If you are a race director what’s on the top of your list for your race? Making sure it sells out.
I find it pretty hilarious that Army Ten Miler sold out this year in less than 2 days[yes I said hilarious - I'm a running geek - I find these types of things funny]. The Race Director is a freaking genius.
Have you run the race before? Did you love it? Or did you feed into the hype?
Don’t get me wrong – the race is great. However it’s not a PR course by any means and it’s crowded as heck! Unless you are Samia Akbar or someone of equal caliber I wouldn’t have high hopes for doing amazing at this race. It’s simply too crowded for us mere mortals.
Why you might ask then did this race that sold out in 6 days last year sell out in less than 2 this year. Well I guess I could say that I am partially to blame as well. [I'm sure you can relate] You wanted to run and you emailed your friends….*Quick so and so the numbers are going up – you must sign up now!*
Do you think these numbers were updated instantly every time someone signed up? Or possibly did the race committee make them really high, really fast, inducing panic and causing 30,000 people to get on their computers and fork over $$ as fast as they could whether they were sure they were running it or not? I’m certainly not saying I know the race director did this. What I am saying is that you should entertain the idea of things like that happening.
My personal wisdom/thought for the day is that We blindly believe in things we shouldn’t all the while questioning other things that we should blindly believe in.
Before I get off my soapbox think about this. The more that we freak out and register instantly, the faster races are going to close out. The faster these races close out the more likelihood of people passing on their numbers to someone else when they decide they don’t actually want to run. This means that the age groups numbers and your place according to your sex could be all off. Just a thought if that sort of thing matters to you…..it does to me…….
P.S. I’m not against ATM – the first race my husband and I ever ran together[when we were dating] was Army Ten Miler – unknown to me at the time was that it was his first ten miles ever!
Runner, dreamer, marathoner x24, mommy of 3, Women's Running Magazine cover model, published writer, Saucony contributing blogger, running coach, and lover of all things running. I Run This Body. 
I love that it was his first 10-miler!
I agree that the push to register = race induced panic. But I am the opposite and end up missing out on races because I am not willing to commit that quickly.
That's CRAZY that it sold out in 2 days! That's just nuts.
you seem to have some logic in this…i really hope that's not what they're doing.
the rnr innaugural dallas marathon did not sell out and at the day of the expo they were giving out garmins, gift bags, dicounted registration $100 down to $69 making all of the people registered early very unhappy!
Wow! I know it's a popular race but from friends who run it I am always left wondering, Why?
You raised some interesting points. I never thought about the "sold" bibs messing up the age groups. Now on bigger races, I'll wonder.
Couldn't agree with you more. It was like a feeding frenzy and I couldn't help thinking, "why does everyone want to run this race?" It's crowded as heck, the wait for the portaloos is insane, you have to go through metal detectors which takes forever, the course is boring, and the post-race food is the worst I've ever seen. There are so many fantastic, low-key 10 mile races out there that are cheaper, more scenic, completely uncrowded, and have great food and awards. But, if everyone wants to run ATM, I'll just keep them to myself!