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South Downs Marathon & 5K
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Thanks for the kind comments everyone - very, very lucky with the weather - had it been Sunday it would have been a different kind of day out.
I have been in touch with Salomon about the t-shirts - there's a new management team there now, the previous management team moving on at various times during the year - Salomon have said:
We will be reviewing the tees for next year following racer comments.
I'm chasing the results with race Timing Systems - not sure where they are with them as we had a provisional print out for prize giving on the day.
Mike
Mike, does that mean Salomon are not going to do anything for this year, let alone next year? Bit of a cryptic response from them - very non-committal at best.
Do you think, as runners, we should get technical t-shirts from Salomon given your website still says we should get them?
I imagine there'd be people happy to pay postage if that's an issue...
Hi Frobester,
It's a question I can't answer I'm afraid - I will be meeting up with Salomon in the next week or two but the t-shirt supplied and the design is not in my hands.
Have spoken to RTS about the results - they are about to put up the provisional results without the splits as they have to marry up all 5 timing boxes to get these and the splits will be added later.
Call me cynical, but I dont think there's any point in chasing Salomon for the T. They got their money (or paid their money) to get their name on the race. They can just say the site info was incorrect.
Shame on them - word of mouth is probably the best (certainly the cheapest) advertising available. I dont think anyone will be wearing this years shirt for anything more strenuous than gardening/diy, so they'll miss out.
Probably have more luck on facebook than here - though RW is big(ish) with runners, fb is far more public if you want to make a racket.
Oh and the results are now live! Hope everyone had a good day
Sorry to be thick, but how do you see splits in those results?
Mike, whose hands is it in then, and who can I take it up with? I started with you as Race Director, but if there's someone else with whom the buck stops could you let me know who it is?
Thanks.
Tmap
The splits are being added later as they are taking some time to configure so I got the basic results up for now.
Frobester,
Ultimately the buck stops with me as race director but I did not see the t-shirts before they were delivered on Friday as this is part of the Salomon sponsorship and they deal with the supply of them.
Mike, but you'd not have put "Salomon technical t-shirt to all marathon finishers" on your website unless you'd had some sort of commitment from Salomon, surely.
What's happened has happened now, but I wonder if you can see my frustration - from the responses you've given it doesn't sound like Salomon are that bothered about this year. Will you be getting Salomon to make good on their undertaking?
I guess if they're not going to put it right, I can imagine prospective race entrants in the future taking with a pinch of salt any proposed race mementos on your website for future races, which would be a shame.
I may be wrong, but it just sounds like you're saying "they made a mistake, deal with it", rather than getting them to put it right. Reputationally if it's all Salomon's fault I can't see it being good for them (or your events where you continue to have them as a major sponsor).
Hi Frobester,
It's something I need to discuss with Salomon and can't really comment on whether it has damaged anyones reputation in a forum. I have my own feelings about it but all I can do is make sure that a quality t-shirt is available in future.
I generally don't train in race shirts, and plastic (technical, whatever) tops are quite unpleasant to wear other than while running in heavy rain. I find my Barcelona and Nagano marathon shirts get sadly neglected in my kit drawer for those reasons.
Will look out for the splits - thanks.
I'm a bit disappointed with the shirt, as the one I got when I did this a couple of years ago was excellent and still going strong. That said, I'm currently in the 'life is too short' camp - all in all this was a fantastic event. Great atmosphere (echo comments re friendliness of trail runners pp road runners - even though most must be the same people !), fabulous scenery and otherwise brilliant organisation.
Think we need to let Mike deal with Salomon - sure if there is anything material to be said post-discussion we'll hear about it. For me it doesn't take anything much away from a top, top event. I'd be staggered if anything gets done at this late stage. Might need some sort of email explanation/apology perhaps......
Similarly, I don't really give a monkey's about split times, or even the official times. I started too quick, had a slow second half but had a lovely time all the way round. Job done, and thanks to all those that chatted before, en route and after.
