Good luck, and thank you for keeping a local race going.

how important is the quality of the shirt to you? 8
how important is the quality of the finisher medal to you? 5
how important is the quality of the awards to you? 7

I think the most important thing about sprints is that they are the gateway drug for many. So its all about the smilage; about taking a few seconds to show an ideal transition setup; and minimising the stress. Rolling swim starts are a great way to minimise race stress, but the tech to make it happen may be a bit out of your budget? Or not necessary if you're using a pool?

Good luck again! Let us know how it goes.

Thanks for the input! We are doing the swim snake-style in a pool (10 lengths of 50m), so we'll be starting in a time trial format every 3-5 seconds. We're planning to self-seed (when you register, you input an estimated swim time) to cut down on congestion as much as possible.

Good points about first-timers...I think we're focused more on the average triathlete who (around here, at least) does a few of these races a year. But I do remember my first tri and how lost I was, so we definitely need to put some more thought into what we can do to make it enjoyable for our first-timers to keep them coming back to the sport.
Thanks!

Quality of the shirt - 8 (and use those soft cotton shirts that feel like sex on your torso... so much better than cheap tech shirts)
Quality of the finisher's medal - 6
Quality of the awards - 5 (I've only won 1 age group award and they had homemade wooden sailboats for a trophy. It's something different and fit the area we were racing so that was cool).

I agree with the earlier comment on some sort of class about transition. 3D was supposed to have one for my first triathlon but it was canceled. I was pretty disappointed about that.

Raffle prizes seem to help encourage people to stick around after the race for the awards ceremony if you can find some local sponsors.

I don't care about medals or shirts.

I hate sharing a lane. I want a pool swim where I get my own lane...

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

We're leaning toward the super-soft cotton shirts, but it's nice to have you reinforce that.

We always do hand-made, custom awards for the overall winners, and try to think outside the box when it comes to age group awards as well. When it comes to an age group award-- would you prefer a gift card to a local running/bike shop (probably small--$10 to $20), or a more material award that you can put on your shelf, like a mug or a plaque?

Thanks for the transition class idea...we're going to try to incorporate something like that on race morning, and potentially the night before at packet pickup as well.

If we self-seed the swim start, meaning the fastest swimmers start first (based on your estimated pace), what's the right start frequency to make sure you have enough space? Can we start someone every 3 seconds? Every 5?

Those intervals are way too close. Set Up Events does 15 seconds and seems to work well (as long as people self seed appropriately).

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

IMO, race morning wouldn't be ideal. The day before at packet pickup would be better.

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

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"I think I've cracked the code. double letters are cheaters except for perfect squares (a, d, i, p and y). So Leddy isn't a cheater... "

Thanks for keeping the local race scene alive.

I think that Olmec's point about sprints being a gateway drug is a good one. My first race experience was great, but I had one the next year that was horrible. If that had been my first one, I never would have raced again. The big issue with it being horrible was that it was unsafe, especially the bike course. It was on a crowded MUP and then turned onto a somewhat busy road, so it was dangerous for us and people who simply wanted to go for a walk and had nothing to do with the race. I race to have fun, but an unsafe race will leave me angry for days.

Something that I loved about my first race was that they had the dual timing mats set up at the finish line so I could hear my name called as I crossed it. If you are used to it, it might not be a big deal, but for someone new to racing, that was thrilling and completely set the race apart from the 5ks that I had been doing. As a matter of fact, I don't think I have done a 5k since.

Although I think everyone here would agree that you don't need more than a quick cup of water, if that, for a sprint, many first timers might think otherwise. More importantly, it makes them feel like real endurance racers to have a couple aid stations with Gatorade and pretzels or m&ms (I noticed this at 5ks, which sometimes have water every mile).

As far as things going on time, I am obsessively punctual in real life, but fairly forgiving of races starting a bit late. Maybe it is because I have had to wait for trail races to start while someone gets a chainsaw to clear the road, or maybe it is because I understand that it could be dangerous for people to swim in the fog if they aren't used to open water.

I have kind of stopped paying attention to the shirts and the medals, unless it was a really hard race. I admit, I wear the race shirts with pride if it was a hard race, and a couple of them have resulted in conversations with strangers in some really out of the way places.

