The Stakes were high… but in the end it all came together
I hope that those of you who joined us for Saturday’s UMass 5K Dash and Dine for Relief/Walk and Run are well rested and not too stiff. It was UMass Dining’s first opportunity to host a road race. The idea surfaced last fall when Diane, our dietition and I had a conversation on how we might be able to promote healthy eating, fitness and community action at UMass. We thought a road race would be possible since we have a good sized campus and many resources to tap into; Dianne also liked the idea of tying in nutrition education as part of it. With over 14,000 students on a meal plan and serving 40,000 meals daily, it is also our responsibility to promote healthy eating and wellness. The earthquake in Haiti was such a tragedy and a good cause for us to do something as a large university.
There was only one minor problem – we had never organized a road race before and did not realize how much work was involved in doing so. Sure, we knew how to take care of the food requirements and we also knew we needed to get the police, EMT, physical plant, News Office, race officials and volunteers, etc., involved. Our first step was getting an open day on campus and searching for a race partner experienced in conducting road races. We picked March 27 as the race day as it was one week after the spring break and there weren’t any races on campus or near the Amherst area at this time. Sugarloaf Mountain Athletic Club became our partner and they provided us with lots of valuable information on how to run an efficient race.
Pam, one of our incredible pastry chefs and also a former resident of Haiti for many years, offered to assist us to prepare an authentic Haitian meal after the race. We jumped on board with her idea and it added an extra touch to the event. We also planned to have a health fair after the race to further educate our students about the benefits of exercising. Things were starting to look good until we found out that we needed a wavier form approved by the Office of University Attorney before we could promote the event. The approval finally arrived a week before the spring break, which was late for us to properly promote the event but we wanted to go ahead anyway and make it a success. The stakes were high and we needed runners and walkers to support us. We decided in all of our marketing plans to recruit the runners/walkers in only seven days; through Facebook, radio ad, fliers, ads, news releases and information tables set up at the DCs, recreational Center and campus center. By Thursday night, we had close to 200 people registered.
On Saturday morning, when I arrived around 9:00 or so, things were in place for registration, runners/walkers were starting to show up, and police and timers were there. When I proudly hit the air horn and announced the start of the race, there were close to 500 runners and walkers. We were pleased it all went well. At the finish line, we were also pleased to have Sabine Holub present to announce the winners and later everyone was treated to a nice Haitian dinner.
I was relieved, but not entirely surprised that it all went well, thanks to the heartfelt dedication and hard work of our partners and volunteers – my gratitude goes out to all of you. A job well done! A final tally of the money raised through the event will be forthcoming.
This is Ken Toong and thank you for keeping UMass Dining at the top.
Ken Toong
Director
Contact Ken at ktoong@mail.aux.umass.edu
You can follow Ken Toong on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/KenToong