How many volunteers do I need for my 5k race?

How many volunteers should you have for your 5k race?  With timing 250 races annually and producing 10 races a year I feel that I have a good answer for race directors.  When lining up volunteers a general rule of thumb is to have a volunteer to participant ratio of 1:20.  That's right for every 20 runners you should have one volunteer to help you.  

Ratio 1:20

For example, if you have a race of 100 participants you should have 5 volunteers to help you out at the race.  It is important that you as the race director know your volunteers ability and how to best utilize them.  If you have a very bubbly personable person that is someone you want at the registration greeting people and checking them into the race.  If you have someone who maybe isn't as personable that is the person you want setting up tables and helping with the heavy work.  Those are just two examples of some roles you volunteers could be doing.  If you are making your race an annual event it gets much easier after the first year, but it is important to keep your volunteers in the same role as they did the year before.  If you do that then you won't have to retrain your volunteers every year.

Packet Pickup

Help yourself out on race day by hosting a packet pickup the day before the race.  This will allow runners the opportunity to check into the race and pick up their shirts, goodies, and race bibs before the race day.  This will cut down on lines on the day of the race and will make it easier for your volunteers to manage.  Runners also appreciate having a packet pickup knowing that they don't need to show up to the race early to sign in is an added bonus for them and it also shows that you put the extra effort into making your race a good one. 

On Race Day

You are in charge of everything and people will be asking you a lot of questions so it's good to have everything in place and your plan ready to go.  Have your volunteers show up 1.5 hours before the race to help with setting up and getting everything organized.  You as the race director should be there at a minimum 2 hours before the race.  If you hire J3 Timing to handle all of your timing and finish line needs they will be there 2-3 hours before the race setting up.  If you have 100 runners you should have 2 of your volunteers at a table handling all of your pre-registered runners.  The pre-registered line will go pretty quick as runners are already registered you just need to cross them off and hand out their race shirt and race bib.  It would be wise to use your other 3 volunteers to handle all race day registrations.  Anyone who is not pre-registered will need to complete a registration form, sign the race waver, and pay the race day entry fee.  The race day registration information will also need to be relayed to the timers so they can enter their data and bib number into their computers before the race begins.  You as the race director will need to mark the course and put up any course signs that are appropriate.  If possible, you want to do most of your course markings and signs the night before the race.  Getting the course marked accurately is the most important part of the race you do not want to have a runner make a wrong turn and mess up the course or worse have people follow him in the wrong direction.  Once the race begins have your 5 volunteers transition to putting away registration boxes and to setup the refreshments and water for the finishers.  At the conclusion of the race have your volunteers help with cleanup and make sure you offer them a race t-shirt if you have extras.  It's important to take care and thank you volunteers so they want to come back and help you again next year.  

Thanks! 

Six tips for race directors to increase their race atmosphere

Six tips for race directors to increase race atmosphere

There are so many 5k races out there nowadays. With the 5k market being saturated and runners having multiple races to choose from each weekend, it is important for the race director to create a fun and exciting race atmosphere for their event. Your goal as a race director should be to create a fun event, bring your runners back, and have your runners spread the word about how great their experience was at your race.

Tip #1: Invite vendors to setup at your race. You don’t want runners picking up their race bib and standing around for 30-45 minutes doing nothing. Invite running clubs, chiropractors, boy/girl scouts, sporting stores, and other organizations to make your race look official. This also gives your race the appearance that it is larger than it might actually be. If you have a smaller race your goal should be 3-5 vendors

Tip #2: Provide a coffee table. Having a coffee table setup for your runners, volunteers, and spectators is a small thing that goes a long way. A fresh cup of coffee in the morning will put people in a good mood to start their day. Try finding a local coffee shop to provide the coffee as a sponsor. If you can’t find a coffee shop to sponsor this service usually runs between $100-$200 depending on the race size.

Tip #3: Have music playing at your race and have it playing at least one hour before the race starts if not earlier. Playing music before, during, and after your race is key to pumping up the race atmosphere. Races that don’t have music are quite and boring. Runners are looking to have a good time and if you want your runners to come back music is a must have. I recommend getting a DJ or renting a speaker box that you can plug in an iPod or phone.

Tip #4: Don’t forget about the kids! You will have kids at your race and if kids are happy their parents are going to be happy and will want to come back next year. Think about having a balloon or face painting table at your race. If you have a bigger race budget a bounce house is a huge hit with children.

Tip #5: Display a hashtag for your event and announce it on the PA system. The concept of the hashtag (example #stockton5k) is to have all runners, volunteers, spectators to post their videos/pictures with your hashtag. This will allow everyone and the race director to search Facebook/Twitter to view all of the videos/pictures that were taken at the event.

Tip #6: Provide a photo booth. I would recommend having a photo booth with your races logo. This is an opportunity for people to take pictures with groups or by themselves and then they will share those photos. I mean who doesn’t like to pose for a good photo?

For more articles and running tips please visit www.j3timing.com