Montgomery County Triple Site Updated
The spring racing season is shaping up quite nicely for runners in Montgomery County and north Harris County. With that in mind, we've updated the Montgomery County Triple website:
Bill and I are going to launch the Montgomery County Racing Series (we may even include an event that will be held in Tomball in late April) that will involve all of the events; however, it will not change the "original" Montgomery County Triple.
I'm also going to bring up with HARRA about re-establishing the Texas 10K Challenge in 2009. (I've already sent El Presidente an e-mail.)
I don't have time to make it happen in 2008. I just think it is impractical with the price of gas to expect people to drive all across the state to run 6.2 miles five or six times.
My strategy will be to carve the state into five or six zones and have a partner event in each zone. You have to run the event in your zone and a partner event in another zone, but then you can run any three additional 10Ks that are on certified courses.
Given that HARRA has the state's certifier, Tom McBrayer, in our sphere of influence, it would behoove HARRA to do anything but.
We can promote this all through Footprints in Inside Texas Running, which gives us statewide exposure.
And speaking of Ms. "El Presidente" (nice bib on Sunday), I'm certainly hoping that Anna stays on another year or more. I know tradition in the past has been that a president stays on two years; however, Anna has brought relative calm to things after her predecessor, Tom Stilwell, had to deal with an issue or two that had things pretty turbulent for awhile.
We still have to figure out how to sell HARRA beyond where we are today. (1,500 members and less than 1,000 households out of 91% of the runners - from Texas - who ran one of the affiliated events this weekend just doesn't cut it.) I don't have the answers, but I'm doing what I can through Footprints to put the organization and its clubs in the greatest spotlight possible.
We have two clubs - the Striders and Bayou City - that can turn out the vote and put in place whoever either club wanted to in the spot; however, that dissention isn't needed.
Anna has leaned and counted on people to help her make well-thought out decisions, but unfortunately, I think that we're No. 3 in the city as far as influence. No. 1, obviously, is the Chevron Houston Marathon. When the marathon can command the numbers that they did for the new Kickoff 5K, which is close to what the Bayou City Classic 10K is struggling to hang on to, that I think is evidence of their influence.
No. 2 is the Fit programs. Love them or not, they command a lot of attention. Everytime I see one of the groups out at any of the Fall Series races, I'm thankful because the programs have alternate distance events - not official races - for their folks that draw away from the races. Fort Bend Fit, of course, has to be the most supportive Fit program in town. Bay Area Fit turned out a slew of people for the 10-Miler and I think all of the Fit programs overall turnout was much better than what it has been the last couple of years.
There's my "brain drain" for the day. :) Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.
Bill and I are going to launch the Montgomery County Racing Series (we may even include an event that will be held in Tomball in late April) that will involve all of the events; however, it will not change the "original" Montgomery County Triple.
I'm also going to bring up with HARRA about re-establishing the Texas 10K Challenge in 2009. (I've already sent El Presidente an e-mail.)
I don't have time to make it happen in 2008. I just think it is impractical with the price of gas to expect people to drive all across the state to run 6.2 miles five or six times.
My strategy will be to carve the state into five or six zones and have a partner event in each zone. You have to run the event in your zone and a partner event in another zone, but then you can run any three additional 10Ks that are on certified courses.
Given that HARRA has the state's certifier, Tom McBrayer, in our sphere of influence, it would behoove HARRA to do anything but.
We can promote this all through Footprints in Inside Texas Running, which gives us statewide exposure.
And speaking of Ms. "El Presidente" (nice bib on Sunday), I'm certainly hoping that Anna stays on another year or more. I know tradition in the past has been that a president stays on two years; however, Anna has brought relative calm to things after her predecessor, Tom Stilwell, had to deal with an issue or two that had things pretty turbulent for awhile.
We still have to figure out how to sell HARRA beyond where we are today. (1,500 members and less than 1,000 households out of 91% of the runners - from Texas - who ran one of the affiliated events this weekend just doesn't cut it.) I don't have the answers, but I'm doing what I can through Footprints to put the organization and its clubs in the greatest spotlight possible.
We have two clubs - the Striders and Bayou City - that can turn out the vote and put in place whoever either club wanted to in the spot; however, that dissention isn't needed.