I can't speak will much experience from an overall podium, but the best AG awards I have gotten have not been medals or plaques. Baked goods, local wine, a coffee mug, a pint glass from a local brewpub--those are my favorites. They actually get consumed or used instead of put in a drawer, although there is a race near here that gives etched, lacquered lumps of coal as awards, and I kind of want one.

Good luck with the race.

There's a sprint I do each year with a 350 snake swim. Each lane is one direction (either down or back, not both). One thing I like is that for the first and last length the lane is actually two lanes wide. It gives room for new folks that panic to no worry about being trampled if they need to really get over and settled down for that first length. Then the're plenty of room to really work on the last one if you feel like it. Just a suggestion if you have enough lanes to work with.

If you're doing a pool swim there's no need for carpet to transition unless there is the potential that athletes will be running through mud at some point.

A nice tech shirt is great (and more advertising for you). I've also enjoyed running caps. For a sprint my expectations for a medal would not be too high.

Good luck.

Here's my perspective, from a relative newcomer to the sport, MOP age grouper.



The worst races have:
* Insufficient or poorly stocked aid stations: I like to see 2 stations per 5k on the run. And have a backup source of water if you think you might run short!
* Thorns or sharp gravel on the Swim-->T1 run
* Poor volunteer support: misinformed and/or unhelpful volunteers at checkin & transition can make things very confusing.
* Poor course marking/protection: Wrong turns and unguarded intersections & turnarounds can make a real mess
* Bad course measurements: If the run course is long/short, don't tell me it's a 5k/10k/HM. Tell me the real distance, so I can adjust my expectations & strategy accordingly.
* Insufficient porta-potties: If there are still more than a dozen people lined up at start time, you need more.


Nice perks that I've appreciated at other races include:
* Free (good) beer for finishers!
* Good finisher food--sandwiches, pizza, and scrambled eggs/bacon have been nice touches at other races
* Free or cheap course & finish photos
* Useful gear (e.g. quality bottles or socks) in the swag bag or as giveaways
* Calling names out at the finish line

On a scale of 1-10, how important is the quality of the shirt to you? 8
On a scale of 1-10, how important is the quality of the finisher medal to you? 3
On a scale of 1-10, how important is the quality of the awards to you? 5 (this might be higher if I thought I would make the podium)

Good luck with the race--local events like yours are important!

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"Test everything, cling to what is good." - St. Paul

I'd probably also suggest:

• Don't do medals/t-shirts. See if you can get a sunglass sponsor or something and give them out instead. Maybe put the event name on the bag for the glasses. Baseball cap also works if it's something nice. Basically, give me something I will use and not feel less bad about using earth's resources.
• A random prize that is not announced ahead of time. Best sprint finish or most inspirational performance or something. Make someone feel really special that day. They'll tell everyone about the event for ages.
• Get FinisherPix to film everyone on the run course.

1. It's OK if you need to change the start time a little, but announce the time and PLEASE don't move it earlier, or say "we'll start sometime in the next 10 minutes"! Don't force people to line up early and wait at the start when they had planned to be enjoying one last potty stop or a stretch routine. This is especially important when it's cold.

2. If the course is short, announce it before the start. One recent sprint I ran had a 500m actual for a 750m posted swim, AND a 2.8 mile 5K run. It really screwed up the sprint at the end of the run.

3. Finisher medals, aid stations (in a sprint), and door prizes have no importance to me. Non-medal awards are more interesting to me than medals.

4. Gatorade and a little food at the end is nice.

5. If there's a beach (or loose dirt) after the swim, a kiddie pool is nice to run through.

6. A t-shirt is important. It's especially irritating when there are not enough Mediums.

7. I prefer (although I may be a minority) not to have loud music blaring all the time before the race.

8. Always allow race-day packet pickup

9. Make sure there are plenty of toilets.

10. A few extra inches per bike in the transition area is very nice.

The more time in between pool starts the better. 10-15 seconds is good. It's a real pain to pass in the pool, and it costs quite a bit of time. And like TigerChk said, a full lane is much better than 2-way traffic.

10 sec.

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Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.

I really appreciate all the advice and suggestions. You guys have been a huge help. To clarify on the swim, we're using a 10-lane, 50m pool for a 500m swim-- so you'll swim down in one lane, back in the next, etc. So each lane will only have swimmers going in one direction.

