Race #215 - Beach Blast 5k - Albemarle, NC - 05/11/13

There were races all over the place this past weekend and I didn't decide which one I would run until Saturday morning. I ran the Beach Blast last year and it was a lot of fun so I decided to run it again this year. It's one of Peter Asciutto's Vac & Dash races, which are always good. With his quirky races and non-stop promotional abilities, Peter has turned the small city of Albemarle (population about 15,000) into a running mecca. I would be willing to bet there are more runners per capita in Albemarle than in any city in North Carolina, and possibly more than any community in the entire nation.

As I've been doing lately, I did a video of the race and I'll include some photos as well to tell the story.

Here's the video...

Before the race I asked Sharon Davis about the hills (I never remember those
kinds of details). She gave us a hill-by-hill account of what we could expect.
"It starts out with just a little uphill incline..."

The universal symbol for the top of the hill.

Then a little bit steeper incline.

And this one had me scared.

Bill Shires spotted me a few rows back at the starting line and came back to
chat for a minute. You'll remember he won the Mount Holly race last week.
He was the overall winner of this race too. I told him afterwards that I thought
I might be good luck for him, but he wins a lot of races without me so maybe not.

This was the first major hill. It's kind of hard to see in the photo, but just
after the first hill is a second bigger hill. It's actually more noticeable when
you're running it (or trying to).

 

Last year Gary Parks (directly in front of me in the white shirt) won the 55-59
age group at the age of 59. I figured he'd be my biggest competition this year
for the 60-64 age group so I was glad l caught up with him at around the mile-2
mark in the race. I thought I'd just try to keep up with him until the end and make
a mad dash for the finish but when he stopped at the water stop I kept going.
I finished in 21:10 and he was close behind at 21:35 for 2nd in the 60-64 age group.

This steep hill was the last on in the race (and possibly the one that
Sharon Davis was warning me about). Notice the red sign on the left
that says, "The Last Hill."

Approaching the finish line.

Gary Parks just after crossing the finish line.

Always a good post-race celebration after a Vac & Dash race!

Peter Asciutto, Mr. Vac & Dash himself!

Results were promptly posted after the race.

Click Here for Race Results

Click Here for Free Vac & Dash Photos on Facebook*

Album 1 (288 Photos)

Album 2 (416 Photos)

Album 3 (187 Photos)

*Several other people posted pics from the race. Pics can be found on the Vac & Dash Facebook page.

My Stats:

Time:  21:10

Pace:  6:46

Age Group: 1 of  9 

Overall:  16 of  398  (4%)

Average Heart Rate:  161

Maximum Heart Race:  172

Age Graded Equivalent Time:  16:52  (76.45%)

***************

* RACE RATING *

***************

RACE COURSE  

3 - Chip Timing: (3 points if yes)

0 - Starting Mat: (2 points if yes)

2 - Water Stops: (0)none  (2)normal  (5)extras [Gu, sports drink, etc.]

1 - Course Marking:  (0)bad  (1)good

2 - Course Scenery:  (0)bad  (2)pleasant  (5)extraordinary

2 - Mile Markers: (0)poor or none  (1)normal  (2)with clocks or time called out

2 - Volunteers:  (0)too few  (2)good

2 - Finish line: (0)mediocre  (2)not bad  (5)very good  (7)spectacular!

2 - Certified Course: (0)no  (2) yes

2 - Correct Distance: (0)no  (2)yes

1 - Partly or fully on unpaved roads:  (0)yes  (1)no

REGISTRATION  

1 - Cost:  (0)expensive  (1)reasonable  (3)cheap!

