20080701Inside_Track

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IIINNNSSSIIIDDDEEE TTTRRRAAACCCKKK Quarterly Newsletter for the Members of the

Road Runners Club of America

SUMMER 2008

IN THIS ISSUE: ! 50th Anniversary

Convention Recap

! Officers’ Reports

! Insurance Quiz

! Runners Etiquette Brochure

! And more!

RRCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Brent Ayer President

David Cotter Vice President

Dennis Novak Treasurer

Lisa Paige Secretary, At-Large

Director

Mark Grandonico Eastern Region Director

Mitchell Garner Central Region Director

Ken Bendy Southern Region Director

David Epstein Western Region Director

Bob Holmes At-Large Director

RRCA 50th Anniversary Convention Recap

The RRCA State Reps, Board of Directors, and National Office staff met on Thursday May 1st to discuss the RRCA’s 2008 goals & objectives. The State Reps met in regional break out sessions to discuss how they could work together within their region to help achieve the RRCA’s goals. In addition they brainstormed new ideas, which were shared and discussed with all in attendance. The new interactive format of the meeting was well received. To end the long day of brainstorming, the State Reps were treated to a cocktail reception host by SportsScience.

Friday, May 2nd, Ipico Sports greeted early risers for the morning group run and outfitted everyone with a timing tag for the demonstration of the Ipico timing system. At the “finish line” of the run participants received a complementary Chill Towel. Star Insurance and K&K Insurance sponsored breakfast, and Mr. Red Legs and Gapper from the Cincinnati Reds baseball team along with the Cincinnati Bengal’s mascot, Who Dey, kicked off the RRCA’s 50th Anniversary Convention.

Terry Diller with Star Insurance led the general session about the RRCA Insurance program where he sprung a pop quiz on attendees. Test your RRCA Insurance knowledge on page 3. Bart Yasso, Runner’s World’s Chief Running Officer, entertained guests at the luncheon honoring the RRCA State Reps including State Rep of the Year Lena Hollmann from North Carolina.

On Friday afternoon, President Bee McLeod called the 2008 RRCA Annual Meeting of the Membership to order after a lively debate on the proposed Bylaws changes during the scheduled Bylaws Forum. Discussion continued on the proposed Bylaws changes during the Annual Meeting. Southern Arizona Roadrunners President, Randy Accetta, commended the members for having such a productive dialog on the topic. During discussion a motion was presented to table the approval of the fourteen proposed Bylaw amendments. The motion to table failed. Discussion continued on the amendments, which were then voted on by written ballot. (All but one amendment passed as reported in the RRCA News, and the newly revised RRCA Bylaws are posted online at www.RRCA.org/rrca/business.)

Gar Williams, Nominating Committee Chair, presented the slate of recommended officers and directors, then additional nominations from the floor were accepted. Five individuals were nominated from the floor. Speeches followed from all candidates, and the election was conducted by written ballot. Following the annual meeting, attendees wandered to Fountain Square for the Friday night party hosted by the Flying Pig Marathon, RRCA and the Running Network.

Continued on page 6

Photo: North Texas State Rep, K2, with Mr. Red Legs & Gapper

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FFFrrrooommm ttthhheee RRRRRRCCCAAA

“The Hand-Off

Last month in Cincinnati at the RRCA Annual Meeting of the Membership, I was chosen by the membership to take the baton from

outgoing RRCA President, Bee McLeod, and begin my “leg” as the 18th president in the fifty-year history of the RRCA.

As Bee McLeod completed her last “lap” as RRCA president, here is where we stand. Over the last four years the organization has climbed out of debt and created a cash reserve. We had four straight balanced budgets produce an operating surplus and four “clean” audits. At the close of 2007, the organization boasted a record 863 club and event members. Consistent communication with our members has been re-established, as have our programs and services. Much of this progress has been made possible by the competent, stabile RRCA National Office staff. The RRCA Board of Directors put governing policies and procedures into place over the last four years.