I just did a 400m pool swim tri and they sent us off every 10 seconds. Also the first lane was extra wide, as some others have mentioned (which was good, since the couple, including the dude wearing board shorts and a snorkel mask) who seeded themselves ahead of me at 9:00 did the swim in 16 and 20 minutes, respectively). It was a snake with each lane a single direction.

I've never been a big fan of finisher medals as they tend to end up in a box in the closet, and it sounds like many of you agree. Would you prefer something like a hat, pair of sunglasses, or something like that?

1. If it's truly beginner-oriented, a 500 meter swim might scare a few away. Super sprints around here are in the 300-400 meter range.

2. I like the idea of unique awards. There's a somewhat local race that gives hand-made pottery bowls to podium finishers in each age group...I want one of those.

3. Personally, I like a nice tech short/long sleeve t-shirt. I use them for my run workouts.

4. Aide stations. The number needs to be sufficient for the race day temperatures. We have a July sprint tri here in Nashville and 1 aide station is barely enough for the 5k when it's 80-90 degrees with lots of humidity. A nice touch, especially for hot races, is to have wet towels at the aide station and/or finish.

5. Another nice touch done by one of the local races...a beer truck and a nice food spread.

6. Quick results. Nothing more annoying than waiting an inordinate amount of time to see how you did vs your competition

The plan is to have at least two aid stations, since our run course is out-and-back (1 station that pass twice).

Good call on the wet towels...you don't see that too often, but that's a really nice touch if it's hot. And in August, it likely will be. Thanks!

Yes, definitely, as long as it's not chintzy. Maybe something like a Endurance Conspiracy hat with the race name or logo subtly printed/embroidered on it somewhere? You might make the economics work out if you partner with another company. Sunglasses work too although probably more difficult to market your race on them, which is presumably something you'd want to do.

Sometimes I'll get something like a pair of sunglasses or goggles, and even if it's not something that fits me, I'll keep it and find someone that likes it (and mention where I got them from). However if I get a shit cap with '<YOUR RACE NAME> FINISHER' emblazoned on it, you can be assured it's going to end up in landfill.

I always thought it would be neat to have a couple of locally-owned food trucks be on-site at a race. Give vouchers to each participant to redeem for their post-race food, and then obviously spectators can purchase their own. It supports local business owners the food is going to be infinitely better than the stale bagels and sad bananas I see at 99% of races.

Important.

Try to enforce no-drafting
Make packet pick-up easy. Race morning option is important if people are coming from over 45 minutes or so.
The race should start very shortly after transition closes.
"Big" transition so people have enough room
Well marked course (volunteers where a racer would need to make a decision on which way to go - important on the bike where you could miss a sign going relatively fast)
Start on-time or if you delay - let people know early.
Enough porta-johns
If you are doing awards - do them timely or give them out "on the side" if an award winner needs to leave
Post results with splits timely
Submit results to USAT timely.

Not-important
Free entry is nice, but doesn't add a lot to the event except for the winner.
finisher medals
t-shirts
awards
food - some is good, but not critical to go "overboard"
beer is also nice if its an afternoon/evening event. For a 7:00 AM race - not sure it adds much.

Nice surprises -
Free race pictures.

We are planning to reach out to a couple of local food trucks that serve healthy/paleo food, so we're really excited about that. I didn't think about including a voucher for each participant...might get pricey, but a good idea for sure. Thanks!

Thanks for all the input. Ease of packet pickup is huge for us, so it's nice to have that reinforced. Same for a well-marked course-- we tend to go overboard with arrows, volunteers, and police.

We are definitely planning to have a couple photographers there as well, and we never charge people for these photos.

I didn't see it mentioned here already, but in reference to your swim. Be very clear about the requirements. Do you have to touch the wall of the lane you're in, touch the wall of the adjacent lane and then do your next 50m? Is touching one or both walls underwater sufficient? If not touching both walls, are flip turns allowed? I race with three local series, and each one has different requirements for their snake swims. It can get quite confusing for both new and seasoned racers. So just be really clear in your explanation of the swim what is expected/required.

One of the things that a local series around here does is gives out raffle tickets to the volunteers, and draws tickets for them during the award ceremony. It really shows the appreciation the race org has for it's volunteers, and also gives the racers to cheer and thank them. The prizes are usually locally baked goods.