3 - Race Day Registration:  (0)no  (3)yes

RESULTS 

2 - Posted promptly online:  (0)no  (2)yes

1 - Clear link on website:  (0)no  (1)yes

AGE GROUPS 

2 - 3 deep awards: (2)yes (0 for anything less)

5 - 5-year age groups (5 points) (0 for anything less)

1 - 14 and under group (1)

1 - 65+ group (1)

0 - 70+ group (1)

2 - Top Overall M/F:  (0)none or first only  (2)top 3 or better

0 - Masters Category(40+): (0)no  (2)yes

0 - Grand Masters Category (50+):  (0)no  (3)yes

0 - Senior Grand Masters Category: (0)no  (5)yes

AWARDS 

5 - Overall Winner Awards: (0)none  (2)yes  (5)excellent (Hand-carved Gourds)

5 - Age Group Awards: (0)none  (2)yes  (5)excellent

2 - Door Prizes or Drawing: (0)no  (2)yes   (5-9)fabulous door prizes!

0 - Finisher Medals for All Finishers: (0)no  (3)yes  (5)really cool medals

POST RACE  

6 - Food for Race Participants: (0-10 with 5 being average)

6 - Entertainment:  (0)no  (1-9)yes

2 - Finisher times posted after race:  (0)no  (2)yes

REST ROOMS  

2 - Porta Potties:  (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful

1 - Indoor Restrooms: (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful

T-SHIRTS 

2 - T-Shirts: (0)no  (2)yes

2 - Design: (0)not good  (1)not bad  (2)nice  (5)beautiful!

2 - Material: (0)cotton  (2)technical fabric

0 - Discount for no-shirt option:  (0)no (2)yes

PHOTOGRAPHY  

0 - Professional Photography: (0)no  (5)yes

x - Prices: (0)expensive  (2)reasonable  (5)cheap!

5 - Free Photographs (newspaper, etc.):  (0)no  (2)yes  (5)lots of free pics!

PARKING  

2 - Close to Start:  (2)yes  (0)no

2 - Close to Finish:  (2)yes  (0)no

2 - Plenty of spaces:  (2)yes  (0)no

2 - Free Parking:  (2)yes  (0)no

WEBSITE 

0 - Dedicated race website (0)no  (2)yes

2 - Results or link to results posted on website:  (0)no  (2)yes

OTHER 

0 - Shelter from Inclement Weather (needed or not): (0)no  (2)yes

2 - Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no  (2)yes, some  (5)excellent

0 - Part of race series or Grand Prix:  (0)no  (2)yes

TOTAL:  89

Race #214 - Mount Holly Springfest 5k - Mount Holly, NC - 05/04/13

For the first time since last July I ran a 5k in under 21 minutes (20:58) so I was happy to know I still had a sub-21 in me at the age of 61. This race is just a few miles from my home and one of the few Gaston County races I had never run. It's a smallish race with 156 finishers this year, but there are a lot of good things about races this size: parking nearby, not losing your friends, a more casual starting line, etc.

As I've been doing lately, I'll go light on the talking and let the photos tell the story since I wore my video glasses.

Below is the video, followed by a few of the 100+ pictures I took. You can see all of the photos on my Facebook page. Click here for my Facebook gallery of this race.

It was frigid for a race in May, when we expect springtime temperature.
Bill refused to leave his car to warm up before the race.

This was the first race I've been in with Dianne Allen in a while. She's coming
back strong after an injury kept her out of running for most of last year.
She was running the Boston Marathon a couple weeks ago when the bombs
exploded and was just a short distance from the finish line. She's the most
optimistic person I've ever known and is the only person I know who smiles
the whole time during a race (from what I've seen at least).

Bill Shires and I shared notes on video glasses before the race and he wore
his for the race too. He's the president of the Charlotte Running Club and is
known in the area as the "Godfather of Sole." At 48, he's still lightning fast
and was the overall winner of this race. Anytime I feel like it's an accomplishment
that I haven't missed a day of running in nearly two years, I think of Bill...
He hasn't missed a day of running since 1987.

The first half mile was pretty much all downhill.

A couple minutes into the race I settled in behind a couple of GCR peeps.

