This week I received two emails from a race director, letting me (and everyone else on the distribution list) know that his race was about to sell out. No, it was more like, “REGISTRATION IS STILL OPEN BUT IT IS FILLING FASTER THAN LAST YEAR’S SELL OUT.”
The use of all caps was part warning to “SIGN UP NOW!” and part personality.
I happen to know this race director. Not well, but well enough that I recognize him at races. I especially know the back of his head as that’s the view I normally see. The dude is fast! And of course … he’s in my age group. Last weekend, he burned me in two races back to back, winning our age group’s 10K in 37:34, then turning around less than 30 minutes later and scorching a 5K in 18:29. But this isn’t about his speed, this is about his style of directing a race.
That style can be summed in one word: hilarious. Check out this excerpt from that same email I mentioned above:
“I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS EMAILS AND CALLS FROM RUNNERS SAYING THAT THEY EITHER DON’T KNOW HOW TO REGISTER OR THAT THEY ARE GETTING A MESSAGE THAT REGISTRATION IS CLOSED. … PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS. FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT WERE ABLE TO SIGN UP WITHOUT PROBLEMS, I APPLAUD YOUR COMPUTER SKILLS AND I APOLOGIZE FOR WASTING YOUR PRECIOUS TIME WITH THIS VERBOSE EMAIL WHEN YOU SHOULD BE TRAINING!
He has as much enthusiasm for promoting his race as he has speed. For example, here are some questions from the race registration form (in all caps, of course):
DO YOU LOVE LACTIC ACID?
I EAT LACTIC ACID FOR BREAKFAST
I SHY AWAY FROM MINOR DISCOMFORT
CAN YOU TAKE THE HEAT?
HEAT GOOD
HEAT BAD
The last question on the form is my favorite:
IS JOHN THE BEST RACE DIRECTOR?
YES
YES
That cracks me up.
The Waterfall Glen Xtreme 10 is a great race, one of my favorites. I’m not alone there as it was named one of the “Best of Chicagoland Races” by CARA (Chicago Area Runners Association). The race benefits the Community Nurse Health Association, which provides healthcare services to low-income families in the Chicago suburbs. Watch the video on the Xtreme 10 website to learn more about this great organization and to get a feel for the race itself.
If you’re in the Chicago area on July 25, come out to Darien for the Xtreme 10, “10 MILES of CHALLENGING TRAILS, HEAT, PAIN AND GLORY.” Run it if you can or just enjoy the great race atmosphere if you can’t. But remember, if you do plan to run it, SIGN UP NOW! YOU WON’T BE DISAPPOINTED!
I leave you with a final note from John’s email: “ONE LAST THING…CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE, XTREME10RACE.COM AND DISREGARD THE STUPID PICTURE OF ME.”
Thank you, John, for allowing the American Cancer Society to hand out brochures about the Charity Runner program at the Xtreme 10. And … your picture isn’t that stupid.
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