Race #2 – WNC Run/Walk for Autism – 09/20/08

(Originally posted 11/04/08)


On my second week of running we couldn’t find a race near Charlotte so we ended up in Asheville at the Western North Carolina Run/Walk for Autism. The race was held in Carrier Park, which is an old Nascar race track that was donated to the City of Asheville and converted to a recreational park. The whole setting was beautiful and there were a ton of people and the free food and festival atmosphere was fantastic.
There were a couple of problems though. One was that no race results were ever published. They did post a list of the top 3 runners in each age group but the overall results were only posted as a downloadable Excel file that seemed to be corrupted. I never did get my official time since I wasn’t one of the top 3 in my age group, which was a 10-year group by the way (50-59), and there were probably at least 500 runners.
Also, part of the course was paved and part of it was some other material like some sort of pine bark or something that wasn’t easy for me to run in since I’m used to running on pavement.
Race Ratings
6 — 4/6 Number of Participants (4 for less than 100; 6 for 100 or more)
7 — 1-10 Awards (Quality of medals, trophies, etc.) (1 to 10)
7 — 1-10 Awards Presentation (PA system, stating winning times, etc.) (1 to 10)
9 — 1-10 Food for Race Participants (1 to 10)
7 — 1-10 T-Shirts (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
4 — 4/6 Race part of “Run for Your Life Grand Prix Series” (6=Yes and 4=No)
4 — 4/6 Online Registration (6=Yes and 4=No)
4 — 4/6 Chip Timing (6=Yes and 4=No)
3 — 3/7 Certified Course (by USA Track & Field) (7=Yes and 3=No)
3 — 1-10 Course (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
6 — 1-10 Parking (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
8 — 1-10 Entertainment (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
3 — 3/7 Age Groups (7 if 5-year groups; 3 if 10-year groups)
4 — 1-10 Bathroom Facilities
0 — 1-10 Other
TOTAL – 75

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