I think it's great that you're reaching out like this for input.
That being said I'd like to offer the following:
1) swim course. 15 secs between swimmers would be great in a 50 M pool. Be sure and have someone at the swim start check that the proper athlete starts at the proper time. Last race I did like this a guy started 4 people ahead because he "knew" he was faster than those around him. Never caught till after results were announced.
2). Lots of volunteers. Have the sharpest ones at the turnarounds. If you're short people, use lots of chalk.
3). Quick results. This'll be tough with a tt format. Barring this, if the athletes know approx when to expect results, that's good.
4). Someone in transition pre-race who has no assigned duties other than to answer everyone's questions correctly.

Hope this helps.

Both great ideas...thanks. I think for the swim, we'd like to keep it as simple as possible to avoid the kind of confusion you're talking about...but I just assumed everyone would get it, so thanks for pointing out that we need to go over it in more detail.

The volunteer raffle is a great idea. Thankfully, this is an event that the local community has rallied around in the past, and we would definitely like to pay them back in whatever small ways we can.

Thanks for your input!

1. We'll have a timing mat at the start so that your time starts at the moment you jump into the pool. So even if this happens, everyone will have an accurate time. We will still have someone there, of course, to keep everyone in order the best we can.
2. Definitely. We're offering sponsorship to a lot of local companies in return for simply providing volunteers, and we always over-mark our courses.
3. I've noticed a lot of people saying this, and it's definitely sticking. Part of this depends on what our timing company is capable of, but we'll push them to move as quickly as possible.
4. We always designate 1-2 volunteers (our best ones) and give them this job. They just walk around asking if anyone needs anything and answering questions.

It sounds like most people are recommending at least 10 seconds between starts...that's definitely more than I would have thought, but from an athlete's perspective, it will definitely make for a better experience.

Some things I dislike about some of the small local races:
- crappy timing/not enough timing mats (e.g. only having a mat at the entrance or exit to transition so transition times are lumped in with one of the race legs)
- not enough course marking or volunteers on the course
- swag bags full of useless junk and flyers for upcoming races
- inadequate pre-race instructions or PA systems that aren't loud enough to ensure that everyone can hear the pre-race instructions

Shirt: 9/10 - quality is important if you're going to give them out. I'd rather not get one than get a cheap/ugly one. Agree with the soft cotton shirts vs. tradition t-shirts or tech shirts.
Medal: 5/10 - quality isn't all that important, most of them end up in a bag in the basement anyway. I do like the idea of distinguishing between a finisher medal and a podium medal, whether it's with different medals, engraving, etc.
Awards: 7/10 - my favorite was a gift certificate to a local running shop.

To me personally, the most important thing is that local races feel safe & well-organized, have adequate volunteers, appropriate road closures, etc. I'd rather see my entry money spent on those things than fancy medals, awards, etc.

Good luck with your race!

Awesome, thanks. Timing mats shouldn't be a problem...I totally agree this is a must-have.

It's also nice to hear that you care more about the overall quality and safety of the event than the fringe benefits--finisher medals, awards, etc. I think it's easy to overlook some of that stuff and get caught up in the details, so thanks for the reminder.

+1 on the super soft cottons. But beyond that, try to design a 'cool' shirt that, say, Keith Urban would wear. That way they won't all sit in a closet for the rest of their lives. I know you may need to put sponsor names on the back or something, but at least make the front cool.

That's a cool shirt:
http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/...2013/05/53362427.jpg

That's not:
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/...AzBjZfpr_0_gLLei_4fw

you get the idea.

Re age group awards, I think most people who win them like to have a plaque or small trophy to put on the shelf. My favorite was a bobble head with a small plaque on the base.

Overall just make the race run smoothly and don't wait forever for awards. Have some good food afterwards if you can, even if just stuff like mixed nuts and m&ms along with the usual stuff. Best ever post race food for me was scrambled eggs and sausages.

Have enough porta-johns if not enough proper restrooms.

Agree with this. If you want people to stick around for awards then as well as starting them promptly before everyone has got bored, have a big raffle prize at the end (kids bike donated by a local bike shop?).

