Stuff to do:
0. Race style
1. Course location
2. Course preparation
3. Numbers
4. Registration forms and waivers
5. Registration area/facilities
6. Awards
7. Door prizes?
8. Shirts?
9. Volunteers - timers, course marshals, registration
10. Promotion
11. Post-race followup - official times posted, email list of racers, feedback from participants
12. Name of race
My thoughts:
0. Race style
- I've been thinking about this by modeling it after the Icebike race in Winnipeg: One 4 km loop with 4 km, 8 km, or 12 km races, male and female categories. Any ideas on how to make this race "our own" are appeciated.
1. Course location
- Thinking on the Grand Forks side of the river, North of DeMers on the Greenway. This area has a lot of open space and some large trees to provide relief, and access to the river itself shouldn't be too difficult. If there isn't enough area there, the course could be extended south of DeMers with one side of the loop on the pedestrian underpass and the other on the river itself. I think this part of the Greenway is close enough to downtown (and to other activities) to get people out to watch the race.
2. Course preparation
- I haven't been in GFK since Dec 19th, but it looks like there is still a lot of snow in town. It's probable that whatever course we decide on will have to be prepped to break trail for bikes and to set up directional and warning signs. I'll be back in town this Thursday and will check out how much work this is likely to be, since that's going to dictate the course we can have (unless someone has a snowblower or a tractor we can borrow).
3. Numbers
- We should have 'em.
4. Registration forms and waivers
- Kim Greendahl is offering online registration for the race; I'm assuming the Greenway office will supply paper registration forms and waivers for day-of registration.
5. Registration area/facilities
- I guess we can get a tent too (brr...). Another option might be to talk to downtown businesses who want to let us set up in a corner in exchange for some business (I'm thinking Dakota Harvest).
6. Awards
- If we do awards, a minimum of six (4km, 8km, 12km, male, female). If we do age groups, what is that, potentially <15, 15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60< = 7 age groups X 3 races X 2 classes = 42 awards? What is our normal procedure at this point?
7. Door prizes?
- What do you think?
8. Shirts?
- I think shirts would be great, but it might be a little late to provide them to pre-registered people, and I know we can't afford to buy a lot of shirts and then hope people show up to race (and pay for their own shirt). Oh well.
9. Volunteers - timers, course marshals, registration
- We will need them.
10. Promotion
- We will get some promotion as part of the Winter Carnival package, but since things tend to stop at the edge of UND, we would really need to promote on campus. We can also send stuff out to NDCF to get the Bismarck people as well as the Fargo Cycling Federation (is that right?). Woodcock Cycle Works wanted to know when we decided on a date, since I asked them when Icebike was going to be so we could schedule around it.
11. Post-race followup - official times posted, email list of racers, feedback from participants
- Possible to do all this using the message board or throwing up a race website quick at Campus Dakota. I think it would be good to get some feedback and to get some email addresses so we can keep local people in the loop for events in the future--things like the Kids Race (is it going to happen again this year?).