Updated for 2017:
One problem that bedevils Race Directors is managing the swag that gets ordered and distributed. Order too much? Big problem with money wasted and my basement full of shirts. Order too little? Also a big problem, with unhappy runners.
The problem exists because we have to order weeks in advance, but don’t know how many will try to sign up during the last week, or on race day, and don’t really know what the no-show rate will be since that is largely dependent on the weather.
Our solution: After taking stock of our registrations at the start of September, we order our shirts. We know there will be some no-shows based on injuries and competing plans (which we account for when we set the price of the race). For this year we believe that anyone who registered online will get a shirt.
After that, we hand them out at the finish line to those that didn’t get based on what we have left from the no-shows.
And if you know a better system for managing this kind of stuff, by all means let us know, and give us a hand with it next year. I will give you double my salary as Race Director.
Hmmm….there’s a medal, right?
Yes. There is a picture half way down this page of the one we had last year:
http://www.painetopain.com/2012/10/and-the-2012-reviews-come-rolling-in/