Race #167 - Run for Tom 5k - Salisbury, NC - 03/18/12

This week we decided to run a nice small 5k in Salisbury on Sunday afternoon to benefit a Salisbury teacher who has cancer. On the SportOften site where I registered I counted 38 runners so I expected a tiny race, but when we arrived at the school where the race was held the parking lot was packed. Apparently there were other options for registering and instead of 40 or 50 runners it was closer to a couple hundred. I haven't run a lot of races in Salisbury but was pleasantly surprised to see that this race used the same facilities and the exact same course as the Race for the Greenway that we ran last year and really enjoyed. I've recently met a couple runners from Salisbury and I let them know we were heading to their local race and it was nice to see that were both already planning on being there.

Linda, Richard, and Sonny
I had met Sonny a couple months ago when he ran the first 3 miles of the Winter Flight right by my side. Today he planned on staying with me the entire race, and right from the start he stuck with me the whole way until we hit the middle school track where the race ended. As we rounded the track Sonny started losing his lunch and about a hundred yards or so from the finish line he had to stop for a few seconds to finish the job. I've got kind of a weak stomach myself so I didn't want to look back. Luckily Sonny recovered in time to beat out two runners who were gaining quickly on him. Things worked out fine though and we finished 5th and 6th overall in the race.


Click Here for Race Results

My Stats:

Time:  21:28
Age Group:  1 of  3
Overall:  5 of  181

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* RACE RATING  (100 Possible Points) *
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Note: With my new rating system (started in December 2011) there's not a chance of any race scoring near 100. If it's important to you, look at each individual category to see how points were earned (or not). Just trying to be more objective with the details. I generally like all of the races I run. If there's something that really rubs me the wrong way I'll mention it in the summary above.

RACE COURSE  (20 possible points)
0 - Chip Timing: (3 points if yes)
0 - Starting Mat: (2 points if yes)
1 - Water Stops: (at least 1 for 5k, 2 for 10k, 4 for half marathon) (2 points)
1 - Course Marking:  (0)bad  (1)good
1 - Course Scenery:  (0)bad  (1)good
1 - 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)pretty good to excellent
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  (6 possible points)
3 - Cost:  (0)expensive  (1)reasonable  (3)cheap!  <<-- Just 10 bucks!
3 - Race Day Registration:  (0)no  (3)yes

RESULTS  (3 possible points)
2 - Posted promptly online:  (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Clear link on website:  (0)no  (1)yes

AGE GROUPS  (13 possible points)
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)
1 - 70+ group (1)
1 - Top Overall M/F:  (0)none or first only  (1)top 3 or better
0 - Masters Category(40+): (0)no  (1)yes
0 - Grand Masters Category (50+):  (0)no  (1)yes

AWARDS  (9 possible points)
1 - Overall Winner Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent
1 - Age Group Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent
2 - Door Prizes or Drawing: (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Finisher Medals for All Finishers: (0)no  (1)yes  (3)really cool medals

POST RACE  (7 possible points)
2 - Food for Race Participants: (0)none  (1)some  (2)adequate  (5)a feast!
0 - Entertainment:  (0)no  (1)yes
0 - Finisher times posted after race:  (0)no  (1)yes

REST ROOMS  (4 possible points)
0 - Porta Potties:  (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful
2 - Indoor Restrooms: (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful

T-SHIRTS  (8 possible points)
0 - T-Shirts: (0)no  (2)yes  (available but at extra cost -- fine by me!)
2 - Design: (0)not good  (1)not bad  (2)nice
2 - Material: (0)cotton  (2)technical fabric
2 - Discount for no-shirt option:  (0)no (2)yes

PHOTOGRAPHY  (12 possible points)
0 - Professional Photography: (0)no  (5)yes
x - Prices: (0)expensive  (2)reasonable  (5)cheap!
0 - Free Photographs (newspaper, etc.):  (0)no  (2)yes

PARKING  (8 possible points)
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  (5 possible points)
0 - Dedicated race website (0)no  (2)yes
1 - No dedicated site but separate page on other site (organization, running store, etc):  (0)no  (1)yes
2 - Results or link to results posted on website:  (0)no  (2)yes

OTHER  (5 possible points)
2 - Shelter from Inclement Weather (needed or not): (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no  (1)yes, some  (2)excellent
0 - Part of race series or Grand Prix:  (0)no  (1)yes


TOTAL:   55

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