Minutes Cherry Blossom, Inc. Race Committee February 8, 2016 Meeting Renaissance Hotel Washington, DC

Transcription

1 Minutes Cherry Blossom, Inc. Race Committee February 8, 2016 Meeting Renaissance Hotel Washington, DC This year s event poster by t-shirt design artist Abby Matousek was on display at the entrance to the meeting room. Random prize drawings were made. A list of apparel and hotel room assignments for committee members was passed around the table. A second sheet with committee member contact information was also circulated. This event has partnered with Montgomery County Road Runners Club (MCRRC); Bob Price with MCRRC will coordinate the on-course water stops. MCRRC is offering six complimentary entries to their spring event, the Pke s Peak 10K; let Phil Stewart know if you would like an entry. The second meeting for the 2016 race began at 7:00 pm. The following committee members were present: Phil Stewart, Becky Lambros, Steve Esmacher, Eve Mills, Bee McLeod, Muffet Chatterton, Arlene Solbeck, Steve Solbeck, Bruce Lung, Peggy Posey, Candice Mothersille, Timi Rogers, Jean Arthur, David Carrigan (MCRRC), Bob Price (MCRRC), Robyn Marsden, T.G. Marsden, Ashley Husich, Rachel Miller, Charles Walker, Joe Castro, Nancy Betress, Rick Merryman, George Tarrico, Irv Newman, Michelle Carter, Rob Wolfe, Glenn Klenk, Chris Tatreau, Dennis Jeney, Leah Rochelle, Collins Downing, and Drew Woodrich. Steve Esmacher has returned to direct the 5K because Eve Mills has a family wedding on race weekend. There will be a reception (all are invited) on Friday, March 4 at the Cherry Blossom Inc office in Bethesda, MD to celebrate gold certification from the Council For Responsible Sport. Kim Nemire lead the Sustainability team. The autumn reception was held on November 13 to launch the 2016 event and included the tshirt design unveiling and entry raffles. The number transfer process has opened and continues through February 29. Capitol Hill registration is held during the month of February. There are three training programs to assist participants in preparation for the race: Coach Kirt West offers free virtual training via daily workout s; Potomac River Running provides a ten-week in-person program with weekly group runs guided by coaches (for a fee); and the online runcoach app ($15 fee) sends personalized training advice for use with mobile devices. There are two big changes for On Sunday, February 7, the event hired this year s timing and scoring company: Nova Timing based in Wilmington, DE ( ). There were four finalists; Nova Timing has

2 experience with large races including the Race for Every Child 5K at Freedom Plaza, the Bay Bridge run, and a role at the Boston Marathon. Phil said our race is a large event with several waves that is complex to score. Becky Lambros added that they have worked with this company (at the Race for Every Child in Washington, DC). Phil introduced two new meeting attendees who have served at our expo packet pickup, interfacing with the timing company: Dennis Jeney and Leah Rochelle. The other major change is that we will be working with MCRRC on the water stops. Jean Arthur has been working with David Carrigan at water stops for many years. MCRRC will transport tables, cups, supplies and set up the water stops. The 5K water stop in Virginia will be moved to a new location because the National Park Service (NPS) does not allow any vehicles in Virginia. Chris Tatreau s company had handled all the logistics, but the growth of this event requires additional resources and two separate operations (water stops, 15th Street equipment) due to time pressure to remove everything by 10:30 AM on race day. Chris Tatreau s crew will focus on the 15th Street corridor. Becky offered details on the volunteer appreciation party on Friday night, April 1, at the Health & Ftness Expo. Cabot Cheese wants to do more with our event, so they will begin their 2016 event tour by providing macaroni & cheese and wine to volunteers. Keira D Amato is in charge of the party. It will be held in the auditorium with jazz music starting at 7 PM. After the expo closes at 8 PM, there will be recognition of years of volunteer service (in five year increments of 5, 10, 15 or 20) since Phil said the event has a database of volunteers for those event years. Cherry Blossom has rented a new storage shed for 2016 with space to store records in an office. It is next to the MCRRC shed, and Irv Newman has labelled areas in the space. The 1500 square feet comes with heat, toilet facilities, and trash removal. Becky spoke about the addition of a moving company, Suburban Solutions, as race sponsor to add heavy lifting capacity; Suburban will provide five people and three trucks to transport everything. Steve Roncone will manage the process. There will be a meeting with the movers in a few weeks. Phil said BMI has targeted six road races in the USA to require payment of a music licensing fee. Phil has asked lawyers to look into it and the laws, and they found there are three agencies who collect fees (ASCAP and SESAC are the other two ). Phil said we will pay the fee, adding that it might total $10,000. The licensing groups have also contacted the Lilac Bloomsday and Gasparilla road races. Jean Arthur added that MCRRC was targeted a few years ago and yes, they have been paying it.

