2011 Registration Opens!

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In this issue 2011 Registration Opens National Running Survey A Little Housekeeping Thanks to Everyone for YOUR Help! Other news Facebook & Twitter Follow us on Facebook via our group and fan page and on Twitter use #mkelfm to post and follow other runners. Unsubscribe Click to instantly unsubscribe from this mailing list. Send to a friend Send this email to someone you think may be interested.

Tuesday January 18, 2011 2011 Registration Opens Well…we told you all that we’d spend the months since the race getting ready for the 2011 race. We have definitely been doing that and will ratchet things up next week with our first planning meeting. The one piece of news that many of you have been waiting for is the opening of registration…set your chrono’s for Friday January 21 as we’ll be open then. As I indicated in my last newsletter, the fee for 2011 will be $75 and that includes the on-line processing fee. Also – registration will be on-line only, no paper forms. To register follow the link on our web site. You will recall that we are making a few significant changes for 2011 * START time has been changed to 7:30AM. This will prevent potential heat-related issues and will mean that the race presents fewer problems for people living and doing business along our course. * The entry limit has been increased from 2750 to 3050 – an additional 300 spaces for runners who plan ahead. We urge any of you (or your formerly unlucky friends) to register now, if you plan to run in 2011. Last year we sold out in mid-April and would expect to sell out very early again this year. We DO try to accommodate you by posting the number of available spaces remaining (some races don’t or don’t even tell you what their limit is, actually…). However, the last few hundred go in a matter of hours – really. * The marathon relay has been discontinued. We know that many people enjoyed the relay and are disappointed by this decision. Please understand that it was not made lightly. We discussed over a period of several years and just had to admit that the relay required resources disproportionate to the number of participants. We’d encourage relay runners to give the marathon a try or to find a great volunteer assignment. * We know that only men really think that “unisex” shirts are truly unisex… Therefore, we have decided to offer shirts sized for both men (unisex) and women. We’ll use RaceReady shirts again in 2011. Please consult the sizing charts on their web site before you register – saves us all a LOT of trouble later. Our 2010 designer – Mike Kasun – has also agreed to design our 2011 shirt – yiiipppeee!! * We will continue to provide special recognition to former winners who run our race. If you are one of our former winners and are considering running LFM in 2011, please contact us directly before you register. Back to top National Running Survey Calling all RUNNERS! What motivates you to run? What is your favorite race distance? How often do you run? You are being invited to participate in Running USA’s 2011 National Runner Survey, a comprehensive survey to assess the demographics, lifestyle, attitudes, habits, and product preferences of the running population nationwide. The National Runner Survey is easy to access and available online. All responses are completely anonymous and confidential. Don’t miss this opportunity to join other runners nationwide! Last year our race participated in this survey. We are participating again in 2011 and ask you to click the link and complete the survey. Select Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon as the organization that invited you to participate. Please note that the link is unique to our race. If you received a link from another race, it would still be very helpful for you to respond to ours. We receive the results of those who respond via OUR link. That allows us to target potential sponsors and to use the data locally – in addition to the post-race survey that many of you also completed. Please note that all responses are confidential. Back to top A Little Housekeeping It is great to see that so many people purchased the 30th Anniversary jacket. Today I saw a runner wearing one at a race – it made me feel so great! (I know - it is the little things.) Due to a couple of order issues, we do find that we have two jackets (now) in inventory – a Men’s Small and Women’s Medium. If you are interested in purchasing either of these please contact us for more information. Other merchandise – In-training shirts, 2010 runner shirts, and Finisher Shirts are available for purchase via the registration site or the form on our web site. Back to top Thanks to Everyone for YOUR Help! Finally, a note of thanks to everyone who responded to our request for help in identifying food providers. Our Food Captain Sherley will be in touch with you soon, if she has not already contacted you. I also want to thank the people who responded to our 2010 call for marketing/media help. I DID think that one of our race captains had followed-up with each of you but now find that that was not always the case... SO sorry and embarrassed. If you are still interested in helping out, please shoot me an e-mail - I promise not to lose track of you. Which reminds me...we could also use a little bit of help in setting up a very simple on-line "store" for merchandise sales. We have no problem sending the merchandise out ourselves to save you the handling fees assessed by third party vendors but there HAS to be an easier way than using mailed order forms or tacking it onto our registration site. If you are interested in helping in any other leadership capacity, also let us know. We always have a few Captain and Coordinator vacancies to fill.