Over Half of our participants took the quiz, ... I mean the survey, and so we should start to give some results. But keep your responses coming. I'll update this as more responses come in, so check back with us. If you were at the race, we would like to hear from you!
Q1. How long ya been runnin?
A1. It's a split. Most of you are either 1-2 years, or 10+ years, with few in between
Q2. How many races do you participate in each year?
A2. Three to ten was the most popular answer. But 22% are 10-20, and 17% were more than 20 races a year
Q3. What distances do you race?
A3. The big ones are 5k, 10k, Half-Marathon and Marathon, at 88, 65, 63, and 45%, respectively. Looks like 7 ultras, too. Hmmmm. Some of you might have to make room for another event of ours, late October, 2011. (tentatively - Stay Tuned)
Q4. What do you like to race on? Preferred racing surface:
A4. Most popular order: Road, Trail, Cross-Country, Multi-surface and Track. We forgot to ask about Rock, cactus, dirt, paved, and sand, with some water, grass, and other stuff mixed in. I guess that's multi-surface?
Q5. We wondered if anyone got lost, and how you got to the start.
A5. No one admitted to getting lost. Not sure if I believe you. I got a few calls race morning, but I'm not telling who you are. You know who you are.
Q6. Rate the course!
A6. Difficulty: 5 is most difficult, 1 is least. Most popular answer was 4. Great! Just what we were aiming for. Difficult, but achievable.
Condition of road. 5 is perfect: Most answered 4. Good! It's better to run than to drive, though.
Scenery: 5 is Southern France, 1 is the Southern Plains Landfill. Most popular answer was 4. Awesome!
Traffic/Safety - 5 is Super-Safe: Most answered 4. We're glad. I guess we were worried about traffic, and we know we wanted you to run on the right to make our sweeper vehicles more effective. We worry so you don't have to. Nevertheless, next year it will be better.
Signage/Course Directions - We got a 5 on this one. Which shouldn't be too hard since there was only two turns. But we'll have some maps available on site for those that need them next year.
Q7. We asked for a rating for ourselves.
A7. Most of you thought we should get married. You overwhelmingly thought we were both helpful and happy, (yea!) but one of us got one more vote than the other, and I ain't saying who. A few thought we were disorganized and that they deserved more and did not get their money's worth. We are sorry. We think we were disorganized, too, but Len and Hannah saved the day, so no worries. Maybe I just feel more disorganized than I actually am. Maybe i can't live up to my own standards. Not sure. We also thought it was a bargain of a race. These things cost money! But that's up to you all to judge.
Ok. You thought the prizes were awesome. We did too.
Here are some of the prizes you missed, if you weren't there:
- The Open Trophies were real roadkill skulls of coyote, red fox, and raccoon, mounted on burned reclaimed Appalachian no. 1 white oak. The skulls were fully cleaned and "bleached" of course. (as described in my last macabre post.) They were secured with copper wire. They have a lifetime guarantee - as long as those critters live, so will I service those trophies.
- The Masters Woman winner received a very nice bottle of red wine (a California Pinot Noir), a brass vase, and a flower bouquet.
- 2nd Masters Woman got a painted cowbell trophy and an Argentinian Malbec (which she was not there for, and we did not ship. It was good, though).
- 3rd Masters Woman got a bottle of California Merlot, and a brass armadillo.
- The Masters Men got the same bottles (Thank you Bombay Liquor!) and, in order: a stag-horn knife, $30 gift certificate at H&H gun range, and elk skin gloves.
- Two 12-packs of cheap, awful beer were given away.
- 10- $10 gift Certificates to Bombay Liquor were given away.
- Several $10 off coupons to Sports Authority were given away.
- A sleeve of Styrofoam cups.
- 2 free car washes at Mojo's Car Wash. (Thank You Mojos!)
- 5 - gift certificates to Braum's. (Andreia loves Braums.)
- A quart of honey.
- Candy.
- Chocolate
- A t-shirt for the Chief Drive-In (thank you!)
- 3 "Get Out Of Jail Free" t-shirts from Joe Bob's Bail Bonds (thanks Joe Bob!)
Q8. How was the beer?
A8. Only 60% of you had the beer, but of that number, 80% of you liked it and will be asking for it by name. That is good. (And hey, Coop Ale Works, I am sure you know, but the Native Amber was more popular than the Wheat. But we were happy to have the Wheat!) We hope you come back next year, Blake!
Q9. Rate the food.
A9. The most popular answer was "Jake's is my favorite!" closely followed by "I didn't eat anything." We should have a little more variety next year, with lighter after-race fare in addition to the beer and BBQ.
Q10. Are you going to run The Road Kill next year?
A10. 0% said no. 5% maybe, and the rest: Yes. That's pretty good. But if you could bring a few more of your friends, we sure would appreciate it.
And now I remember. Remind me next time you see me pounding the round food* - running big miles and weighing a few extra pounds is a recipe for sore joints and additional pain. But I just like eating too much.