3 This year s Blossom Kite Festival on Saturday, April 2 at the Washington Monument Grounds (WMG) will have a smaller impact on our event than the three events in Phil said there is another NPS meeting next week. The latest round of work on Memorial Bridge appears to be completed; Phil has driven on the bridge recently. He feels hopeful that our event will be allowed to run the Memorial Bridge course, but there is an alternate course ready (if needed). The Les Kinion Award will be given again; his three daughters attended the 2015 prerace dinner to share this gesture of appreciation. At the end of February, there will be another table top exercise with law enforcement and emergency personnel. As last year s event demonstrated (a pedestrian among the large crowds of cherry blossom viewers was struck by a U.S. Park Police vehicle during race morning on the course), the practice exercise established valuable relationships, we knew each other, between our personnel and local agencies. Phil, Becky, George Tarrico and Jean attended last year s exercise. Phil encouraged other committee members with relevant responsibilities to approach him if they wish to attend. Becky spoke about the role of additional event sponsors this year. Cabot will serve packets of cheese to runners; bananas will be purchased for post-race food. She is looking for an energy bar sponsor. Gold s Gym will return; Phil got them to increase their participation. He was at a road race that rang a bell for each new personal best finish, and relayed this idea to Gold s. Credit Union Miracle Day, a consortium of Credit Unions et. al., have been talking with Phil and Becky on the renewal of a 5-year sponsorship contract as 2016 is the final year of the current deal. They have served 14 years as the title sponsor, and Phil anticipates the relationship will continue. They have a remarkable record of longevity supporting this event. Becky said New Balance had called apologetically to let us know they will not return as a sponsor in They are going to be a major sponsor of the New York City Marathon instead. Phil mentioned some quick items: last year s app will be offered again. Bill Orr has received some interest from elite athletes; Bill also works with elite athletes racing in the Los Angeles Marathon (but not the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trial Marathons in Los Angeles on February 13). We have a nice USA purse ($12,500 each for U.S. men and women through tenth place). The top American male in 2014, Christo Landry, has expressed preliminary interest; the top 2015 American female, Serena Burla, will return to defend as fastest U.S. finisher. Both athletes will do a clinic on Capitol Hill next week. Phil opened the discussion to committee members, and asked George Tarrico to speak. George noted there will be a team of three to handle logistics on WMG: himself, Joe Castro with his muscle men, and Rick Merryman. The 2015 tent set-up plan will be

4 used, so let him know if needs in your tent (tables, chairs, etc.) are different this year. Phil noted that the logistics group will be staying at the J.W. Marriott Hotel throughout the weekend; it is located several blocks closer than the Renaissance Hotel to the WMG race site. Irv Newman will retire after 2016 as sign coordinator and event treasurer. Chris Tatreau will supply the water stops. He will talk to Joe and George about the movement of materials, including life guard chairs, medal stands, and medical cots. Phil, Chris, Rob Wolfe and Becky have discussed measures to tighten up the crossing of roads and intersections. Security guards will probably be used. People who come to the race using the Metro at the Smithsonian station head to the (very visible) Washington Monument. Phil wants them to exit the station and move in the direction of Constitution Avenue. There will be tougher enforcement of credentials to direct pedestrian traffic flow toward Madison Drive (north side of National Mall). Michelle Carter explained the new technology for volunteer check in to improve record keeping; she has utilized this new procedure at the Race for Every Child. Volunteers will receive QR codes in their instructions, and should bring a printed copy or display it on a personal smartphone at sign in. The smartphone app is free to download; scanning from phone works best. There will be a shift of volunteers (volunteer registration team VRT ) to scan in the codes that include security measures. Volunteers will be asked to arrive 15 minutes early to allow time for code scanning. She will probably make access codes for everyone on the committee to scan in their volunteers QR codes. Late volunteer arrivals will be reassigned, as in previous years. Michelle said she will give every committee member a list of their volunteers (as reference), but the volunteer sheet need not be returned. (Scanned QR codes will be used for record of attendance.) Any last minute volunteer additions should be recorded by writing names on a sheet of paper and giving it to her. A large group of volunteers (SECU) will not be returning this year. Glenn Klenk and Michelle have been discussing ways to reach out to additional volunteers. (There was a brief exchange from several members in the room about credit union volunteer groups.) Rachel Miller went through a list of questions on behalf of the medical coordinators. MedStar will provide some volunteers at the medical tent; Becky has reached out to Sean. There will be new vests for medical. Any children separated from a parent/guardian should be brought to the security tent. Rachel said congestion due to race finishers needs to be moved away from the medical area; George suggested re-orienting the tent opening toward 15th Street (away from the infield area).

5 Rachel said the most common injury (perhaps people) they see is lacerations due to falls during the first mile and a half of the run; crowding causes people to trip over unseen obstacles or other participants. Phil and Rob noted that the schedule (start time and Metro travel time; return of first finishers within 52 minutes) limits our ability to offer more space for the starting field. Phil will give it some more thought. The main medical tent will close at 11:30 AM; ice should be delivered to the main medical tent. Becky said that Charles Walker is getting married in three weeks, and Charles introduced his finance (seated next to him). Charles asked Phil about the status of a new medal tree for the distribution tent. Chris said there are two portable options, one that costs $3000 and the other $300. Irv asked Phil whether he has touched base with Smithsonian about safe haven (museums on mall) in case of emergency. Phil will reach out to them after the table top exercise. Bee McLeod said the finish line judges need another camera, from a different angle, to examine any complaints of jostling. She said elite athletes have brought concerns about elbowing. Bee said timers need to look directly at the line; she needs a visual of chests. There was a discussion with George, Chris, Rob and Phil about the finish area that includes a tower (photographer), gantry, signage, and timers on the ground. Phil asked for any final questions at this meeting. In response to a question from David Carrigan, Becky said the interactive race course video simulator produced by Outside Interactive is available now. Ashley Husich asked whether a DJ is OK instead of a band; Phil agreed. He replied to Steve Esmacher that Jimmy Marino is in the loop about course marshals shared between the 5K and 10 Mile. Phil closed the meeting at 8:30 P.M. The next committee meeting will be held on Monday, March 14, 2016 at the Renaissance Hotel. (He sent an on February 9 confirming this date.) Respectfully submitted, Drew Woodrich