Anna has leaned and counted on people to help her make well-thought out decisions, but unfortunately, I think that we're No. 3 in the city as far as influence. No. 1, obviously, is the Chevron Houston Marathon. When the marathon can command the numbers that they did for the new Kickoff 5K, which is close to what the Bayou City Classic 10K is struggling to hang on to, that I think is evidence of their influence.
No. 2 is the Fit programs. Love them or not, they command a lot of attention. Everytime I see one of the groups out at any of the Fall Series races, I'm thankful because the programs have alternate distance events - not official races - for their folks that draw away from the races. Fort Bend Fit, of course, has to be the most supportive Fit program in town. Bay Area Fit turned out a slew of people for the 10-Miler and I think all of the Fit programs overall turnout was much better than what it has been the last couple of years.
There's my "brain drain" for the day. :) Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.
posted by WalkSports.com | 12:33 PM
5 Comments:
2 offers.
1. Join Houston Fit and see what their replacement race does that the Series races do not (aside from not charging them to run).
2. Give a discount to the Fit runners greater than the HARRA discount (like $5).
The Series race directors might squawk, but they'll be getting more revenue than if the discount wasn't offered.
HARRA will never draw larger numbers unless it (we) provide greater benefits. Right now, you don't really get a lot for your money. Of the benefits we've got listed on the website, only the ITR subscription, discount program, and fall/spring series are what I'd call "significant" benefits. And let's face it, a lot of casual runners are not interested in ITR or the series competition. And if you win an Ironfoot, what do you get -- a pair of socks or something? Not great incentive to go for it. Club competition -- I think the Striders gave away free tech shirts to everyone in the club to honor their club win -- but did they get anything from HARRA, other than pride points?
On the other hand, joining one of the other local clubs or a Fit program will get you group runs, coaching, t-shirts, message boards, and a built-in social group and support system. HARRA does not provide that.
I like and support HARRA (obviously), but if the goal is to encompass anywhere near the number of local runners who enter the marathon and associated races HARRA must
1) Offer more significant benefits to members -- a larger discount on race fees as Doug suggests would be awesome, as $1 really does not matter to people
2) Offer some incentive to the local clubs and Fit groups -- if the club leadership sees a benefit to HARRA, they can strongly influence their own membership to join HARRA as well
HARRA is a city-wide organization, and Houston is an absolutely huge area. HARRA cannot hope to provide the same benefits that a more geographic-specific group such as the Fit groups can. So we've got to tackle a different angle. Bigger race discounts and a more significant city-wide contest (like the club competition and Ironfoot -- something that doesn't solely depend on how fast you are) would be two good steps forward.
So there's my opinion. :)
But Sarah, you're talking apples and oranges between HARRA and the Striders and the Fit bunch. Biggest difference on Fit is the amount they charge versus a club because it's a for-profit corporation and doesn't need a race to augment their program because they do it themselves as part of the fee. They're good at it and I hold no ill will towards them. But because they have as many members as all of HARRA, they can wield some power, if they wanted to, on race discounts. Maybe they did back down the road, I don't know.
Much of the net proceeds (I don't the know exact percentage) from the Bayou City Classic is earmarked for the Houston Parks department. HARRA probably has a bit more money than the Striders do, but not by much. Any Strider member could go to a Board meeting and find out.
Much of HARRA's money is committed to Memorial and Hermann Parks. You can find out how much by looking at Audrey's bank account reconciliation at the next HARRA meeting.
To their detriment, HARRA does not have someone who thinks of HARRA as a 'hobby.' They have good folks who put in what time they can for the betterment of HARRA and the Houston running community.
The Striders have Steve and the Striders are his hobby. The Half Marathon in October generates the club's income for the year because there are not a great deal of race expenses paid by the club. Most is donated, like the police protection (the most costly expense) because Assist the Officer gets a donation.
The 2006 RRCA Convention hosted by the Striders was like having another race in terms of net cash. There were a lot of expenses on the Convention, but there was a lot of revenue, too. The break-even point for the convention was around 115 attendees, if memory serves me correctly (I was one of the 4 organizers).
