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Those helping to run a local fitness group or organisation will be aware of some of the challenges of organising events in the local community. One of the biggest challenges comes with getting people to attend an event and that everyone is aware of what’s going on.
This article has been put together to help explain how a fitness group can organise runs efficiently, get people to be aware of them, and be up for it in general. Grab your running shoes and dive in.
Get Rough Numbers
Before properly starting the planning, you should have a rough idea of numbers. This isn’t to find out exactly who would be up for doing the run, but just so that you can find out how many could be interested. This could help you draw up the organised route and find out if you need to hire any expert help.
Finding this out early could be the difference between having five runners signed up or 500. As you can imagine, with such a stark difference, you would need to organise the run differently in either case. This means you would need to hire help and purchase water to hand out in higher quantities. The more people interested, the more local help you will need when it comes to approval and seeking permission for certain routes.
Learn From Other Groups
It will be in your best interest to look at what other groups have done when organising a run. This means learning from their positive experiences as well as their failures. You should look at other areas away from yours, too, so that you can gain further insight.
If possible, consider different communication styles with these groups. You may be able to share each other’s experiences and both be able to find success together. In some cases, you may even decide to work with other groups for one event, as you can pool together resources and knowledge.
Plan The Route Early
Once you have spoken to these other groups and have rough numbers, it will be in your best interest to start planning the route. There are a few different things to consider when planning the route. Firstly, how big will the run be? This is in terms of the number of people who will run, as we mentioned earlier, and how far the run will be.
It will be in your best interest to organise the run with all those involved in your group. If anyone is sponsoring the event, you should keep them involved with planning the route. Essentially, anyone involved with the funding and running of the run should know where it is and what’s happening.
Fortunately, there are running tools available that help groups and organisations plan running routes efficiently. OnePlan provides tools that help create a map and plan running events seamlessly. Their tools are easy to use and have many unique features to help you create the perfect run for your event while collaborating and sharing the event plan with key members of your team.
Advise Them To Build Up Fitness In Their Own Time
If those within your fitness group are constantly sitting down at their workplace, then they may not have a lot of time to conduct exercises. Therefore, you should try to encourage them to complete fitness activities as early as possible, so that they will be in the best condition possible for the run. This could involve you creating fitness programs or providing advice depending on their schedules and mental health.
You could recommend they get their work colleagues involved or that they tag along with your group. They could also look to conduct their own runs in their own time, following their own pace. This could allow them to build up fitness as well as confidence
Provide Discounted Gym Memberships
If your group has good local connections with local gyms, it could be a good idea to provide discounted gym memberships. Ahead of the upcoming run, you’re planning, this can help more people build fitness and prepare their bodies for the run. If you have a good connection with the gym, you could even get them to put up flyers & advertising your run with innovative marketing techniques, and the group in general.
It may be worth looking at a few different gyms in the area. The more gyms you can connect with, the more outreach your group will have. You may even run your gym as a group, making this slightly easier. You could offer a mutually beneficial service to gyms, and get them involved with your fun run via advertising and sponsorship.
Prepare Water And Healthy Snacks
While you cannot exactly control what your runners put in their mouths before and after the run, you will have more of a say in what they drink and eat during the run. There are lots of healthy snacks that can be purchased ready for your runners to enjoy around the time of the run. Some of these snacks could be energy-based, helping to provide your runners with much-needed energy.
You should also think about how to organise water for the runners. Most running events will have water stations along the route, ready for runners to grab water and hydrate themselves as they go. You will need to find a suitable place for water to be placed, as it cannot block runners from running. Consider asking for volunteers from your group to man these stations.
Reward Them
You should dedicate time to thinking about the end of the race. You and the event organisers could consider having an award ceremony of some kind. This could come in the form of medals, or it could be a little certificate. There are plenty of different ways to reward a runner for completing a race, especially those in the top three.
You may have quite experienced runners that will be wondering what to do with all their race medals, which isn’t a problem you will have to deal with too much. Consider contacting local businesses that specialise in awards and trophies, as they may be able to mass-produce some rewards for your runners.
Lastly, ensure you have fun with it all, too. It shouldn’t just be your runners who look forward to the event, but you as well. This should be the case even if you’re not running. Lean on other event organisers for support, and ensure you plan as early as possible.
