The perfect road race?

Bronzie

I'm organising a road race (a 2/3/4) in August and just wondered what little (relatively inexpensive) facilities or goodies I could include that would make the rider's experience just that little bit better?

Obviously has to be within my control so no smart replies about the weather or letting you win it etc.

I'm already including:
- a website with details on the course so you know what it's like before you get the start sheet
- NEG cover
- neutral service
- nice cold can of Coke for all riders at the finish

What other touches can I add without breaking the Club Treasurer's heart?

emx

good HQ with changing, plenty of parking, good roads with well-marshalled turns, neutral service (especially if it's a long loop) and a few prizes for 1st vet, 1st junior, etc just to make it more interesting. Not much else needed really...

Spend any spare cash on video or timing eqpt at the finish line. The Cranfield circuit is really good - shame it's had to be changed to Stewkley...

tomb8555

Hire / borrow timing chips..

jibberjim

Baby sitting service for during the race.

Anonymous

jibberjim wrote:

Baby sitting service for during the race.

Holy crap, what a top idea!

Timing chips and lots of prizes.

Pross

If your division has photo finish kit and someone who knows how to use it that can make a big difference. Other than that a well marshalled, good course and decent HQ are about the only requirements.

Herbsman

I would have gone for something a bit healthier than Coke. It's a bit bloating. How about something a bit more beneficial to riders' recovery like some sort of protein/carb replenishment drink?

On a Brum to Oxford charity ride last year there was a post-race massage to raise more money for charity. It was £8 per massage if I remember correctly. No idea if/how much the organizers had to pay.

hammerite

These lot had a small helmet sticker for chip timing, worked well at MK bowl circuit race I did. Better to use than one of the ankle strap things IMO, although I suppose the sticker could fall off in the wind I rode with mine on for a few weeks before noticing.http://www.racetimingsystems.com/public/results.aspx

ozzzyosborn206

have primes in the race, i think having prime would be better for the race than prizes for first junior/vet/lady, coke sounds like a good idea, but maybe just make it a drink assuming you are having coffee and cake etc at the HQ after, a coffee probably costs you less than a coke too?

Bronzie

Thanks for the replies so far.........taking them in order:

HQ Facilities / Course
Obviously reliant on what's available in the local area and what courses have been previously approved by the Region. I've had to change courses twice for this event so far due to clashing events so it's not my preferred course, but still I think pretty good and should provide some competitive racing.
The new HQ is OK although I'm a bit concerned about parking......need to look into whether we can use a grass field to park on (and hope it's not too wet beforehand).

Marshalling
We usually manage to provide good marshall cover........ideally we need 15 for this course.......plus drivers, licence checkers, judges etc etc etc so the club members have been put on notice that all leave is cancelled. Doesn't help that it's height of the holiday season though.

Prizes
There's £500 in the budget although I'm not keen on doing prizes down to 15th etc as it makes the prize presentation after the event very long-winded. Suppose we could post some of the lesser prizes and just do top 5 on the day. Also takes time to go over video results etc to get the first 4th cat etc but worth doing after the event I guess. Will have a think.
Already planning on having 4 primes of around £25 a pop at the top of the finish hill on each circuit………ok if you can climb of course!

Video / Timing Equipment
Given that the finish I was planning to use is at the top of decent climb, not sure how much of a problem judging will be. Will try and find out if it's possible to hire the MK Bowl equipment, but even that is not foolproof as far as I'm aware.
I can hire the Hillingdon camera from the Region for around £80, so that's another option.
A third option is to invest £200 in a Casio EX-FH100 that can shoot at 240fps giving results like this.

Childcare
Unless I can catch the lady that does the refreshments on a good day, this may be beyond me to organise!

Post event goodies
I note the comment about Coke…..will consider something more like "For Goodness Shakes" if I can get a good deal on a couple of cases.
Not sure anyone would use post ride massage…….bit of a personal choice which I always avoid. Probably worthwhile for a charity ride with a big turn out but less so for a road race with 60 finishers if you're lucky.

Keep the suggestions coming though.

Zachariah

At any rate, good luck and well done for doing it! Ah, Bedford...My point of origin. Will the race be going anywhere near the Ouse? Or Cemetary Hill? Despite being called Ampthill, there aren't really any hills around there to speak of that I recall.

fish156

Everything comes second place to safety:

NEG outriders are great. 8) Make sure your marshals know what they're doing. Put your best marshals at the finish. In 2 races this year I've encountered cars coming down the hill we've been sprinting up for the finish line. :shock:

Goodies? Stick with the can of Coke. Sod the "healthy option", you've just completed a road race. Bloating? That's what burping is for. ;-)

fish156

Bronzie wrote:

Video / Timing Equipment
...
A third option is to invest £200 in a Casio EX-FH100 that can shoot at 240fps giving results like this.

Wow! Get everyone to put their number facing the camera and that would be awesome.

pinkbikini

Plenty of spare safety pins. New ones, not horrible rusty tetanus-laden ones.
Toilet paper. Industrial quantities.
A selection of bike tools for last-minute pre-ride emergencies.
Totally agree with having the best/most assertive marshalls at the finish line to stop traffic coming the other way during the sprint.
A supervised bag drop/storage area for riders who have cycled to the event.
A really good pre-ride briefing that gives info on any obstacles/major potholes/junctions not just by place name but also in miles/km from the start of the race loop. Maybe also print off a couple of A3 prints of the course and mark any problem areas.
Licences in a filing box available at all times after start of race for those who might DNF and want to get home early to begin a period of bitter inner reflection.