June marks the start of my term as RRCA president. Like all good relay teams, I do not run alone. We have new talent on the Board in the persons of David Cotter (Vice President), Mitch Garner (Central Region Director) and Mark Grandonico (Eastern Region Director). We have returning board members as well who remained committed to the organization throughout the difficult work of getting us to this successful position. We have a dedicated team of senior and newer State Representatives as well as committee members. The National Office staff remains in place. This “team” represents both continuity and the opportunity to engage “new blood” to build the bridge to the future for long distance, grassroots, running in the US.

In 2008, the Board will move away from discussions about process and procedures now that a governing framework is in place. The team will look towards creating new, meaningful programs and services for our member clubs and events. We will continue to develop strategic partnership opportunities with sponsors and other organizations within the world of running.

It is my hope that we will use the organization’s position of strength to develop better consensus and involvement within our membership. We do not always have to agree, but in the end we will be judged by the programs we put in place to benefit our members and the running community at-large. If you have ideas, questions, comments or concerns, let us know; we are listening. Bring me your ideas for making the RRCA the best is can be!

Regards,

Brent Ayer

Photo: Brent Ayer with Bee McLeod by Sandy Walton

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Terry Diller’s Insurance Pop Quiz

1. My club is providing alcohol at our event and there’s no charge for the alcohol. The RRCA insurance policy will provide coverage for a claim involving the consumption of alcohol at this event. TRUE FALSE

2. A club member is serving as a race director for an

upcoming event. She must be added as an additional insured for the event in order for her to be provided coverage under the policy. TRUE FALSE

3. Our club is holding an event at a city park and the city requires a $2,000,000 General Aggregate to be in place. My RRCA policy has no General Aggregate. My insurance coverage is less than what the city is requesting and I must purchase additional coverage.

TRUE FALSE

4. Our local school district is donating 10 school buses to transport participants to and from our event site. The Hired and Non-Owned Auto coverage provided with the RRCA insurance policy provides liability coverage for these vehicles.

TRUE FALSE

5. If our club co-promotes an event with another RRCA club and both clubs have purchased the RRCA insurance coverage, neither club needs to be added to the other club’s insurance as an additional insured.

TRUE FALSE

6. Our club is holding an event on August 15, 2007. I must have the certificate requests to STAR Insurance for processing by at least July 31, 2007. TRUE FALSE CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

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TERRY DILLER’S INSURANCE POP QUIZ CONTINUED 7. Our club is hiring a timing company to perform timing functions at our Marathon. We should add

the timing company as an additional insured onto our policy. TRUE FALSE

8. Our club is hosting a 10K race next month and the club president was concerned that the participants weren’t covered under our policy. I advised him not to be concerned as our policy provides medical coverage for all participants.

TRUE FALSE 9. Our club is holding a marathon on the streets of our local city. The city’s police department will be

providing police officers for security, crowd control and traffic control. I am able to provide a certificate, which adds the police departments as an additional insured. TRUE FALSE

10. The city where we are hosting our annual Turkey Trot is now requiring a $2,000,000 occurrence limit. In order to purchase the additional $1,000,000 of coverage, we will have to pay double the price of our current coverage. TRUE FALSE

11. Our club has solicited a large number of sponsors for our charity run. We should ask for an additional insured certificate for every sponsor just in case they ask. TRUE FALSE

12. The local hospital has offered to provide 3 doctors to man our first-aid stations. They have asked us to name them as well as the hospital as additional insureds onto our policy. Our insurance carrier will not allow us to provide this for them. TRUE FALSE ! ! ! ! ! ANSWERS ON PAGE 8

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RRCA Treasurer’s Report

I was honored to be re-elected as the RRCA Treasurer at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Membership. Your confidence in my ability to oversee the financial well being of the RRCA is gratifying, and it is my goal as the RRCA Treasurer to ensure that we maintain a position of financial health while investing in programs and services. I work closely with the RRCA Executive Director, Jean Knaack to ensure financial controls are in place for the organization as prescribed by our auditing firm. I am pleased to report that our audit firm gave the RRCA internal controls for 2007 a clean bill of health. The following is the RRCA’s financial position as of December 31, 2007 along with the 2008 budget overview. An in depth financial report can be found in the 2007 RRCA Annual Report that is posted on our website at www.RRCA.org/rrca/business. To obtain copies of the RRCA Audited Statements and 990 tax return email your request to [email protected]. A small fee may apply for shipping printed copies.

