{"id":4729,"date":"2013-12-15T06:08:39","date_gmt":"2013-12-15T06:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/landauinjurylaw.com\/theathleteslawyer\/?p=4729"},"modified":"2013-12-15T06:08:39","modified_gmt":"2013-12-15T06:08:39","slug":"a-tales-of-two-races","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/landauinjurylaw.com\/theathleteslawyer\/2013\/12\/15\/a-tales-of-two-races\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tales of Two Races"},"content":{"rendered":"

“It was the best of night time holiday light races, it was the worst of holiday light races\u2026”<\/p>\n

Running in two evening races illuminated by holiday lights, I have experienced the best and worst of what such races have to offer. Races that do not require getting up early on weekends have a certain attraction, and it is fun to combine costumes, children and the holiday spirit at these events. Later this week I will compare the superb inaugural\u00a0“Tacky Lights”<\/a>\u00a06km at 6 PM put on by the Richmond Sports Backers with the poorly planned and dangerous “Snowman Stampede<\/a>”\u00a0at Bull Run Park in Centreville, Virginia.<\/p>\n

Both races had Christmas lights on trees and along the roads to illuminate the runners’ path. But surprisingly the Midlothian even had adequate police and volunteer coverage of the neighborhood roads, where as the Manassas-area park’s volunteers and law enforcement officers where overwhelmed. Running out front in both races, I was forced to navigate cones, bumps in the road, turns and follow the lead vehicles. The Richmond homeowners turned out in force show off their “Tacky Lights” and rally the participants with music, great smelling cooking and loud cheering. The Bull Run stampede, started very late, was very dark through the woods, poorly marked and nearly impossible to complete without risking life and limb. While I was 5th across the line in Centreville and 3rd in Richmond, I will not be doing the Northern Virginia event again, while I am planning on recommending the “Tacky Lights” event. That a first year event should sell out so fast and outperform a veteran event was unfortunate, but gives me a “teaching moment.”<\/p>\n

1. If you are going to have a race at night, make sure that the roadway is illuminated for the runners, not just those lucky to be following the lead car. In Richmond, strategically placed police and volunteer’s vehicles had their lights shining on the road where there were no overhead or holiday lights.<\/p>\n

2. Have separate lines for “pre-registered” and “race day registrants,” otherwise, folks who have prepaid wait in long, cold lines, with little children, for no good reason.<\/p>\n

3. If you see that you are going to be lucky enough to have a full race, reserve adequate volunteers for registration, marshaling turns, waters stops, mile markers, and not just the finish line. Make sure that there are sufficient police and port-a-johns, lest you have a riot on your hands.<\/p>\n

4. If you advertise a warm waiting area &\/or bonfire to keep families warm, have a safe warm place for them.<\/p>\n

5. Have your starting line wide enough to accommodate the size field you have collected money from, and clear instructions as to the pace expected towards the front of the event. Having elves with signs was a wonderful touch at the “Tacky Lights” run !<\/p>\n

6. Bag drops at big races, especially those that hold themselves out as “family friendly,” makes parking close by the start\/finish line less of an issue.<\/p>\n

Stay tuned next week for race reports from both of these seasonal events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“It was the best of night time holiday light races, it was the worst of holiday light races\u2026” Running in two evening races illuminated by holiday lights, I have experienced the best and worst of what such races have to offer. Races that do not require getting up early on weekends have a certain attraction,…<\/p>\n

Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[288,299,462,509,511,1221,2066,2249,2255,2271,2409,2793,3153,3393,3464,3803,4463,4733,4738,4866,5504],"class_list":["post-4729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cases","category-races","tag-ashburn-farms-virginia-injury-disability-lawyer","tag-ashburn-virginia-injury-disability-lawyer","tag-belmont-ridge-farms-virginia-injury-disability-lawyer","tag-best-bristow-lawyer","tag-best-broadlands-lawyer","tag-bumpass-injury-lawyer","tag-fairfax-city-virginia-injury-disability-lawyer","tag-fortnightly-virginia-injury-disability-lawyer","tag-foxcroft-injury-lawyer","tag-franklin-farms-injury-law","tag-greenway-virginia-injury-disability-lawyer","tag-hotchkiss-school-injury-lawyer","tag-lake-anna-virginia-injury-disability-lawyer","tag-madeira-school-injury-lawyer","tag-mclean-virginia-injury-disability-lawyer","tag-old-town-alexandria-virginia-injury-disability-lawyer","tag-rotator-cuff-injury-virginia-injury-disability-lawyer","tag-south-riding-virginia-injury-disability-lawyer","tag-south-run-virginia-injury-disability-lawyer","tag-spotsylvania-virginia-injury-disability-lawyer","tag-virginia-injury-disability-lawyer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Tales of Two Races - Sports Injury Law<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/landauinjurylaw.com\/theathleteslawyer\/2013\/12\/15\/a-tales-of-two-races\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Tales of Two Races - Sports Injury Law\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"“It was the best of night time holiday light races, it was the worst of holiday light races\u2026” Running in two evening races illuminated by holiday lights, I have experienced the best and worst of what such races have to offer. 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