Along those lines, set aside some food at water for the volunteers. I have volunteered at a couple of events and stood outside in the sun all day directing runners and traffic, then after the last runner comes through, going to the finish and finding that all of the food and water have been packed up or eaten. May sure your volunteers have food, water, sunscreen, and someone to relieve them if they need to go to the bathroom or take a break.

Throwing the challenge flag on that one. I want nothing to do with anything Keith Urban would wear ;)

Seriously though, another thought on shirts is to make them available for purchase rather than included in the entry fee. I think most people who want/value and event shirt are willing to pay something for a decent one. That also allows you to be a little more selective rather than letting the quality be determined by the cost that can be covered by the entry fee. There's a local race here that sells out quickly every year and offers limited edition t-shirts for purchase by registered athletes ahead of the race.

Another great idea. Maybe we should set up a tent or an area for volunteers to check in and just hang out when they're not actively working, where they would have their own water and food.

Thanks!

What do you hate about the local sprint tris that you've done?
- Not sticking to a schedule and running on time? (not really a problem)
- Not enough aid stations? (no, but make sure it's mixed properly and there's enough if hot)
- Cheap medals/awards? (Don't care much)
- What else?

What are some things that have stood out to you (race organizer went above and beyond)?
- "That was a nice touch" sorts of things (cold towels during a hot run)
- Carpet from the water to transition? (yes, and kind of duh)
- Door prizes? (if it's donated by sponsors, but don't spend $$ on it)
- Free entries next year for this year's winners? (nah)
- What were you pleasantly surprised by?

On a scale of 1-10, how important is the quality of the shirt to you? 1, at this point I prefer towels and socks
On a scale of 1-10, how important is the quality of the finisher medal to you? 1, but for some I know this is important
On a scale of 1-10, how important is the quality of the awards to you? 1

What else should I be asking? There are some no-brainers, like safety, that are a top priority. I'm looking more for the things that set a race apart. We appreciate any guidance you guys can give, both from an athlete's perspective or an organizer's perspective.

Course marshals to make sure folks get help (flat tires, broken bikes). WELL-MARKED turns, preferably manned. For pool sendoffs, I've seen snake swimming (diving under lane lines) to help with throughput @ 30" intervals works.

And don't overthink it. If you emphasize the facts that this benefits the pool and you're there to have fun, folks will generally get behind you and can tolerate alot of sins. What makes you different is you're supporting YOUR location. Go to tri, swim, running clubs and advertise. Raffle off a few entries at their meetings/workouts. It might take a year to work out kinks, but I rather like the quirky little races when they embrace their quirks!

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Life is tough. But it's tougher when you're stupid. -John Wayne

+1 on a decent PA system. Nothing worse than hearing "Stand by for an important race announcement" then something that sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher.
Also give some thought to your PA 'coverage' if the start / transition / porta potty areas are spread out.

Some form of shade/weather protection is really nice. I think I nearly got heatstroke _after_ one race last year waiting around in the sun.

Ha! Well I knew someone would disagree! I don't particularly like KU or country music but I do think he's a pretty cool guy.

It's a good idea to have the shirts for sale, but it also makes it even more incumbent on the race organiser to make it a desirable shirt.

Another comment about shirts. Offer an option for $X.XX off of the race if you don't want a shirt, or pick a local charity and let the racers opt to not receive a shirt and $X.XX is donated to that charity in their name.

That's interesting. We always offer extra shirts to participants (basically at cost), but not many people take us up on that. To make sure I understand what you're saying...there would be two options to register-- $50 with a shirt or $40 without a shirt. Is that what you're suggesting?

Thanks for your thoughts. We've talked about course support/ SAG, but what do you guys think is a good number of support stations/vehicles out on the course? It's a ~13 mile, single loop course with basically no overlap.

We have a decent PA system and the pool also has a built-in system, so I think that should work. We're also lucky in that the pool is ours to use, which comes with some giant umbrellas for people to hang out under after the race.

for a 13 mile course I'd think you only need one vehicle doing laps that had your bike mechanic in it.

I know you posted earlier but the food truck idea is really great. I'm sure it will beat stale pretzels and cold pizza

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the world's still turning? >>>>>>> the world's still turning

Yes, that's exactly what I'm suggesting. There are a lot of us out there who just don't want another shirt. I mean I do, but my wife is getting tired of the number of shirts I have, so happy wife, happy life, I don't want another shirt. It's nice to have a little discount and not get a shirt. That being said, I have no problem paying the same price as everyone else, not getting the shirt, and having that $10 go to a local charity. So three options:
1) $50 registration
2) $40 registration but no event shirt
3) $50 registration, no shirt, $10 of your registration goes to the charity picked by the race.

