Chatty Races

I’ve learned that I like races with chatter.

I love going to the social media pages and seeing people expressing their nerves, their excitement, their questions, and I really love when others respond and provide answers and support. I love it when the Race Director gets involved and shares updates, maps, elevation profiles, tips, etc. I get excited when the people producing the race seem invested in creating a challenging course but still having everyone cross that finish line.

A well produced race, from registration to Finish Line, makes even a painful run fun! Uwharrie 50k

I love hearing the excitement and conversations after a race too. There aren’t many people in the world who can appreciate what it takes to finish an ultramarathon of any distance, let alone a long one or a particularly challenging one. Being able to chat about our fears going into the race, and our thrills after the race adds to the experience, for me. I’ll often check back on social media pages for days post-race just to continuing reliving the fun with other runners as they share their version of the day.

Unfortunately, several race I did this year had a total lack of all of that. Finding basic information on those websites was nearly impossible, and some of the races didn’t have a social media presence at all. Had I not been a member of various trail running groups, finding things as simple as a course description or an elevation profile would have been impossible. Some of those races that did have social media pages were like internet graveyards. No one posted anything and information was hardly ever relayed through them. No buzz. No building energy. No thrill after the fact either. Some didn’t even put results up or a basic ‘thank you’ to the athletes and volunteers.

Yeti 100 Race Director, Jason Green, makes a point to see all the runners multiple times during the race

I love a chatty Finish Line too.

My favorite races this year have been the ones where the Race Director seems genuinely thrilled when you cross that line. I’m not just a bib number to be recorded and moved out of the way. I’m a person who paid money to run the course, busted my butt to get from Start to Finish, and am excited to complete the challenge. A race director who can acknowledge that with a high five, a hug, a few words, and takes a moment to make sure the runner is physical okay or in the hands of someone else who can look after them, means the worlds to me. I’ve been so fortunate that a majority of my races this year had that very thing. And it makes the ones that didn’t do that stand out like sore thumbs and end up on my ‘not doing that one again’ list.

Eagle Up Ultra Race Director, Eric Whittington, greets every runner at the Finish Line

I think it’s a sign of a successfully produced race when runners want to linger at that Finish Line—when the atmosphere there is so welcoming and joyful that you don’t want to walk away for a while. I’ve noticed that the races that create that chatty environment on social media also create a group of runners who genuinely care about one another and we want to see the people we’ve ‘talked’ with on social media cross that line. I’ve done some races where people hang around for hours at the Finish Line and cheer everyone in as if they were a best friend.

Friendships made at the Finish Line make the race experience even better!

I’ve also done some races where there isn’t even a cup of water waiting and the only food option is a you-pay-for-it food truck; the race directors seemed too distracted to notice a runner coming in (or the RD wasn’t even there at all); and no one wanted to linger–the Finish Line area is like a ghost town.

Doing the 12 Ultras in 12 Months challenge has been exhausting, but it’s also taught me a lot about the kind of runner I am, the kind of runner I want to be, the kind of races I want to be involved in, and even more importantly, the types of races that will never ever ever get my money or time.

My thanks, once again, to all the Race Directors and their teams who actually put the time and energy into producing amazing events that really make every runner feel like a VIP.

I have two more ultramarathons to complete the Challenge Schedule (12 ultras plus one backup race). I haven’t done either one before but I get the sense that both these races will create the kind of experience and atmosphere that will want me to come back and race there again. Fingers crossed!

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