I spent much of the first half of the race behind Bryan Pitts, then he spent
the second half of the race chasing me and finished a few seconds behind.
He's getting faster and I'm not, so my days of finishing ahead of him are numbered.

Kathryn McIntosh, a 13-year-old, finished as 1st Overall Female.

They say you shouldn't look back, but I guess he couldn't resist, and
I caught him shortly after that. I have to admit I'm always looking back
to see who's back there, and I've even been known to start walking if
I don't see any gray hair back there. I actually took two walk breaks in this race.

This was weird. As I and another runner approached this intersection the
policeman waved the traffic through so we had to almost come to a complete
stop to wait for the car to come through. Kinda wrecks the momentum.

This is the car that we had to wait for. Usually if there's an officer at an
intersection they'll hold the traffic while the runners go through.
At least we didn't get run over, so it's all good I guess.

For the entire last mile I stayed almost this exact distance behind my friend,
Chris Baucom, who oddly enough, stayed this same distance in back of me
for the last half of the race just last week at the Kings Mountain Half Marathon.

As we approach the school at the end of the race, you can see (barely) that
Chris is still up there. I was hoping to gain on him, but no luck.
Love that payback!

I crossed the finish line at 20:58. Chris was exactly 15 seconds ahead of me at 20:43.
He said he never looked back but he knew I was back there. 

Jennifer Wheeler and Bryan Pitts congratulate each other at the finish line.

Yes, there is a Santa Claus, and he's pretty fast! Ralph Shore finished 2nd
in the 60+ division. 

The best part of the race is when it's over and you can concentrate on the
important stuff, like catching up with what's new with your friends.

Results were promptly posted by Queen City Timing. This was the second
week in a row that I finished 9th overall. Love it when I can get into the Top 10!

The real highlight of this race has to be the drawing just before the awards
ceremony. Great stuff, and almost everybody got something. I won a
$20 gift certificate for Tastebuds Popcorn. Other prizes included dinner for two
at The Woodshed (one of the nicest restaurants around), weekend vacations
to places like the tourist town of Helen, Georgia, ten yoga lessons, and
a lot of other cool stuff. Somebody had told me before the race that it was
worth running the race just for the drawing afterwards, and I agree.

All smiles despite the cold weather.

Click Here for Race Results

My Stats:

Time:  20:58
Pace:  6:52
Age Group:  1 of  9
Overall:  9 of  156 (5.8%)
Average Heart Rate:  160
Maximum Heart Race:  171
Age Graded Equivalent Time: 16:43  (77.18%)

***************
* RACE RATING *
***************

RACE COURSE
3 - Chip Timing: (3 points if yes)
0 - Starting Mat: (2 points if yes)
0 - Water Stops: (0)none  (2)normal  (5)extras [Gu, sports drink, etc.]
1 - Course Marking:  (0)bad  (1)good
2 - Course Scenery:  (0)bad  (2)pleasant  (5)extraordinary
1 - Mile Markers: (0)poor or none  (1)normal  (2)with clocks or time called out
2 - Volunteers:  (0)too few  (2)good
0 - Finish line: (0)mediocre  (2)not bad  (5)very good  (7)spectacular!
0 - Certified Course: (0)no  (2) yes
2 - Correct Distance: (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Partly or fully on unpaved roads:  (0)yes  (1)no

REGISTRATION
1 - Cost:  (0)expensive  (1)reasonable  (3)cheap!
3 - Race Day Registration:  (0)no  (3)yes

RESULTS
2 - Posted promptly online:  (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Clear link on website:  (0)no  (1)yes

AGE GROUPS
2 - 3 deep awards: (2)yes (0 for anything less)
5 - 5-year age groups (5 points) (0 for anything less)
1 - 14 and under group (1)
0 - 65+ group (1)
0 - 70+ group (1)
0 - Top Overall M/F:  (0)none or first only  (2)top 3 or better
0 - Masters Category(40+): (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Grand Masters Category (50+):  (0)no  (3)yes
0 - Senior Grand Masters Category: (0)no  (5)yes