Toks

pinkbikini wrote:

Plenty of spare safety pins. New ones, not horrible rusty tetanus-laden ones.
Toilet paper. Industrial quantities.
A selection of bike tools for last-minute pre-ride emergencies.
Totally agree with having the best/most assertive marshalls at the finish line to stop traffic coming the other way during the sprint.
A supervised bag drop/storage area for riders who have cycled to the event.
A really good pre-ride briefing that gives info on any obstacles/major potholes/junctions not just by place name but also in miles/km from the start of the race loop. Maybe also print off a couple of A3 prints of the course and mark any problem areas.
Licences in a filing box available at all times after start of race for those who might DNF and want to get home early to begin a period of bitter inner reflection.

Hey Nick, keep the blog going I'm loving post race reflections and the Idiots' surveillance.

milese

Sweep any sharp turns clear of gravel and spray paint around any pot holes.

Coke is a good idea.

The only food options (that are kindly put on by volunteers) at the end of races seem to be cake related. After racing for 2 hours, consuming 1.5 litres of sports drink and 4 gels, the last thing I want is sweet food like cake. Give me crisps and sandwiches any day!

Lots of toilets. Nothing worse than queuing for 15 minutes before a race.

Thick Tester

Pay a lot of attention to who you select in your field would be my top tip - most seasoned racers would rather have a good strong field ( with the safety aspects you have mentioned ) and a positive race than a lot of the ancillary extras that have been mentioned.

A lot of races have gone first come first serve leading to $hithouse bunch engines chasing everything down an negative racing.

Theres little point in having a closing date if you use that method. Select the best field from the entries that you get and the race will be a better race ( use the BC rankings and your own nouse if its a local race . If anyone enquires as to whether ort not they have a ride BEFORE the closing date, kindly return their entry or place them as a reserve and make them sweat.

yours trully tt....

jibberjim

pinkbikini wrote:

Licences in a filing box available at all times after start of race for those who might DNF and want to get home early to begin a period of bitter inner reflection.

No! Make them sweat, in fact, make it a rule that licences can only be retrieved after finishing and in the order of finishers - so the first to DNF, has to wait until everyone else to collect - force people to actually go the distance!

ozzzyosborn206

Thick Tester wrote:

Pay a lot of attention to who you select in your field would be my top tip - most seasoned racers would rather have a good strong field ( with the safety aspects you have mentioned ) and a positive race than a lot of the ancillary extras that have been mentioned.

A lot of races have gone first come first serve leading to $hithouse bunch engines chasing everything down an negative racing.

Theres little point in having a closing date if you use that method. Select the best field from the entries that you get and the race will be a better race ( use the BC rankings and your own nouse if its a local race . If anyone enquires as to whether ort not they have a ride BEFORE the closing date, kindly return their entry or place them as a reserve and make them sweat.

yours trully tt....

i can see where you are coming from with the sending back entries if people pester you but for people like myself who do not live in england and need to book boats, hotels, time off work it is often useful to know earlier than closing date if we have an entry

ride_whenever

Thought of getting a lbs involved to have a mini workshop onsite for repairs etc.

Tom Butcher

Can you find a way to communicate time checks on any breaks etc - not expecting a motorbike with chalk board but maybe a board at one point on each lap.

As for the rest - mostly it's things that affect the actual racing rather than the extras - though it's nice to have easy parking next to the HQ.

As for selecting the field for a lower cat race personally I go with first come first served - nothing wrong in that imo - but if people prefer strongest field that's their call. Guy in our club is favouring riders from clubs/teams who promote events - so there are different ways to do it and I wouldn't say one is right and one wrong.

Bronzie

Good stuff folks.....has to be said we do a fair amount of the suggestions already:

Spare safety pins - check

Spare bog roll - check

Bike tools / emergency service - if I can get the same guy to do neutral service for us as before, then he's pretty good at providing tools etc. Not sure if I'd want to stand losing some of my own tools but will have a think about how we can cover this if he's not available.

Secure bag store - usually someone in the HQ at all times so bags can be left with the Refreshments Department (but probably not sprogs!)

Pre-race briefing - normally the realm of the Comm but good idea to do a large scale course map to highlight problem areas

Licence collection - some Comms require licences to be held to the end of the event (in case anyone has transgressed), but if not, they'll be with the tea bar for the early shower brigade

Sweep gravel corners & spray paint holes - my Clerk of Course is a legend with the broom

Time gap notification - usually we just yell gaps out at the finish but this could probably be done a bit better - will have a think

Field selection - the event is part of the Eastern Road Race League so preference is given to member clubs anyway. If the event is over-subscribed, then the strongest riders will always get preference…………but it's amazing how few riders bother to keep their points section updated


One thing nobody has mentioned yet………..online entry (ie RiderHQ)……worthwhile or just a bit of a faff for me?
Used it 2 years ago and had a few problems with
a) riders not supplying all the necessary info like BC number or current category
b) one rider managing to get missed completely because he'd entered but not paid before I closed entry which meant he didn't show up on my list and was p1ssed off when he didn't get in.