Success in politics, business and many other aspects of life involve setting expectations and meeting them. I had very reasonable expectations set for my fourth Sportsbackers Richmond 8k and unfortunately they were not met. The road race event which bills itself as "America's Friendliest Marathon" proved itself to be that friend you just can't count on to get something right.

Below I've prepared a report card of my experience comparing this year's event with the quality of previous Richmond Sportsbackers' 8k and Monument Avenue 10k events.

Registration

Sportsbackers and the Richmond Marathon create an easy registration process despite their aging website that has not really changed since I began road races several year's ago. The integration with the RaceIt registration system is easy and remembers my profile from previous race events thus saving time to fill in all the tedious details. I would recommend that this system connect with one of the Social Networks to spread the word that a participant has registered with the race. The free advertising associated with a Facebook update that says John Doe has registered for the Richmond HCA 10k at <whatever URL> would surely encourage a higher early registration rate.

Logistics For Race Packet Pickup

Runners take particular pride in their race t-shirt and enjoy wearing it around while training and participating in other road races. I was particularly disappointed with Sportsbackers failure to fulfill their promise of a Medium race shirt when I visited the race expo. I am not quite sure what utility I will get out of a men's large long-sleeve technical shirt, perhaps it will be used as cleaning apparatus around my apartment. One thing is for sure, I'll never be providing Sportsbacker's with free advertising by wearing this shirt on my extended runs around time.

To add insult to injury safety pins were not provided with race packets thus leaving runners to figure out on their own how to affix a race bib to their shirt. This was not a big deal for myself since I have an adequate supply around the apartment, but think about all those runners from out of town that are staying at a hotel. I'd imagine the experience of returning to the hotel with your race packet only to realize "oh crap I need to find some safety pins" could be quite frustrating, especially on a cold, rainy Friday night in an unfamiliar city.

The organization bragged to the media at week's end about the record breaking number of runners yet apparently could not follow through with adequate supplies for loyal participants.

Volunteers

Volunteers at the race packet pickup area were friendly and helpful, despite the inadequate supplies they were given. At 7 PM on Friday night traffic in and out of the Arthur Ashe center was well managed and volunteers managed to keep runners well informed in the circuitous race expo. Race day volunteers were very helpful on the course keeping runners moving in the right directions and clearing obstacles around refreshment areas.

Richmond Metropolitan Authority

The RMA operates toll plazas on the Downtown Expressway and they were either unaware of the traffic volume on race day or they just didn't care. We approached the main downtown toll plaza at 6:34 AM to find eastbound traffic backed up about a half mile with two full service lanes open, one EZ-Pass lane open and two lanes closed for no apparent reason. I understand its hard to find toll plaza staff on a Saturday morning, but the whole point of EZ-Pass is to automate the process, did the computers have the morning off too?

The RMA should know better than this and has properly managed race day traffic in the past, hopefully next year we'll see an improvement.

City of Richmond

The city deserves credit for providing a highly desirable and functional venue for this event. To their credit, Richmond Police did an excellent job securing the route and providing runners with a course free of vehicular traffic and other obstacles. The Department of Public Works deserves major props for the new pavement on Broad Street. For many races runners have dodged potholes, huge bumps, and giant puddles on the Broad Street portion of the route.

This year's race commenced with a smooth start on fresh pavement which in my opinion helped runners improve their performance during the first 1.5 miles. When runners are tightly packed and dodging potholes out of the corrals they are forced to move slower and are far more likely to cause injury to themselves and others.

Finish Line & Photographers

Brightroom deserves credit for setting up portrait areas at the race guaranteeing runners at least one photo where they control the expression on their face. Unfortunately the location of these photographers guaranteed a giant traffic jam just beyond the finish line. As a runner who has just sprinted and needs space to walk, the last thing I need is a full stop while navigating queues of people waiting to have their photograph taken. The traffic jam at the finish line was further exacerbated by the narrow corral limiting very few people to exit at once. 

I've never vomited at the end of a race, but this finish line almost earned that honorable distinction as the "Race Peter Vomited At". Runners absolutely need space to walk after a race, we do not need a photo studio 10 feet after the finish line. Hopefully next year race organizers will spread these photographers out at a more suitable location.

Summary

In contrast with other Richmond road races which earn an A, this event missed the mark and deserves a C. Expectations were not met and I'm apprehensive about running in next year's race (although I foolishly registered on Friday for the 2010 Half-Marathon before running in this year's event.) Perhaps Richmond Sportsbackers bit off more than they could chew with the record breaking number of registrations. Maybe next year the organization will set a cap or a registration cutoff that is more inline with their management capabilities. While I as a Richmonder and avid runner will continue to participate in these events, I wonder if that first time runner out there will return to a Sportsbackers event after some of these experiences? The answer to that question may preclude "America's Friendliest Marathon" from enjoying the success and acknowledgement it so desperately seeks from the running community.