AWARDS
5 - Overall Winner Awards: (0)none  (2)yes  (5)excellent (Vacation in Savannah, GA)
2 - Age Group Awards: (0)none  (2)yes  (5)excellent
8 - Door Prizes or Drawing: (0)no  (2)yes   (5-9)fabulous door prizes!
0 - Finisher Medals for All Finishers: (0)no  (3)yes  (5)really cool medals

POST RACE
3 - Food for Race Participants: (0-10 with 5 being average)
0 - Entertainment:  (0)no  (1-9)yes
2 - Finisher times posted after race:  (0)no  (2)yes

REST ROOMS
2 - Porta Potties:  (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful (Just 2 but that was plenty)
0 - Indoor Restrooms: (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful

T-SHIRTS
2 - T-Shirts: (0)no  (2)yes
2 - Design: (0)not good  (1)not bad  (2)nice  (5)beautiful!
2 - Material: (0)cotton  (2)technical fabric
0 - Discount for no-shirt option:  (0)no (2)yes

PHOTOGRAPHY
0 - Professional Photography: (0)no  (5)yes
x - Prices: (0)expensive  (2)reasonable  (5)cheap!
0 - Free Photographs (newspaper, etc.):  (0)no  (2)yes  (5)lots of free pics!

PARKING
2 - Close to Start:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Close to Finish:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Plenty of spaces:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Free Parking:  (2)yes  (0)no

WEBSITE
0 - Dedicated race website (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Results or link to results posted on website:  (0)no  (2)yes
(Results posted on Queen City Timing site but not on Springfest site)

OTHER
0 - Shelter from Inclement Weather (needed or not): (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no  (2)yes, some  (5)excellent
0 - Part of race series or Grand Prix:  (0)no  (2)yes


TOTAL:  63

Race #213 - Kings Mountain Half Marathon - Clover, SC - 04/27/13

Oops! It's Wednesday and I've forgotten to write a blog entry about this race until now. I'll keep it short on words and a little heavier on photos since I was wearing my video glasses for the race.

In 2010 this was the smallest sanctioned race in South Carolina, with 15 runners in the full marathon and 5 in the half marathon. Thanks to the hard work of the race director, it has grown steadily since then and this year there were almost 300 finishers -- 191 in the half and 94 in the full.

If you like hills, you'll love this race. I don't really like hills at all, but I seem to do generally okay on them. I don't mind walking some, especially when I'm trying to run up a hill and I feel like I can probably walk it about as fast as I can run it. In this race I walked five different times. They're short walks -- maybe 30 seconds to a minute -- and probably didn't hurt my time a lot. I finished 9th overall and won 3rd Masters. That bumped me up out of the 60-64 age group, where I would have one by a long shot, and somebody asked me if it made me mad that I was 3rd Masters instead of 1st in the age group. I'll take Masters any day, so I was happy with it. For me there are very few chances to get a Masters award.so it's exciting to be able to get one occasionally.

As I've been doing lately, I'll post a video I did of the race below then some of the race photos.

Here's the video...

Quite a few of the Gaston County Runners were at the race.
This isn't all of them but it's the most I could find in any one picture.

The biggest laugh of the day was when Gene Summey was doing something
with his iPhone and asked me what kind of phone I had. He did a great
spontaneous spit take when I said I had a Jitterbug. Completely lost his
chewing gum. I guess I'm just kind of old school.

No doubt the highlight of the race was when the race director,
Jefferson Nicholson, surprised his girlfriend by proposing to her
in front of the crowd as the race was about to begin. What a great moment,
and I couldn't believe I was standing right up front where I was able to catch it
on my video glasses.

The course was out-and-back, which I always enjoy since you meet up
with everybody else in the race along the way either coming or going.
This is my running buddy and GCR member Chris Baucom.

