We can establish a team captain for a given event, and as long as each team submits a roster prior to the event, then we can ensure fair scoring practices!

We also want to incorporate more social elements into the events as well.  Sure, we're all rivals, but it's always fun to socialize and get to meet the people that push you to a great result.  We need to bring racing back, and make it fun. 

As always, comments and thoughts are welcomed and appreciated!  And if you have other input, or would like to help and be a part of it, feel free to email me directly (rmcgrath732@gmail.com).