Originally Posted by
grimmer
I was gonna post a thread, but I think this one is topical enough...
I'm really lucky to live in the Peak District. I know because I don't have to drive far for work or play. I started running just over a year ago, and the way to run round here is off road - lots of tracks, bridleways, footpaths and access land. And the races! This time of year it's fantastic, there are so many.
Every village has a carnival, or a well dressing week or just a party for the sake of it and there's usually a fell race. I've just started to re-run the races I ran last year with the occasional better time, but what I've noticed more is that along with the enthusiasm of the local carnival organisers,
there's a recurrence of problems that, first time round, I thought was just bad luck.
The point I'm raising may be a problem specific to the geographic area, but it is most definately a problem. Two nights ago, the race ended, those runners still on the field gathered round for the prize-giving and the announcement was made that... the full results weren't available, the computer battery had expired and there ensued rather a confused presentation. Similarly, full results for some races are never made available after the event, despite the FRA site having just the slot available for them.
Now don't get me wrong, I really do appreciate the work and effort which goes into the organisation of all my local races, but I find myself cringing when presentations are made to the wrong people, gaps on the results boards, etc.
For a race organiser to be covered by the FRA insurance, is it just simply a case of the race appearing in the calendar?
What checks are made on organisers, or guidance given for prospective organisers?
I think the problem we have locally in the Peak is that many of the 'carnival' races are organised by carnival committees, and the only experience these organisers have is on their own race, once a year. Basically, they don't organise enough or often
enough to have the experience to put on smoothly run races.
I'm not suggesting that these races are withdrawn, far from it, but does the FRA offer courses/guidance notes for potential organisers
pointing out common problems and how these can be avoided? As runners, we have an understanding of how a race should be to participate in - some of the organisers themselves perhaps don't have this insight.
There are some fantastically well organised and run races out there, can the wealth of this experience be pooled and packaged up to help less experienced organisers?
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