One of the great things about out-and-back is that many times people
let you know how you're doing. Here I think she's saying I'm in 6th place.
I think I was actually in 7th place and I ultimately ended up 9th overall.

There were almost 200 finishers in the half marathon, but when you spread
them out over 13 miles it can get kind of lonely out there. Here at the 12-mile
point you can see how far I am behind the runner in front of me, and Chris
Baucom was about this far in back of me, so I spent quite a bit of time
running alone.

Some nincompoop decided to park his car about 50 feet from the start/finish
line before the race and didn't move it during the entire race so runners
had the pleasure of dodging it at the start of the race and also as they finished.
Some people.

The course was loaded with hills, and also about 4 miles of gravel road,
so I surprised myself by finishing in 1:39:39, which was 9th overall.

Matt Jaskot of Charlotte was the overall winner of the half marathon.

Click Here for Race Results
Click Here for Race Website (Photo link should be there when available)
My Stats: Time:  1:39:39 Pace:  7:40 Age Group:  1 of  8 Overall:  9 of  191 (4.7%) Average Heart Rate:  161 Maximum Heart Race:  178 Age Graded Equivalent Time:  1:19:52 (74.15%) *************** * RACE RATING * *************** RACE COURSE   3 - Chip Timing: (3 points if yes) 2 - Starting Mat: (2 points if yes) 5 - Water Stops: (0)none  (2)normal  (5)extras [Gu, sports drink, etc.] 1 - Course Marking:  (0)bad  (1)good 2 - Course Scenery:  (0)bad  (2)pleasant  (5)extraordinary 1 - Mile Markers: (0)poor or none  (1)normal  (2)with clocks or time called out 2 - Volunteers:  (0)too few  (2)good 5 - Finish line: (0)mediocre  (2)not bad  (5)very good  (7)spectacular! 2 - Certified Course: (0)no  (2) yes 2 - Correct Distance: (0)no  (2)yes 0 - Partly or fully on unpaved roads:  (0)yes  (1)no REGISTRATION   1 - Cost:  (0)expensive  (1)reasonable  (3)cheap! 3 - Race Day Registration:  (0)no  (3)yes RESULTS  2 - Posted promptly online:  (0)no  (2)yes 1 - Clear link on website:  (0)no  (1)yes AGE GROUPS  2 - 3 deep awards: (2)yes (0 for anything less) 0 - 5-year age groups (5 points) (0 for anything less) 1 - 14 and under group (1) 1 - 65+ group (1) 0 - 70+ group (1) 2 - Top Overall M/F:  (0)none or first only  (2)top 3 or better 2 - Masters Category(40+): (0)no  (2)yes 0 - Grand Masters Category (50+):  (0)no  (3)yes 0 - Senior Grand Masters Category: (0)no  (5)yes AWARDS  5 - Overall Winner Awards: (0)none  (2)yes  (5)excellent 2 - Age Group Awards: (0)none  (2)yes  (5)excellent 0 - Door Prizes or Drawing: (0)no  (2)yes   (3)fabulous door prizes! 5 - Finisher Medals for All Finishers: (0)no  (3)yes  (5)really cool medals (different at least!) POST RACE   2 - Food for Race Participants: (0-10 with 5 being average) (no food to speak of other than some Power Bars) 0 - Entertainment:  (0)no  (1)yes 1 - Finisher times posted after race:  (0)no  (1)yes REST ROOMS   0 - Porta Potties:  (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful 1 - Indoor Restrooms: (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful    (Restroom situation was bad -- need some porta potties in the future!) T-SHIRTS  2 - T-Shirts: (0)no  (2)yes 2 - Design: (0)not good  (1)not bad  (2)nice  (5)beautiful! 0 - Material: (0)cotton  (2)technical fabric 0 - Discount for no-shirt option:  (0)no (2)yes PHOTOGRAPHY   5 - Professional Photography: (0)no  (5)yes 2 - Prices: (0)expensive  (2)reasonable  (5)cheap! (that's a guess) 0 - Free Photographs (newspaper, etc.):  (0)no  (2)yes  (5)lots of free pics! PARKING   2 - Close to Start:  (2)yes  (0)no 2 - Close to Finish:  (2)yes  (0)no 2 - Plenty of spaces:  (2)yes  (0)no 2 - Free Parking:  (2)yes  (0)no WEBSITE  2 - Dedicated race website (0)no  (2)yes 2 - Results or link to results posted on website:  (0)no  (2)yes OTHER  0 - Shelter from Inclement Weather (needed or not): (0)no  (2)yes 2 - Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no  (2)yes, some  (5)excellent 0 - Part of race series or Grand Prix:  (0)no  (2)yes TOTAL:  81

Race #212 - Run for the Money 5k - Gastonia, NC - 04/20/13

It's nice to finally be settling in for some local races after all the traveling we've been doing for the past few months. This week's race was in our hometown of Gastonia, and it's the biggest local race of the year. This time around there were 1,235 finishers in the competitive 5k race and hundreds more in the 2k walk.

The unique thing about this race is that in each 10-year age group the 1st place finisher gets to direct a $500 donation towards any local participating nonprofit group of their choice, and 2nd place directs $250 towards their choice. For the second year in a row I ran for Career Management Group (CMG), one of the lesser known nonprofit groups. They run Gaston Residential Services (GRS), which provides housing for handicapped adults. Linda's twin sister has been one of their clients for many years and they've done a beautiful job over the years in helping her to be as independent as possible despite being debilitated with cerebral palsy. She went from living in a group home for a number of years to moving into a private apartment where several other handicapped adults live with the assistance of staff members who are on call in an apartment/office on the site 24 hours a day.

The good news is that I won the 60+ age group again this year, and the even better news is that my friend Roberta Villneff (Bobbi V) came over and ran for them too, and being one of the fastest 60+ females she easily won that age division, so between the two of us we earned $1000 for Gaston Residential Services and  CMG.

Once again I did a video wearing my video sunglasses, and below I'll include the video and a few photos. Additional photos from this race can be seen in a gallery on my Facebook page.

Here's the video...




x

My wife Linda gets in a little warm-up before the race.

The National Anthem 

There's plenty of fanfare both before and after the race.

Rick from the Gaston County Runners (GCR). He spends a lot of time
chasing me in races. He almost caught me this week... won't be long.
I didn't count but we probably had 10 or 15 runners from the GCR at the race.

Bobby, also from the GCR. He's usually chasing Rick.

Lisa won the 30-39 female age group. She's already fast but has been
training with the Tri Yon group in Charlotte, which from all accounts
I've heard makes fast people even faster. I spent much of the race chasing
her, as you can see in the video.

Liz, also a Gaston County Runner, spent the first 3 miles of the race
chasing me. She spent the last tenth of a mile leaving me behind.

More GCR peeps: D LeVar, Stephen, and Craig.

It was a little crowded from the start as we went up and turned left only
a half block into the race. There are a lot of turns on this course.

There are also a lot of hills. 

Here's Lisa showing great form up another hill.

Here's Liz after she passed me at the 3-mile mark.
You can see in this photo and also in the video that there is a steady stream
of walkers in the right lane as the runners are finishing in the left lane.
The walk is a 2k and a number of people signed up for the 5k and ended up
walking the 2k, which caused quite a bit of confusion for the results.

My official time was 21:53. 

Nothing but water.
Sadly, one of the worst things about this race is there is no food
after the race. It's strange but every year it's the same.  I'm not sure
if the organizers just don't realize that it's standard for races to have
refreshments for runners after the race or if they just don't care or
don't want to bother with it, but it's a pretty big omission.

Me and Bobbi V after the race. 

There was plenty of entertainment on stage as we waited for the awards.
Speaking of awards, the only winners are 1st and 2nd in each 10-year age group.
That's another drawback for this race. In most normal races, especially of this size,
there are 3 winners in each 5-year age group. 

