This race continues to be a fun local race I do every year. This year I was joined by my friend Tim and his girlfriend Stefanie as well Caroline and Liam.
Stefanie ran as well, with Tim sidelined due to a hip injury.
The race attracts about 800 locals and it a challenging 4 miles course through the streets of Chester.
They also had a Chester native, a veteran, phone in from Kuwait before the race start and wish everyone well. Caroline actually helped play a role in helping the wife of the veteran get the phone they were using working with the PA system so we could hear the guy all the way from Kuwait. Turns out he ran a four miler in Kuwait at the exact same time we did. It was very cool.
The course is fun too. Water everywhere. Sprinklers and cheerleaders galore. Rolling hills. Friendly people. It's so worth the 50 minute or so drive from our house
Ok-here's what they need make better and I'm not sure they will.
Mile Markers. This was the first year the course was USTAF certified so the start was moved 300 east of the old starting line. Oddly, they took the trouble to get certified and then didn't add mile markers so you could see how you're doing against the course.
The finish chute is a mess. It's 2008 and they're still using Bib numbers and a finish chute with manual counters to determine the order of finishers and their times. They need to get with the program and just get chips. The race has grown to the point where it's not manageble to do bibs number counting.
What happened to the beer? For the last three years, included in the price of the admission was a free beer ticket. This year there was a big sign posted: "No Beer. Rotary Decision." Two words: Bad decision. I'm sure there was a reasonable explanation-liability, cleanup, whatever. Someone from the roxary club could have been there to explain it or put a notice in our folder.
The last point was made by my friend Tim and is a good one. The awards ceremony at noon was conducted by someone with the same enthusiasm as someone calling numbers off at the Stop and Shop Butcher counter. In fact, the two names I heard him call, that's exactly what he did-butcher their names. The fact that the effort wasn't coordinated ahead of time with the band playing atop the gallery in the square added to the confusion and disorganization of the ceremony.
I will say for a big "small" race, the registration ran remarkably smoothly and the packet distribution continues to be well run. Traffic directing and race logistics seemed to go pretty good. It can't be easy to put this on year in and year out.
That said, Chester has some work to do. We'll probably do it again next year, but we'll be watching to see if they catch up to the times and make some improvements.