Yet over the years, the benefitting organization (Assist the Officer) of the Half has not received more cash vis a vis the increase in sign ups and entry fee for the Half and the relay. The following figures come from Stridelines:
2007 - $15,000 (Jan '08 pg 1)
2006 - $15,000 (Jan '07 pg 11)
2005 - $15,000 (Jan '06 pg 4)
2004 - $15,000 (Jan '05 pg 6)
2003 - $15,000 (Jan '04 pg 6)
Figure up how much cash is generated by that race and $15K, as a percentage, is lower each year. That cash funds the speakers, the singlets, payments to committee chairpersons, etc.
Steve could care less about HARRA. As long as Steve holds intense bitterness towards HARRA, he'll do his best to win Club and Team championships for the Spring and Fall as a snub. He never use to care about the Spring Series as far as to win. But since the PIM fiasco, it's his mission to win it all.
The Striders may now have over 700 members, but they're not a loyal 700. Just ask Anna. Why, they even have troubles getting enough volunteers for the Half. Yet, Steve pays the Half committee chairman (who are suppose to be volunteers) with some of the excess funds. I understand there's dissension among a vocal few about this. Miriam Terc was highlighted as the most vocal in the Board minutes (Stridelines, Dec '07, pg 28).
I lost my 'favored by Steve' status when I questioned too many things he was doing for the RRCA Convention. I had thought about trying to get on the Strider board to be another voice on the board, but you can't get on the board without Steve's blessing. It's his club, after all. I understand it's considered a badge of honor by some in this town to be a "FFOS" (Former Friend of Steve).
HARRA could do more, but they first have to find someone who considers it their hobby, like Steve for the Striders.
Party in the Park was cool, (a HARRA member perk). I volunteered for that, this past year, and it was nice.
I wasn't trying to compare HARRA to the Striders (or the Fit groups), and I certainly wasn't trying to get into a discussion about a particular club president. I recognize that clubs like the Striders are different groups with different goals and purposes. But fact is that your average, casual runner does not see anywhere near the benefits from HARRA like they do from their local club (Fit, Striders, BCRR, etc). I'm not arguing that HARRA should strive to provide the same benefits as a local club -- we're not in the business of doing that, we're supposed to be something larger. But I do think HARRA has got to provide more tangible benefits -- not necessarily material objects like shirts or magazine subscriptions, but benefits that members can really see.
Steve may have a lot of animosity towards HARRA, and he may try to win the competitions as a snub. But to win the competitions, he still gets members to sign up for HARRA, and that's an opportunity for us (HARRA) to appeal to the individuals. The Striders have zillions of members -- all 700 of them aren't swayed by their president's personal opinions. I'm a Strider member (and a BARC member), and I'm not anti-HARRA.
So with all those people joining HARRA, what can we give them to make them think their membership is worthwhile for reasons OTHER than winning the competitions for the Striders?
I've seen Audrey's account reconciliations. I know HARRA is giving good money to good causes like the parks. But I'd bet 90% of HARRA's membership has no idea where the money goes.
I think you have a great point about HARRA needing someone who considers it their largest hobby. Unfortunately those of us that seem most interested are inevitably tied up in a dozen other activities as well! :)
The original model for HARRA was to be the New York Road Runners.
One major problem with that is that HARRA obviously doesn't own the Marathon.
I think that we need to be in contact with every single race in town to see if a discount can be negotiated. And if the Road Race director can't do it, then we need to have a master race list as a Board, divy it up and contact everyone.
If every race in town knows that we're going to ask every other race in town for that discount, then perhaps they'll be concerned about being one of the few that doesn't give it.
We need some HARRA gear. I think a HARRA tech shirt idea would go a long way. Why do people run the Distance Challenge in Austin? It's well coordinated - get one chip to run all events - and a good giveaway.
My current project is keeping me from doing the one thing that I'd like to and that is to get a finish line tape that has the HARRA logo on it - and provide it to the races. How many races do you see that has an actual finish line tape for the winner?
It probably wouldn't hurt for HARRA to put on another event that actually made money for the club -- like the Striders, HMSA and others do. What's good for the goose is good for the gander, you could say.
But HARRA also puts on 10 races per year at no cost with the Tour de Bayou and the practice TdB.
I could probably highlight some more things if I had some more pages in Footprints. :)
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