Where have all the runners gone?

Posted on 09/04/2007 at 03:45:10 PM by David Patt

Organizers of Ringing in Spring 5k knew they were in trouble when the annual race date fell during spring break in Valparaiso IN.  New runners would need to be lured to the race to make up for the loss of the many student athletes who normally participate.  How would that happen?

It was decided that a technical shirt, rather than cotton, would be offered, providing an attractive, and unexpected, new benefit to runners.  The result?  Registration exceeded the previous year's total.

If you find that happenings beyond your control – college schedules, religious holidays, government-sponsored events, etc. – threaten the market for your race, offer something new to catch people's attention and make participation in your event more attractive than before.

Don't change your date.  Giving up your slot on the calendar – even for one year – could prove disastrous.  Instead, offer a new premium, provide more food and entertainment, lower the entry fee (well, maybe not), or add a novel twist to “fill the empty seats” this year.

Posted in Administration
3 Comments
Posted Sep 07, 2007 1:49 PM by richard
I am 35 days out from my 5k/10k event. no entries to date. Should I cancel?
Posted Sep 07, 2007 8:08 PM by Scott Bush
Don't cancel it yet. I have put on races before where we didn't get our first registrant until twenty days out and then ended up with a few hundred people. People are busy this time of year with school starting up and getting back into the work habit after a fun summer. I would say that if no one signs up in the next 10 days, then you should cancel it, but make one more effort to promote the race and spread the word.
Posted Sep 08, 2007 2:11 PM by David Patt
What have you done to promote the event? How many people did you register last year? What have you done differently this year to get more runners?

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