The Grand Prix Race Series has been a part of the club for
many years. One goal has
been to promote friendly competition among our members. A second goal has been to support local area
races that want to be included.
For 2013 planning we had a committee (Donna Crooks, John
Welsh, Jeremy Verdi, Kelly Chandler, John Distler and myself) that provided input. We met over the winter to determine how we
could make this better and improve participation. We also tried to talk with
people at meetings and group runs to get some feedback for moving forward.
We recognize that our club makeup is changing. Our 2012
membership group included more than 100 members age 40-49. This age group was
also most active in last year’s grand prix.
We also recognize that we are
happily retaining our mature members and have added a new category of 70 and
over. To promote running to our young
family members we will have two 5k races this year that only 19 and under can
score in.
Everyone who participates in a race will score a minimum of
5 age group points. A new element this year is a weighted participation system
that will also award 3-10 pts per race based on race distance. There will also be
drawings during the season that will award some prizes just for participating.
We have made an effort to spread the races more evenly over
the running season. Locations and
distances (5k to Marathon) take into account our member demographic. With early registration, the cost of many of
these races is low and they are nicely run events.
Flag Day and Autumn Leaves are NERC club races and benefit
our scholarship fund. Two of the races are also a part of the Ashtabula Distance
Runners series and an additional two are part of the Lake Health Running
Series. Choosing to run any of these races gives even more value for your
efforts.
If all goes as planned, more of our members will receive a
little payback for their investment in Grand Prix Races. In the bigger picture- the many good causes
that these local races promote will also see a growth in their race bottom
line.
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