As the Race Rating below shows, this race gets a low score, mostly because of the lack of food for runners and 2-deep age group awards in 10-year age groups. I appreciate the fact that I was able to win my age group, but most people aren't that fortunate. I know it's for a good cause, but almost all races are held for a good cause and there really needs to be more of an appreciation shown to the runners, because without runners you can't have a race.


Click Here for Race Results

Click Here for Photo Gallery on my Facebook Page

My Stats:

Time:  21:53
Pace:  6:57
Age Group:  1 of  25 (60 and over)
Overall:  48 of  1235
Age Graded Equivalent Time:  17:27  (73.95%)

***************
* RACE RATING *
***************

RACE COURSE
3 - Chip Timing: (3 points if yes)
0 - Starting Mat: (2 points if yes)
2 - Water Stops: (0)none  (2)normal  (5)extras [Gu, sports drink, etc.]
1 - Course Marking:  (0)bad  (1)good
0 - Course Scenery:  (0)bad  (2)pleasant  (5)extraordinary
0 - Mile Markers: (0)poor or none  (1)normal  (2)with clocks or time called out
2 - Volunteers:  (0)too few  (2)good
2 - Finish line: (0)mediocre  (2)not bad  (5)very good  (7)spectacular!
2 - Certified Course: (0)no  (2) yes
2 - Correct Distance: (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Partly or fully on unpaved roads:  (0)yes  (1)no

REGISTRATION
1 - Cost:  (0)expensive  (1)reasonable  (3)cheap!
3 - Race Day Registration:  (0)no  (3)yes

RESULTS
2 - Posted promptly online:  (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Clear link on website:  (0)no  (1)yes

AGE GROUPS
0 - 3 deep awards: (2)yes (0 for anything less)
0 - 5-year age groups (5 points) (0 for anything less)
0 - 14 and under group (1)
0 - 65+ group (1)
0 - 70+ group (1)
0 - Top Overall M/F:  (0)none or first only  (2)top 3 or better
0 - Masters Category(40+): (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Grand Masters Category (50+):  (0)no  (3)yes
0 - Senior Grand Masters Category: (0)no  (5)yes

AWARDS
2 - Overall Winner Awards: (0)none  (2)yes  (5)excellent
2 - Age Group Awards: (0)none  (2)yes  (5)excellent
0 - Door Prizes or Drawing: (0)no  (2)yes   (3)fabulous door prizes!
0 - Finisher Medals for All Finishers: (0)no  (3)yes  (5)really cool medals

POST RACE
1 - Food for Race Participants: (0-10 with 5 being average)
1 - Entertainment:  (0)no  (1)yes
0 - Finisher times posted after race:  (0)no  (1)yes

REST ROOMS
2 - Porta Potties:  (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful
0 - Indoor Restrooms: (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful

T-SHIRTS
2 - T-Shirts: (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Design: (0)not good  (1)not bad  (2)nice  (5)beautiful!
0 - Material: (0)cotton  (2)technical fabric
0 - Discount for no-shirt option:  (0)no (2)yes

PHOTOGRAPHY
0 - Professional Photography: (0)no  (5)yes
x - Prices: (0)expensive  (2)reasonable  (5)cheap!
2 - Free Photographs (newspaper, etc.):  (0)no  (2)yes  (5)lots of free pics!
                (There is a small gallery of race pics in the Gaston Gazette -- 35 photos)

PARKING
2 - Close to Start:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Close to Finish:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Plenty of spaces:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Free Parking:  (2)yes  (0)no

WEBSITE
0 - Dedicated race website (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Results or link to results posted on website:  (0)no  (2)yes

OTHER
0 - Shelter from Inclement Weather (needed or not): (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no  (2)yes, some  (5)excellent
0 - Part of race series or Grand Prix:  (0)no  (2)yes


TOTAL:  42