There Is A Method to the Madness
This is a podcast where I will be discussing all aspects of physical fitness. I am an exercise physiologist and personal trainer and owner of Maxwell's Fitness Programs for the last 25 years. My passion is health and fitness and I am excited to share my views, some stories, interviews and much more with you.
There Is A Method to the Madness
Behind the Scenes: Why Today's Races Are Failing Participants
Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...
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Welcome to there is a Method to the Madness. My name is Rob Maxwell and I'm an exercise physiologist and personal trainer. I am the owner of Maxwell's Fitness Programs and I've been in business since 1994. The purpose of this podcast is to get to the real deal of what really works and, most importantly, why things work. Hence the name. There is a method to the madness.
Speaker 1:Before I get to today's show, I want to thank Jonathan and Lynn Gildan of the Gildan Group at Realty Pros. They are committed to providing the highest level of customer service in home sales. Why don't you give them a shout and figure out what your home is worth? 386-451-2412. Good morning, good day. Let's talk about some fitness things. So this podcast will be a little bit different. I don't believe I've ventured into this subject before on the podcast. I don't believe I've ventured into this subject before on the podcast, but I'm going to talk a little bit about a better way that we can do fitness events. This has been running through my brain this morning as I work out. That's where I get a lot of my inspiration for what I feel like talking about. So what's today? Today's Thursday, the 17th, when I'm recording this? The Easter Beach Run is this Saturday. So that kind of got me thinking a little bit. Now, for those that don't know, the Easter Beach Run is over 50 years old. I believe it is maybe on its 52nd or 53rd year. I know that I was at the 50th because one of my dear clients, reed Hughes, who I trained with forever, passed a few years ago and at the 50th they did like a little celebration for him because he had run all of them up to that point. So that might've been the 51st, because I think he did 50 in a row, which is crazy to think about. I mean, when you talk about longevity and staying fit and practicing what he preaches, because he always believed in staying in good physical condition and you know, here he was running all these consecutive Easter beach runs. It's just such a great example of longevity and doing what you love. So, yes, so we're probably around 53. I think that was a few years ago, Maybe two. I should know this. I know, I have the pictures, I know I was there, I was also there last year, so it's gone on for a long time.
Speaker 1:Traditionally it was always a four-mile race and now they have a four-mile and a two-mile and then a couple different events for younger kids In the earliest of days. I don't know about the earliest of days, I wasn't there doing it but in the earliest time that I did it must have been in the early 90s and it was a straight shot. It was at one of the Ormond Beach beach ramps and we ran four miles to just under the pier, which was kind of cool because you could almost see the pier when you start and then as you get closer you see it and it's it's kind of like that mirage. You think, oh, I'm almost there and you realize this pier isn't getting any closer. Um, they, over the past decade or so probably two decades now they have made it a down and back where it starts, essentially at the bandshell, runs down two miles and turns around, or one mile and turns around. They probably did that for driving and parking reasons, because they used to have to bus people to the start and then people's cars were back at the finish. I imagine it was for that reason.
Speaker 1:But anyway, it was a historic event and in the very earliest of days we had elites come and run this thing. I mean Frank Shorter, the legend American distance runner, actually was here once. I think it was in the 1950s or 60s, maybe the 60s, I don't know. You know I probably should have looked that up, but I know he was here and he won and there's an old newspaper article written about that. So this was a legendary event and it's really cool, you know, because Easter is about a renewal in a way and you know people were there and it's spring and traditionally kind of warm because it's Florida.
Speaker 1:They always did a really good job with the tides, because of course it's a beach run, so they did a really good job of knowing when the tides because of course it's a beach run, so they did a really good job of knowing when the tides were. Oftentimes it could be in the middle of the day. They would do the Easter beach run, which was hot, but at the same time they were really thinking about the tides, so people weren't running basically in the sand dunes. And that's my segue into what I wanted to talk about today is that there are so many 5Ks and events and triathlons now compared to the old days and I guess you could look at that as a good thing, especially if you're into fitness, like I am. But it's not really a good thing, especially if you're into fitness, like I am, but it's not really a good thing. And yes, I'm into fitness and yes, I love events and yes, I love going to these events.
Speaker 1:But there has been such a drop off in quality of these events that they really have to do a better job. And if you're a race promoter or if you're a person that helps with that, or if you're the sponsor, if you are the whatever the scorer, I do believe the scoring people really do a good job. They are paid to score the event and oftentimes they're getting blamed for all the mishaps that are happening at these races, but the bottom line is it's not their fault. That was on the promoter. They just are paid a fee and they show up with their chip timing systems and they set up the finish line and they make sure all that's handled and oftentimes they're handling registration. But that's their job and they're paid. And from what I can see, I don't have any qualms with any of the companies. Really, period, I mean, go way back. There were some issues early on with chip systems, but I mean they were doing the best they can, but there have been a lot of problems, I believe. And when I speak to other people regarding their promotion of races.
Speaker 1:Now let me just get this out of the way, because I have a little like tentativeness as far as even bringing this up, because you don't want to look at the, you know you don't want to look like the get off my yard guy and you know these are all for charity events and how can you criticize you know. So let me. Let me tackle that head on first. It's has nothing to do with the. In the old days everybody did things better. That's not it. But in the old days, maybe because there was less competition, people were doing the things correctly they wanted to.
Speaker 1:When I say less competition, meaning that like events were just events, there wasn't as many charity events as there are now, I mean there were some, and don't get me wrong, I was a part of the track club, I was vice president and I was one of the people that helped put on all the races. There was always donations. I mean when I say they weren't charity events, I mean so oftentimes proceeds were put to something. I can't think really of any. Maybe there's some triathlons out there that were just for profit, so to say. But I don't even know if that's true, because I remember doing the Coca-Cola slash Publix triathlon series in the 90s that went across Florida, georgia and even into the Bahamas, and I remember they donated some of their proceeds, I believe, to some hunger groups of sorts.
Speaker 1:So there's always that, but what I mean is like there's more of that local 5k nowadays for a school or for something like that, which, again, is great, but you have to do a better job doing these things. I mean, in a way, it's just such bad business. I mean you would think they would want to do an event that make people want to come back, and they're just now. Let me back up real quick again. I meant to say this the other issue with this is the fact that the events used to be so much cheaper. So I know inflation has happened, but since COVID because, for those that don't know, in 2020, when everything was shut down, the endurance world really took a big hit I mean some companies went out of business because they were not allowed to put on events.
Speaker 1:I mean even like, after some of the local business bands were, you know, released the triathlon world because of the fact I guess I don't know, you know those silly terms we heard back then like super spreaders. I don't know if that know those silly terms we heard back then like super spreaders. I don't know if that was considered an event like that, but I know that the triathlon world was really shut down for most of the year. You know, like their time is the summer, so I think that affected a lot of it and so when everybody got back going again, the prices went sky high and the 5Ks now are like $40, I would say on the average. They can be as high as $50 if you register late.
Speaker 1:I mean I can remember sending checks to particular 5Ks that I wanted to do for $10. And like triathlons were $30 and a maximum $50. I can remember there was a series here in Daytona. It was a very brief series, done for a couple years and they did like a three race series for $150. So $50 a head years and they did like a three race series for $150. So 50 bucks ahead. Matter of fact, I think he took 10 bucks off if he did all three races, so it was like 40 bucks. I mean you're not spending pretty much less than $150 nowadays on a sprint triathlon, and don't even get me going on Ironman and things like that.
Speaker 1:It is ludicrous what people pay for these events. Now you might say, well, you know, that's your choice to pay, absolutely. I agree that it is the choice and a lot of people are choosing not to do it. But I don't even have a problem personally with how much it is. My problem is are you doing what you should do for that kind of money? I mean, I love fitness and I want people out there running and I want people cycling, swimming, whatever they do, that makes them happy. But you know what? We're going to entice more people to do that if we actually put on a good event. And if you don't know how, ask for help.
Speaker 1:The last two 5Ks that I've done and no, I'm not going to call anybody out because so many people are guilty ran out of small t-shirts. For I don't want to say you know the females, but typically females wear the smaller shirts. I mean some the females, but typically females wear the smaller shirts. I mean some men too, but they ran out of small shirts. And this is for people that pre-registered Back in the day. That never happened. Like if you pre-registered for the race, you were guaranteed your t-shirt, like you just were, and there was an understanding that if you registered on race day they might run out of t-shirts. Okay, you know that going in it didn't happen very often, by the way, but they knew that going in and people made that decision. But again, it was also 10 or $15. I can remember $10. And if he showed up at race day it was an extra five, a whopping 15 bucks, compared to 50 now. But pre-registration was guaranteed a shirt.
Speaker 1:Why? Because the race company did their due diligence this, I should say the promoter and they said okay, so how many people do we anticipate having? Do we have a cap? Because some places would make you have only so many people. That never happens, hardly anymore. Because, again, there's so many of these races that have sprung up everywhere that people pretty much just balance out their budget and say they're only going to do this. Now, if you go to Orlando, you still have a ton of people that show up to different races, and I'm particularly talking about running events.
Speaker 1:But yeah, the promoter would never run out of t-shirts. They would say well, we're going to have 200 people. So, if anything, let's order a little bit more than less. So we have the smalls. I mean, I put on races and I can remember going well. We have a couple of sponsors who are bigger. You know they're not going to race the event, but they have donated their money to sponsor this event.
Speaker 1:I'm going to get a double XL for them. I'm going to make sure we have that. And I still put on my MaxFit games now. I mean I put them on every year. We got one coming up August 9th. I always order more shirts than I need and I always order more sizes than I need. I mean you don't know how many times I've been hung for XL shirts or smalls. Smalls are a little bit easier to get rid of, but the XLs are hard to get rid of. Okay, big deal.
Speaker 1:I give them the people. Or, worst case scenario, I donate them to the Humane Society's place out there that takes non-cash donations and things like that. Or, worst case scenario, I donate them to Goodwill. Or I have been known to give t-shirts to homeless people that I've seen and thought you know what? Take this, maybe this helps. And, yes, I give them a little money too. But that has nothing to do with what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1:But there's really no excuse for running out of T-shirts. I mean this again happened to three of the females that were doing the event with us the past couple of weeks and it's inexcusable. They pre-registered and then a lot of these companies are starting their races late. They guarantee a certain time and then they're 15 minutes late. One of them I did in the past couple of years. I refuse to go back this year and it's too bad because they are doing something for a good cause but they're limiting the amount of people they're going to have show up, didn't even consider the tides. It was a beach race and, unlike the Easter Beach Run, they didn't do their due diligence and check the tides and pre-plan and make it like maybe the off weekend where the tide was the opposite whatever. They didn't do that and we literally were running through the shallow water the entire 5K and at the turnaround one of their volunteers wasn't paying attention and three of the people I know that were the leaders just kept running down the beach and the guy never even saw them.
Speaker 1:And that's just another instance of when you're putting on an event and you have volunteers. Yes, I know they're volunteers and you know what. People have paid good money to run your event and they don't care that they're volunteers. They're volunteering for a reason. If it's kids, they're typically getting some kind of community hours for school. If it's seniors or whatever, or just somebody's wife or husband, they're still there. They chose it. They need to be trained to do the job. I don't know how many events I've gone to where they're just standing at the turnaround not saying anything and the runners don't know if they're supposed to turn around or not, because maybe the event coordinator said something at the start, but they definitely didn't say it assertively enough. Now again, when you go to events where there are people that have done a lot of running events in the past, they've done a much better job of working out all those issues.
Speaker 1:First. You know they get on their microphone and they get everybody's attention and they go over it over and over and over. But you still need the volunteers to actually speak to people instead of just standing there assuming things. When they're standing on this side of the road Again, that's on the promoter Talk to them. We would literally, with the track club and other events or other organizations I belong to or my own events, would pull them aside and say hey look, stay off your phones, make sure you greet people, make sure you don't let them go down this wrong turn. Make sure you actually look them in the eyes as they run by. We would train them because people are paying good money, all right. So these are some of the issues. Another one is this is just a mistake of the race coordinators.
Speaker 1:The promoters Like yes, in a way. In a way and I'm going to qualify this in a second we want the kids to be at these events. But what the promoters don't do and the parents don't do, but it's on the promoters, the parents maybe they don't know better, but the promoters need to say okay, kids and I'm talking about the majority of school-age kids that go to these races Don't get up front and block everybody and run out 100 yards only to stop dead in your tracks and start walking and trip some senior citizen or I say that because you know more likely to trip and I'm that guy I've almost like gone flying over. Well, it happens all the time, actually, with a kid who hasn't been told that this isn't a sprint, it's 3.1 miles and the race promoter has to do a better job, not just with kids, but with people who don't really know how to line up. Again, they don't know.
Speaker 1:Maybe it's their first 5K, but there are events that are done really, really well, like the Matanzas 5K in St Augustine. Again, there's just a lot of longevity, I think, is why you'll see better events. But they literally have like pace signs up there where you should be if you anticipate running a certain time and the guy is on the microphone reminding you of that. So you don't try to like bite off more than you can chew, because that race has thousands of runners. And If you're up front and you're like, say, a group of people that aren't going to run the pace and all of a sudden you stop, like in one of those roads in St Augustine they're narrower, you know. I mean you're like creating such a cluster and you don't know because the race promoter hasn't told you that look line up by your pace and if you don't know, go further back. They don't tell people who are there to walk, which is fine if you're going to walk Like.
Speaker 1:I'll digress here for a second. The reason why the Easter Beach Run is special to me and I'm running it this Saturday is because it's an event I always did with my mom, who passed, and she was a power walker, like she didn't run but she was a power walker so she would push herself really hard in these events but she was still walking and she would do well in her age group because she was power walking fast but she still walked, meaning that she's not going to get up front and block people and so. But back then they would tell people and plus, you know, your own common sense says I don't want somebody running into my back. So promoters have to do a better job of telling everybody for everybody's benefit. Look, we have these rules for a reason.
Speaker 1:Now let me just finish up this point on the kids. I got to tell you parents this I've been to too many events where you know we have that scenario and we have the parent running next to the kid, pushing the kid, berating the kid and even if they're not insulting them, which I have seen I did a local race at a school a few weeks ago that I won't go back to. They were just blatantly rude and did a horrible job of the race. I did a local race at a school a few weeks ago that I won't go back to. They were just blatantly rude and did a horrible job of the race. I'm not going to say which school? But they only hurt themselves because, again, they do a bad job. But there was a parent just screaming at his kid afterwards a young kid. And yes, in races.
Speaker 1:I have said to parents before I said you know, and yes, in races. I have said to parents before I said you know, I shouldn't admit this about myself. I probably need to learn to keep my mouth shut sometimes, but I don't like it. I've said you're getting your kid to run because you want them to run. The bottom line is you're doing everything in your power to make them not run when they're adults.
Speaker 1:When we push our kids to do things that they don't want to do, like that. They're nine years old and they're at a 5k on a Saturday morning at 7 30 am and their aerobic system hasn't even been conditioned or matured enough to do this, your likelihood of getting them to do this when they're older is slim to none. So you might have to really reconsider why you're really having them do it. It could come across as reconsider why you're really having them do it. It could come across as oh, you're trying to teach your kids the value of fitness. I think it's more that you're trying to look like the parent that does that, but in any event, they're not mature enough to run it. And if they want to do like the walk, jog thing, whatever, if they want to do it, okay. Just, parents understand that they probably don't want to be there and it's probably not going to lead to them doing it in the future like you think that it's going to do, all right.
Speaker 1:So I'll wrap this up by saying like there was a race a year ago that we did and it was a school race and it was like started 45 minutes late and they messed up the awards and oh, that's my other rant. So people are paying all these money and they're not giving awards anymore like they used to. Uh, our recent guest kitty, who was on the show, posted on facebook last night because we were talking about how great the easter beach run has been through the years that at one event she literally won season tickets to the Orlando Magic. I was like holy cow. Now I can remember winning some pretty cool trophies in the past, hey, and I even won a cell phone years ago. That was pretty neat, but anyway I had to pay to activate it. So you know there is that, but you know nowadays they're giving out hardly anything. So it's like the money is being spent more by the race participant and the race companies are donating less of the money.
Speaker 1:Back to the thing with the school. They were saying, well, it's for a charity event. I said I completely understand that the events I put on I always give to charity, completely understand that the events I put on I always give to charity. And if you want to raise more money for the charity, you would think you would want people to come back, because these school races are already going to get the parents, they're already going to get the kids, they're already going to get the teachers. Most of them all race for free. So if you really, really want to raise the money for your school, you would think you would want runners and walkers and fitness enthusiasts walking around going.
Speaker 1:That was a great event and I tried to explain that to a principal or whoever it was, because they ran out of t-shirts. They started late, they did their awards late, they wouldn't let people go get their awards. I mean, it was just a really poorly run event. You had the issues with the kids at the start. The race was not measured correctly, all these things I said, if you want runners to show up because it's kind of a small community, especially in Volusia County if you want good word of mouth, you have to put on a good event and then you'll raise more money.
Speaker 1:Want good word of mouth, you have to put on a good event and then you'll raise more money. But too often they just don't have people or ask for professionals for help. So there's that. Take this for what it may be is, in my opinion, and maybe what you think it is, but the important thing is I do want people out there doing things that are going to make them more fit, and I think we race promoters need to do a lot better job of earning the business and putting on a. Thank you for listening to today's program. I ask you to please follow the show wherever you get your podcasts and please select automatic download, because that really helps the show. Now I want to thank overhead door of daytona beach, the area's premier garage door company. They have the best product. They have the best service. I personally vouch for jeff and zach hawk, the owners. They are great people with a great company. If you have any garage door needs, please give them a shout at 386-222-3165.