All that said, if was f*&^%ing hard ! Will be back next year, hopefully in better shape and finishing a bit earlier !
I'm finding the results confusing, at lunchtime today I was 116th but now I'm 164th. It looks like the relay results are mixed in together.
Apart from that, great day, amazing how smallish hills after 20 miles seemed so big.
Very impressed with the cani-x guys, I've seen the future and it's dog shaped!
Good photos up!. . but 32.50?!?! just for downloading 15. I think I'll stick with my memory
Steven, did you actually take part in the event or have you just come on here to slate Mike? The reason i ask is because everyone else on this thread, whilst disappointed with the t-shirts, have actually commented on the event itself and how much they enjoyed it.
Interesting to see from another post of yours that you work for 2.09! Not exactly an independent voice on this issue then?!?
I can, however, understand the frustration that something was promised and not delivered..........
Seriously though, i saw the t-shirts for the first time today so i do understand the upset. Trust me, Mike isn't too happy about them either, but obviously can't say too much on a public forum.
Lady Wot Jogs, you are so busted! Funnily enough, the RW forum guidelines don't say that event organizers shouldn't publically attack customers for daring to criticize them. Perhaps they didn't think it needed saying...
The rest of us should be grateful to people like Steven and frobester for speaking up - we'd all be getting shafted left right and centre without consumer champions like them.
But, in the interest of balance, this is still a great event - the t-shirt wouldn't affect my choice to enter next year. Perhaps our expectations have been raised unduly by previous years - the 2008 black tee is my best quality event T-shirt by a country mile. And plenty of races have much more serious issues like running out of water at 20 miles!
i just think people like to moan ! some people are not happy unless they are moaning .....
Mike Gratton we all owe you a massive thanks for organising such great events and lady wot jogs fair play to you for being a voice against the ' i did'nt get the t shirt i was promised ' moaners !
What we must remember is over 500 people ran the event and i bet everyone of them loved it and there will be just as many coming back next year........ Forums i am afraid attract people that just want to talk about the down side of things ....
I'm a bit disappointed with the shirt, as the one I got when I did this a couple of years ago was excellent and still going strong. That said, I'm currently in the 'life is too short' camp - all in all this was a fantastic event. Great atmosphere (echo comments re friendliness of trail runners pp road runners - even though most must be the same people !), fabulous scenery and otherwise brilliant organisation.
Think we need to let Mike deal with Salomon - sure if there is anything material to be said post-discussion we'll hear about it. For me it doesn't take anything much away from a top, top event. I'd be staggered if anything gets done at this late stage. Might need some sort of email explanation/apology perhaps......
Similarly, I don't really give a monkey's about split times, or even the official times. I started too quick, had a slow second half but had a lovely time all the way round. Job done, and thanks to all those that chatted before, en route and after.
All that said, if was f*&^%ing hard ! Will be back next year, hopefully in better shape and finishing a bit earlier !
Brief point of order, Kevin Smith, before I'm lumped into a box called "moaners". I go to all the races I enter with a positive frame of mind. I pay a fee for each race, and there's an arrangement, contractual or otherwise, between me and the organisers, that I observe race etiquette and follow marshalls' instruction, and the organisers provide a safe, efficient race.
Occasionally something happens where the experience, for whatever reason, doesn't live up to my expectations, whether it be because other runners didn't observe etiquette, or the course isn't a regulation length, or race mementoes aren't as publicised.
I therefore feel the need to ask the organisers:
a) what happened and why
b) what they plan to do about it.
Possibly I should have carried it out privately between me and the race director, but I thought others might benefit from seeing the exchange. I believe I also ended the exchange with no hard feelings displayed, and will most likely enter the race again in the future.
Moaners, in my book, complain indiscriminately, and constantly harp on about the negative. As I've said earlier, and at length, there was a lot good about this race. The shirt issue just took some of the shine off it - and I believe (maybe arrogantly so, maybe not) that as a race entrant I have a responsibility to both let the organisers know about how I perceived the event, and ask them how they handled/are handling particular setbacks, however minor.