Honestly, if I'm deciding between two races and see that one is giving back to a local charity, they're going to get my money every time. I had one that the donation went to the disabled athletes organization to help buy new rafts and buggies that they ride in during races. It was a great feeling to know my money was going to help others participate in this sport we all love.

1)Submit your race results to USAT quickly. I know the deadline is 15 business days after the event, but some RD's are notorious for sending results in months late. That drives me crazy. Submit your results the Monday after the event if you really want to stand out from other race directing companies.

2) Make sure you have a guy in a gorilla suit chasing around 6'7" guy in a banana suit. Make sure they help old ladies cross the street safely. Also, most importantly, make sure the gorilla doesn't pace anyone on the run.

If you do these things, I'll do your race.

In the nice touch column - one race series that I have done give all their marshals a printed list of the competitors names and number so that they marshals can offer support by name.

The gorilla/banana combo are sure to make an appearance...though if I'm not mistaken, there's a Mr. Gregarious who is already registered.

As for the results, the plan is to submit those first thing on Monday...because I agree, it's pretty obnoxious to post results online but not submit them to USAT for weeks.

- Not sticking to the schedule is a bummer, but I wouldn't worry about 5 to 10 minutes late.
- Other than that, really not anything I "hate" about our local sprint tris here in SW Ohio (Dayton area)

Nice touches:
- Carpeting is definitely nice on the tootsies, and greatly appreciated
- Mesh swag bag that comes in handy later on as a swim gear bag
- Pleasantly surprised by the nice food offered by one of the sponsors post-race (sandwich company...loads of tasty sammiches for the taking)

- Shirt..7
- Finisher medal for a sprint.... -10. Probably getting chucked in a drawer at best and never seen again. Would way rather have a better shirt.
- Awards....would probably care if I was fast enough to get some (although I thought I might get a little somethin' somethin' for being 2nd in my AG last year....)

Good luck! Hope it all goes well.

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Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.

Thanks spot-- the mesh swim bag is an interesting idea. We've thought about giving out one of those cinch sacks, but it seems like everyone has a ton of them now and they're not really special anymore. Maybe a swim-specific bag (or at least one that holds up to getting wet) would be worth exploring.

From a perspective of someone, who rookied his way into triathlon and racing in general relativley recently, allow me to give the opinion, that I still remember, when all these awards were still a novelty:

Please don't give a crappy medal. The price difference between a crappy medal and a nice looking one isn't great, but for someone, who just started collecting them it's really a huge deal. Obviously it doesn't have to be all the way Rock'n'Roll, but something thoughtful and tasteful is really appreciated. Sure there are bunch of people who don't care about the medals, including myself. But plenty do. If this is a local race, I'm pretty sure there will be a lot of these.

Finisher shirts - a nice technical shirt with a huge FINISHER on it is also very welcomed by the beginners. This is usually turning into a training shirt, which is practical AND and an object of pride.

Awards - this January I took a part in a small-ish event (I won't tell the name, but it's not unfamous) in South Florida. Placed in AG. As an award I've got a photoprinted generic page "[event name] AG [age range] winner [place]" in a cheap plexiglass frame. The event was really nice, the finisher medal was nice, the "award" I threw in the garbage bin at the parking lot when I was leaving.

More volunteers - more happiness

Good luck with the event

Thanks for the input. We still haven't decided for sure what we're doing for finisher medals, but we have a preliminary design that's in the shape of a chainring with the race logo in the middle...if we do go with a finisher medal, it will definitely be more than a generic round medal with a sticker on it.

Your idea regarding the finisher shirts-- is that in addition to the race shirt? Or are you saying we would just put "Finisher" on the back of the regular race shirts?

Can't give the finisher shirt before crossing the finish line. Got to earn it, man! Finisher shirt isn't a huge deal, but it seems that they are so common everywhere, that lot of people *expect* them together with their finisher medal. Not sure about the value of the race shirt itself. I personally use tech shirts from races for training (just because they are there and I don't need to buy tech shirts), but wearing a shirt that advertises some tri race (even if I did it) in everyday's situation is a bit too much for me to be honest. <-- my personal opinion. Might differ from others.

What do you hate about the local sprint tris that you've done?
- Not sticking to a schedule and running on time? Yes, especially if they don't communicate the delay to us.
- Not enough aid stations? Depends of the distance. In a 20/40km ride you don't really need an aid station. I, at least, carry one bottle, that is all I need
- Cheap medals/awards? Make the medal unique, such as carved by a local artist. Change them each year.
- What else? T-shirts with in-yer-face logo like a huge M-dot.

What are some things that have stood out to you (race organizer went above and beyond)?
- "That was a nice touch" sorts of things
- Carpet from the water to transition? Nice touch if needed, maybe a something to wash feet if the run is on a sand.
- Door prizes? Is it is something like "fits most". Socks are good but goggles are very personal and don't fit everybody.
- Free entries next year for this year's winners? I rarely win so doesn't matter :-)
- What were you pleasantly surprised by? A race bib with my name on it

Can't answer on a scale with numbers, but with words...
On a scale of 1-10, how important is the quality of the shirt to you? Important if it is something that could be worn at lots of places. Again, I don't like big, huge logos.
On a scale of 1-10, how important is the quality of the finisher medal to you? Important, and make it unique
On a scale of 1-10, how important is the quality of the awards to you? Depends what it is. A certificate with a frame from the dollar store? No thanks. Make it a quality and the winners will come back without a free entry.

At Prospera Granfondo there was a free can of Red Racer beer and a glass pint in the goodie bag. Also a free pint at the finish tent. That was awesome at the end of a long hot day. They also had a pair of quality socks, a small flashing bike light and a small sweat towel.
Also, PLEASE, no loud, ear splitting music followed by super exited voice of an announcer at 6am. For the world of me, I can't figure out why they think that loud music, fast talk as if the announcer is on speed is needed. Could you give us a cup of java, please... :-)

Ad Muncher

I know you've already gotten a bunch of helpful replies, but I thought I'd add my experience (also for the female perspective...).

What do you hate about the local sprint tris that you've done?
- Not sticking to a schedule and running on time? This bothers me if it's running more than 10 minutes late.
- Not enough aid stations? There should be at least one aid station at the halfway/turnaround point on a 5K. Otherwise I don't really care - unless it's hot. Then more aid stations with water are critical.
- Cheap medals/awards? Don't care at all.
- What else?
-- Timing chip issues (ie cheap Velcro - this sucks). I also did one tri without electronic chip timing. I won't ever do that again.
-- Volunteers who have idea what's going on - this cost me two minutes at my last sprint tri because the volunteer at the finish didn't know where the officials were (I'd lost my chip in the swim).
-- A lousy course with inadequate information on the website - I hate showing up and having no idea what I'm in for.
-- No safety/course orientation prior to the swim. This is just dangerous.
-- Roads that are in poor condition and/or open to busy traffic.
-- A long and painful stretch between the swim and T1 (ie gravel).
-- My BIGGEST pet peeve is not enough porta-potties. This is inexcusable and affects women more than men (for the last tri I did, my husband just peed in the bushes. I had to wait in line for 20 minutes and almost missed the start).

What are some things that have stood out to you (race organizer went above and beyond)?
- "That was a nice touch" sorts of things? Benches in transition. Easy parking.
- Carpet from the water to transition? This is a must-have.
- Door prizes? Never really participated in this.
- Free entries next year for this year's winners? Sure, that sounds nice.
- What were you pleasantly surprised by? I liked events that had a lot of community and volunteer support - it made me feel less like a spoiled triathlete and more like a competitor in a new place. I appreciated when the official called my name out at the finish. I also liked races that had plenty of female competitors, especially for an Olympic distance. I think it can be hard to recruit women to newer races sometimes (I did an inaugural tri last year and there were only 12 women in my race). Having women's shirt sizes is a nice touch - shows you thought about it (plus men's t-shirts don't fit me).

On a scale of 1-10, how important is the quality of the shirt to you? 3
On a scale of 1-10, how important is the quality of the finisher medal to you? 1
On a scale of 1-10, how important is the quality of the awards to you? 1