Monday, January 31, 2011

Up-Date

Having trouble reading this email? View it in your browser. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe Instantly.

Monday January 31, 2011

WOW!

WOW things are really moving fast! We opened registration on Friday January 21 and a little more than a week later we have filled almost 700 slots – approaching 25% of our entry limit! If you are thinking of running in 2011, but not ready to make the decision now, monitor the web site to see how close we are to filling the race. It is important to remember that the last 500 or so spots go “in a flash” as those on the fence commit. Don’t wait too long…

In case you wonder why you are getting these e-mails – we merged the list of 2009 and 2010 entries, some volunteers, and many friends – and now those 600 people who have registered so far. As soon as we reach our entry limit, we will stop sending E-blasts to those who registered in 2009 and 2010 but who did not register in 2011. If you’d like to know what is going on you can always subscribe to our blog , follow us on Twitter, or “like” us on Facebook. You can also “unsubscribe” to these e-blasts. However, please understand that it is VERY difficult to add you back into the list as this service has very strict anti-spamming controls.

Back to top

Guinness Record Attempt to Benefit Jenny Crain

Some of the runners in the Milwaukee area may have seen the articles about the exciting Guinness World Record attempt that will take place at our 2011 LFM. Robin Gohsman (long-time friend and sponsor of the race) will be putting a group together to break the record for the most number of people to run a marathon – while tethered together. This is being done as a benefit for Jenny Crain, an elite runner and LFM Race Committee member who sustained a traumatic brain injury in 2007 while training for the Olympic Marathon Trials. Robin has a great list of people who are interested in being part of this historic effort and is looking for more. The attempt is outlined in some detail in a recent Milwaukee JournalSentinel article . You may also be interested in the article about Jenny that appeared in Runner’s World. The group will be joined at the finish by honorary “coach” Bart Yasso and by Jenny, herself. As Bart says, “This will be EPIC”. If you can’t participate in the attempt, you can also help another runner raise the funds for their participation.

We do understand that, while there will be a great deal of support for this attempt and for Jenny, some of you may wonder what this will mean to YOUR race. Robin, with the approval of our Race Committee, is going to great lengths to ensure that your race is not negatively affected in any way. They will start dead last and make sure that they finish in the 5:40-6:00 hour range. They expect to provide support and encouragement to runners at that point in the race and to increase spectator interest.

Please note that all participants in this attempt must register for the race on their own AND before we sell out.

Back to top

Kids, Pasta, What Else?

Kids… Some of you have asked if we plan a return of the very successful Kid’s Run (100% sponsored last year by our friend Robin and his company Body Basix ). We LOVED seeing the kids set goals and run those last 1.2 miles and know that you did, too!! We are working on planning for this year – very much hoping to make it a Saturday event. We will let you know as soon as we have made some of the final decisions on this.

Pasta… We are again working with the American Cancer Society and their DetermiNATION program for them to host the pasta dinner again this year. As soon as they have confirmed the venue and price we will let you know and provide the information you need in order to purchase tickets.

Merchandise, Shirts, Etc…. Remember that we now provide an option for men’s and women’s sizing on our race shirts. PLEASE check the sizing charts on the RaceReady site before you select yours. We really want you to be happy with yours …. When you’re not happy, we’re not happy. Some people have also been confused by the Finisher shirts for sale on the web site. These are the shirts we produced in 2010 – they have no year on them so are good for ANY finisher. We will produce another shirt in 2011 and will also have the remaining 2010 shirts for sale at the Expo and at the Finish. FYI – we find that the shirts without a year provide any of our finishers with the option to purchase one AND allow us to offer a quality product at a good cost as we don’t have to worry about obsolete inventory.

Expo… You may know of a business that would be interested in being part of our Expo. We will be posting information on the web site soon. In the meantime, they can contact your “Trusty RD” or Pam, our Expo Coordinator.

Back to top

National Runners Survey - Still Time

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.

No comments: