We talk a lot about event planning for timed 5Ks and 10Ks and we’ve even discussed one-mile fun runs, but often the benefits and potential of a non-competitive walk get overlooked. There are many reasons why this could be the best choice for you, especially if this happens to be your first year planning a charity fitness event.

There is something relaxed and fun about non-competitive walks that appeal to both participants and planners. While it’s not to say they are less work, the planning itself can be less stressful as well as utilizing fewer players in the actual process. Also, with so many run/walk events out there today as a non-competitive walk, yours may end up being just the thing some participants are looking for.

One of the main reasons this event can be easier to plan is that there is no need for fancy finish-lines. Non-competitive also means non-timed because you won’t not need to classify your participants based on their finishing times in order to award prizes. During planning this means you won’t need to hire a company to run the finish line or rent equipment if your organization does not already have it.

You still want to have a finish line set up to welcome your participants at the end, but you have much more flexibility in how you design this. Not having to hire a company or rent equipment means cost savings for your organization. In addition, you’ll have the option of putting together an event more quickly because you won’t have to work around the availability of such assistance.

This leads to the need for less people around your planning table. While it is good to have lots of minds at work to generate ideas, less people to organize or contact can work in your favor. In addition to not needing an outside company, you also may need fewer volunteers to pull off the event especially if a significant portion of them were assigned to the start and finish. Less of your energy can be placed on medical assistance as well. You still need access when hosting a walk, but the nature of the event is less intense so you can usually get by with only minor assistance.

Along with a simplified planning process, the event itself will appeal to a different population in your community. You can pull in new exercisers by advertising it as a beginner event, attract families or promote the event to corporate teams. What participant numbers you miss out on with competitive athletes you will likely gain and even exceed with casual exercisers.

The idea of a non-competitive walk is all about fun while supporting a cause so be sure not to strip the fun away as you cut costs and reduce your planning committee. Still plan on having refreshments, games, t-shirts and consider giving away your prizes through a raffle in which all participants have a chance to win.

Photo by Trailnet

What: Pathways Center 5K Run/Walkathon to raise funds to provide much needed services to children with motor, sensory, feeding/swallowing, and communication difficulties.

When: Saturday, June 6, 2009; 5K Run – Registration and Check-In 7 AM – 7:45 AM, Run 8 AM; Walkathon – Registration and Check-In 8:15 AM – 9 AM, Walk 9:15 AM; Family Fest 10 AM – 11:30 AM

Where: Pathways Center, 2591 Compass Road, Glenview, Illinois; the run/walkathon begins and ends at Pathways Center, while the course traverses through Gallery Park and around Lake Glenview.

Cost: $30 Registration Fee; Children 3 and Under – Free

Other: The 5K is a USATF certified 5K run.  The Family Fest will include light refreshments, games for children, entertainment by Catch This! Jugglers, and a demonstration of adaptive equipment by the Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association.

For more information: Visit the Pathways Center 5K Run/Walkathon and Family Fest website or contact Sarah Kerndt at 847-510-5654, skerndt@pathwayscenter.org, or Barb Morin at 847-510-5633, bmorin@pathwayscenter.org

Have you participated in a Pathways Center athletic charity event and/or are you familiar with this nonprofit organization and its accomplishments? Post a comment to this blog and tell us about your experiences. It always helps to hear from those who have already participated in an annual event to learn more about what to expect in future years.

With the current state of the economy it is no surprise that the ability to donate to charity organizations is changing for many people. Regular participants and donators are being forced to either limit participation in events or the amount they give to the causes they believe in.

Last month a Boston Globe article reported about some negative changes in charity fundraising through athletic events. Highlighted was the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, a two-day bike trip across the state for charity which takes place this year on August 1st.

 According to organizers registration is down 10%. The planning committee has turned to promoting shorter routes that allow for lower fundraising totals to draw in those who can’t commit to the full $4200 for participation.

Organizations hosting charity fitness events are searching for ways to keep total donations up and promote growth. Many are taking action to raise their number of participants knowing that each person is probably going donate less. Less money from more people is one way to meet fundraising goals.

Despite challenges, positive news is still being reported and many are taking an optimistic view of the situation. The Run, Walk, Ride Fundraising Council conducts an annual survey among managers of well-known athletic fundraising events. This information is used to compile the Run, Walk, Ride 30 – the top 30 athletic event fundraising programs. The survey also gathers information on strategies and trends among event organizers.

Their annual report shows that in 2008 the top 30 “athon” programs had a 7.6% increase in dollars raised to total $1.76 billion in gross revenue for charity. The top five programs included the Relay for Life, Team in Training, March for Babies, Race for the Cure and Breast Cancer 3-day.

This diverse group of events which topped the list can only be seen as a positive from the perspective of fundraising and participant numbers. The group includes everything from a short walk to endurance events. A wide variety of events such as this will help to draw novice exercisers as well as trained athletes. More participants mean more fundraising dollars.

Although there are worries about the ability to repeat similar fundraising growth in 2009, the survey showed that managers are implementing strategies to succeed. The top two of these strategies includes increasing corporate team recruitment and providing participants with tools to raise more funds. By focusing on the challenge from this perspective hopes are high that successful fundraising and growth will continue this year and beyond.

Do you organize charity fitness events or participate in them? How has the economy affected your efforts and what is your outlook for this year?

Photo by ronnieb, morgueFile.com

When planning a repeat event, often your race location is already decided for you. However, if you are spearheading a brand new race and fundraiser finding a suitable venue may fall under your responsibility.

When choosing a location there are several factors you’ll need to consider. These are a few things that should come to mind when you are brainstorming location ideas.

Are you allowed to hold it there?

This seems like an almost juvenile question, but it should be the first thing you ask. Your community may be filled with parks, neighborhoods and school tracks, but there may also be restrictions on if and when an event can be hosted there. If a park seems ideal you’ll need to contact your local Department of Parks and Recreation to determine availability. A scenic route that covers roadways will need approval from the city and local law enforcement. A school track will require agreement and cooperation with the local school itself and likely the school corporation.

How tough do you want it to be?

Consider the terrain, hills, width of the pathway, etc. If you are doing a short 1 mile fun run for families you may want to steer clear of tough courses that include hills. However, if you are putting together a 5 or 10 K that will draw some serious runners you might want the course to be a bit more challenging.

Is the scenery important?

I think it is safe to say that we are all more drawn to courses that have some eye appeal. No one wants to run or walk long distances without at least something a bit interesting to look at. Is your city a focus of the event? Then maybe a course through historic downtown is a good match. If the event supports a local organization such as a hospital, setting the path to go by this location if it is possible is a good reminder to those participating as to why they are there.

Each venue has its pros and cons. Here are few things to think about when considering the following locations.

Park

Parks are ideal because there is typically less vehicle traffic. Even if roads do allow traffic, it can easily be controlled. On the other hand, if you are using running paths for the course, these can get crowded if you have a large number of participants.

When it comes to parks they offer a lot for eye appeal and scenery. It can be an opportunity to offer a more nature-focused experience to your participants. In addition, if there are covered shelters located in the park for use this will eliminate the need for you to rent tents to protect the registration, prize station and refreshments in case of rain. Picnic tables can also serve as your tables and chairs.

Scenic Route

A historic route through your community or a jog through local neighborhoods makes for a pleasant course. Roads provide plenty of space for your participants to spread out and set their own pace. With this location you’ll have to do a lot of organizing to get roads blocked, but it is worth it if you are hosting a large event and perhaps wish to draw attention to it for increased participation next year.

School Track

Many relay-type races are located at school tracks. This is a good location for that type of event because you keep everyone in the same area. There is also no need to block roads and the school itself provides ample parking for participants. For long runs, however, it can be a bit boring to go around and around in a circle. If this is your choice, though, you can make it work. The key is to keep things interesting. Provide a lot of action around the area with booths and community support. This will result in the feel of something similar to a big party and make the repetitive laps less boring.

Planned a race before, or participated in one? What is your preferred venue?

Photo by Bo Hammarberg, www.freereangestock.com

Nothing beats that huge feeling of relief after an event! Despite how hard we work and how much we look forward to it during the planning process, we’d be lying if we said we weren’t glad it was over…at least until next year.

You, your planning team and your volunteers all probably have bigger and better things to move on to after the completion of a successful event. However, you shouldn’t miss the opportunity for a follow-up meeting to gather valuable information.

It is best to go ahead and schedule this early in the planning process. Plan to hold it a few days immediately following the event. You’ll want your thoughts to be fresh in your memory, but you’ll also want to take time to look at some of the evaluations before meeting with your team.

First, you’ll want to take care of business at this meeting. Do any prizes need to be mailed to participants who left early? Do you have thank you cards to be filled out and addressed for those who made large donations of time or money? You can work with your planning team to do this together and save time for everyone.

Next, you’ll want to discuss the race itself. We can only improve next year by evaluating our current performance. You’ll also need to decide if you want your entire group to meet or if you want to meet with your planning team and volunteers separately.

I should probably define these groups. For me, your planning team is your group of coworkers who likely work for your organization and have been assigned or willing to help you plan the race. This also includes those who work for your partner organizations. Volunteers are those members of the community who give their time to help with the event. Your planning committee might consist of one or the other, or both.

Many times we forget about the volunteers after the event is over, but they hold valuable info. They were likely the ones doing much of the hands on work while you ran around taking care of details. They can relay comments that were overheard, how the water stations operated and if they received adequate guidance as a volunteer.

During this time with your planning committee, review the basics of participant information – number of people, genders, ages, etc. Next, review the summary of the evaluations you have received up to this point. Then open the floor for discussion. Give each person around the table the chance to discuss the pros and cons of the event from their perspective. If you have a talker in the group, set a time limit so each person gets a chance and the meeting doesn’t go on forever.

Ask some questions of your group – how was the race course, did you meet your participant goals or did the event flow well with registration, packet pick up, etc.?

You might consider treating this meeting as a focus group and assigning a person to record all of the information which you can then transfer to your files for future use. If you’re group is big you can split into smaller groups for discussion.

Use the info you gather to guide you for events in the future. Typically new races get better year after year as you evaluate yourself and make positive changes.

If your event will be occurring again next year, set a date for your first planning meeting. Even if you have to change it later having it on the calendar initially will allow your team to plan for it and increase the chances that your volunteers will make time to help you again.

ITIM walkers and bike riders have compiled approximately 3,625 miles since 1995. Their events have taken them from Toronto to New York City; Delray Beach to Miami Beach, Florida; Charlottesville, Virginia to Washington, DC; and many other destinations.

When they walk or ride, participants carry Tibetan flags and signs urging for freedom and basic human rights for all Tibetans. Businesses, non-profit organizations, churches, and individuals offer food and shelter along the route. Participants – particularly Tibetans-in-exile – speak at schools and to the media throughout the event.

When I first learned about ITIM, I was so inspired by its efforts that in 1998 I helped co-found a Students for a Free Tibet chapter at Indiana University and organized a 90+ mile walk across Indiana that took place over spring break. It was a fantastic experience, but it paled in comparison to what ITIM has done over the years.

ITIM’s next major event will be a walk from Indiana to New York. Here are the details:

• What: ITIM’s March for Tibet’s Independence
• When: The event begins March 10, 2009, the 50^th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising in Lhasa, Tibet. The event will conclude approximately 10 weeks later.
• Where: TBA, but the event will start in the Indianapolis area and end at China’s Consulate in New York City.
• Cost: This is a different kind of fundraiser. Much of the fundraising is geared toward funding the event itself, which bears unique costs due to the miles and days associated with it.
• Notes: During this event, walkers are invited to participate at the beginning and end of the walk. The majority of miles will be covered solely by Jigme Norbu, the son of Takster Rinpoche, co-founder of ITIM. Norbu is also the nephew of His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama.

If you’ve participated in one of ITIM’s events or another athletic charity event geared toward social activism, tell us about it! Post a comment to this blog, or start a new discussion in the forum.

No problem. Walking a 5K can be just as challenging, supports a good cause and will improve your fitness.

If you are a beginner you’ll want to focus on both pace and time. For example, if you walk at a brisk 4 mile per hour pace you can expect to finish your 5K in about 45 minutes. You certainly don’t have to walk this fast, but this is a good pace to shoot for when it comes to improving your health and cardiovascular fitness.

If you aren’t there yet, don’t worry. Begin your training by walking 10 to 20 minutes per session. You can follow the same schedule I mentioned Monday for walking. If you begin with 20 minute sessions you can work towards adding 2 minutes to your session time each week. At 12 weeks, you will be walking about 45 minutes each session.

If you find your pace is slower than 4 mph you can add a few weeks to your training schedule while focusing on increasing both time and speed during your sessions, or simply plan for the race to take you a bit longer, maybe an hour.

When choosing a race be sure to select one that is about 12 weeks away if you are currently walking 20 minutes each session. Also look for those that are walker-friendly. Some races include walkers, but don’t always cater to them.

If you read my post about Caring About Your Very Last Participant you know that sometimes those that bring up the tail end can be forgotten. This wouldn’t be a very motivating experience for your very first event. You might consider choosing a charity event specifically for walkers on your first time out so you can get used to the way things work.

Also, if you are new to physical activity and want to focus on walking check out Marilyn’s How to Walk post from a few weeks ago. Combine this information with a realistic training schedule and you’ll be proudly crossing that finish line before you know it!

There are seven of us on the team, ranging in age from 25 to 54.  Most of us live in the Denver area, but two of our members live in Phoenix.  We enjoy different levels of fitness and fundraising expertise, so we decided to do some joint events to complement our individual efforts.

I registered our domain name with GoDaddy and set up our team blog on Typepad. (About the name — one of our members is a wine rep, and the rest of us appreciate a nice glass or two.  We thought “Sauntering Sommeliers” would be better for fundraising than “Walking Winos.”)  The blog will be one tool we’ll use for promoting our events, thanking our sponsors, and keeping our supporters updated on our progress.  The Avon walk also gives us individual pages and a team page, but we wanted to have a little more creative control and fun with it.  On the blog I included an About Us page; contact info; a tip jar in case anyone wants to make a small donation; links to our Avon fundraising pages; sponsor links; and a Tribute Wall, a place to list friends and family who have battled breast cancer.

Our Denver events will include two garage sales in early spring in two different neighborhoods so that we can take advantage of the pent-up garage sale mania that comes at the end of a long winter.  We’ll be collecting slightly-used treasures from our friends who want to do some spring cleaning and donate their cast-offs to a good cause.  Our Phoenix members will come to help us, and if they do one in Arizona, some of us will probably be there for them too.  We’ll also be selling some of the better stuff on Ebay to reach a larger audience.

With the wine and restaurant connection, we’ll be holding two or three wine tastings at local eateries.  We’re not sure yet what form those will take, but at least one of them will include a silent auction.  We’ll evite everyone we know and send out press releases to our local media.

One of our members has monthly staff meetings at his place of business.  The company buys lunch for everyone, and it usually consists of pizza or other boring food.  He’s going to see if we can provide lunch instead — they’ll make a donation to the team and we’ll get many, if not all, of the ingredients donated from local grocery stores.  Once a month we’ll use my kitchen to turn out 50 healthy, tasty, yet simple brown bag lunches.  It will be a great way to build awareness of the cause and our fundraising efforts.  It’s not as labor-intensive as a garage sale, and since a couple of us are cooks, we’ll have fun doing it too.

Our goal is to raise $15,000 while we build awareness and have a good time with it.  Breast cancer is a serious disease, but you can’t always beat people over the head with scary statistics and gloom and doom.  We plan to put the fun back in fundraising while we’re making a difference.  I’ll keep you posted on our progress, and if any of you would like to share your own successful fundraising strategies, I’d love to hear them.

Happy New Year!

ALS 5K Run/Walk & 1K Kids Race

• What: This is the first ALS athletic fundraising event to take place in Southern Utah. ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) is sometimes called “Lou Gehrig’s disease” after the famous baseball player who battled it with such courage.
• When: Saturday, March 28, 2009, 8 AM
• Where: Highland Park, 1250 N Highland Parkway, Washington City, Utah
• Cost: $15 until 3/8/09; $20 after 3/8/09 (t-shirt guaranteed only to those who register by 3/8/09). Only $2 for 1K Kids Race (untimed; every child receives a prize).
• Notes: Geared toward the whole family, the event will include a “cow train ride” for kids and live music. (If anyone has actually seen a cow train ride, please describe it to us!)

American Cancer Society Relay for Life

• What: The American Cancer Society’s signature fundraising event.
• When: Friday, April 17, 2009, 6 PM – Saturday, April 18, 2009, 10 AM
• Where: Southern Utah University Coliseum, 100 South 1150 West, Cedar City, Utah
• Cost: TBA
• Notes: I’ve participated in Relay for Life before, but with a much larger team. I have a lot of work to do to prepare for this event!

Walk MS 2009

• What: Approximately 3-mile walk to raise money to support programs and services for those with multiple sclerosis (MS) as well as research to find a cure.
• When: Saturday, April 25, 2009, time TBA
• Where: West Canyon Park, 400 East 200 South, Cedar City, Utah
• Cost: No entry fee.
• Notes: I’ve walked the Coal Creek Trail, which will serve as the walk route for this event. It’s a beautiful place for a spring charity walk!

Southern Utah Memory Walk

• What: Annual 1-mile walk to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and funds for the Southern Utah Alzheimer’s Association’s programs and services.
• When: Saturday, November 14, 2009; Registration 8 AM, Walk 9 AM
• Where: SunRiver Community Center, 1860 West Horizon View Drive, St. George, Utah
• Cost: $25 suggested donation
• Notes: This will be my ninth straight year participating in the Southern Utah Memory Walk. It holds a special place in my heart.

I’m still waiting for details on whether the American Diabetes Association will hold a walk in Southern Utah and for information about the local HIV/AIDS Task Force’s walk-a-thon. But I feel good about the schedule I’ve developed so far, and I look forward to bringing you firsthand reports on these events. I’d love to hear what others have planned for 2009, so post a comment to this blog and share your events with the community!

Happy New Year, everyone.

ITIM’s walks and rides are not for sissies; the events have covered over 3,500 miles around the country. In 1996, they walked from Washington, DC to New York City. In 1998, they walked from Portland, Oregon to Vancouver, British Columbia. The year 2000 found them walking from San Diego to Los Angeles, and last summer, they marched from Madison, Wisconsin all the way to Chicago.

Coordinating such large-scale charity events takes an inordinate amount of time and planning. It also requires cooperation and collaboration from multiple agencies and individuals who are willing to take an improbable idea and turn it into reality. ITIM has been able to do this because of its true passion for the cause and the dedication of its members.

I’ll be writing in future blogs about the details of their events, but here are three overarching lessons I’ve learned from them:

To be an effective social activist, you must cultivate tolerance. If you’re involved in athletic charity events, you get to meet all sorts of wonderful people, but you also undoubtedly encounter those who do not support or understand your cause. I once was quick to judge those who were intolerant of my beliefs or activities, but ITIM helped me realize that this way of thinking made me no better than those I was judging. It also prevented me from maximizing my effectiveness for the cause.

Athletic charity events are great ways to foster real change. ITIM has demonstrated this through walking and riding for the Tibetan people, often for several days at a time, which has garnered international attention and praise by people who can directly influence the cause.

Grassroots organizations really can make a difference on a global level. Like all grassroots groups, ITIM started out small and local. But in only thirteen years, it’s become internationally known and respected as an organization tirelessly committed to securing freedom and basic human rights for all Tibetans.

Watch for more news about ITIM in future blogs, including details about their next event – an ambitious march from Indiana all the way to New York during the chilly spring of 2009.