Sunday, June 7, 2009

Entries for 2009 Race

We know that there are many people who were disappointed when they did not register for the 2009 before we filled. There is ONE last chance for two lucky and generous runners. Every year we provide two entries to the Friends of the Hank Aaron State Trail (FOHAST) for use in raising funds for their kids programs. For those not familiar with the trail, it runs from the Milwaukee lakefront west through the Valley. Many of the kids in the adjacent neighborhoods have no concept of the world beyond their block or immediate neighborhood - they have never been fishing, never seen Lake Michigan just a few miles away, and have never enjoyed nature like most of us can. This is a good organization with good programs that need our support. FOHAST is a bonafide charitable organization.

This year the two entries will be made available for a donation of $250 each according to the following protocol:

Interested runners are to send an e-mail to FOHAST - fohast@gmail.com - indicating their interest and that they are prepared to make the $250 donation.

E-mails will be accepted until noon CDT on Monday June 15.

Each e-mail will be assigned a number that will be used for a random selection.

The first two people selected will be contacted via e-mail and directed to send their $250 check to FOHAST. As soon as the checks have cleared, the entry form will be mailed to the runner. The runner then submits the entry to LFM.

If either of the selected runners fails to follow-through, FOHAST will go down the list in the order randomly designated until both entries have been distributed.

PLEASE do not contact LFM directly about the status of your e-mail.

It is also important to note that these are the ONLY legal entries avialable. We do not allow the transfer of entries from one runner to another, do not set them aside for other charities, and can not increase our field. If you hear of a runner trying to "sell" their number, please report this - we are serious enough about this issue that several people were DQ'd for this offense in 2008 and both the registering runner and participating runner were barred from participation in LFM this year.

2 comments:

Mike Karolewicz said...

I'm REALLY disappointed that the number of entries is still so low. I was a sentry last year at the 11 mile mark and experienced many periods where there were no runners for 15-20 minutes. At that distance there were lots of people already walking (and they didn't look like they were going to start running anytime soon!) I'd like to see some kind of criteria for entry if you are going to limit the size; otherwise, open it up to more runners like big cities do. You are discouraging real runners from entering and going elsewhere, like I will this year. Poor effort in improving the quality of a high-potential marathon.

Kevin 0 said...

I live right along the race route and have been there as a spectator many times, plus have run in LFM twice and find the 15-20 minutes to be a gross exaggeration.

In any case, if you or any of your more deserving runner pals are so interested in running this event, sign up early and steal some spots from those you deem less worthy. What's preventing you? Sounds like poor effort and worse planning on your part.