As part of Jean Knaack’s presentation on Managing Club Finances at the RRCA Convention, she provided an overview of the RRCA’s investment policy. If you are interested in learning more about the RRCA’s board approved investment policy to adopt for your club, contact her at [email protected].

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Attendees were treated to live music, flying pigs (people in pig costumes that rappelled down a local office building), followed by fireworks and a screening of the Spirit of the Marathon movie.

Saturday morning marked the start of race weekend for the Flying Pig events. Rain and drizzle may have dampened the road for the Flying Pig 5K, the RRCA National 5k Championship, but 2007 RRCA Roads Scholar Nate Jenkins prevailed to win the event followed by 2007 RRCA Road Runner of the Year Matt Folk. Several RRCA Convention attendees took home RRCA National Championship Awards including the RRCA Female Master of the Year, Sabra Harvey.

Before the Saturday luncheon, RRCA President Bee McLeod called the RRCA Annual Meeting back to order to announce the results of the Officers and Directors election as well as the results of the Bylaw amendments. The quick session was closed, and the floor turned over to Jan Seeley and Rich Benyo of Marathon & Beyond, the hosts of the 50 Years of

Running the RRCA luncheon. A video tribute of legendary RRCA member, Ted Corbitt was shared. Corbitt’s son Gary and other family members from Cincinnati, along with former world-record holder Henry Rono, were in attendance as well.

Following the video, Seeley & Benyo quizzed RRCA founders Gar Williams, Hal Higdon & Tom Osler as well as outgoing President McLeod and incoming President Ayer. The consensus after the luncheon was that it was a convention highlight, and people would have listened to Williams, Higdon and Osler tell stories for the rest of the day if they had the chance.

Below: L to R: Hal Higdon and Tom Osler share stories of the early RRCA days

Above: Gar Williams shares a pair of his early running shoes

The RRCA 50th Anniversary cocktail reception hosted by Fleet Feet, Inc. kicked off after the close of the education sessions. Attendees bid like mad on silent and live auction items. The silent auction hosted by the State Reps to support the State Reps program exceeded last year’s proceeds by over $1000. The live auction host by Road Race Management also earned significant contributions for the Roads Scholar and Kids Run the Nation Fund.

The 2009 Convention Hosts, the consortium of San Francisco Running Clubs, kicked off the 50th Anniversary Birthday Bash dinner hosted by MarathonGuide with a promotional video for next year’s convention (which can be viewed at www.RRCAConvention.org). Over dessert, Fleet Feet, Inc hosted a 50th Anniversary Champaign toast and RRCA President, Bee McLeod and her husband Goody Tyler, presented a $50,000 personal contribution to the organization in celebration of 50 Years of Running the Nation!

Keynote speaker, Dick Beardsley, inspired the audience with his very moving story of personal adversity, perseverance, and success. (Photo by Steve Shepard)

Following Beardsley’s moving speech, the RRCA National Grassroots Running Awards Ceremony commenced. Nearly all awardees were in attendance and each shared words of thanks and all touched on the importance of volunteerism in running.

After the awards ceremony, most attendees called it a night, because they had to get up bright and early to either run the Flying Pig Marathon or the Flying Pig Half.

For a full race recap visit www.flyingpigmarathon.com.

RRCA 50th Anniversary Convention Recap

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BECAUSE MANNERS MATTER

The RRCA has re-designed the popular Runners Etiquette brochure and is offering it to running clubs, events, and running shoe stores in lots of 100 or more for a modest fee of $30 per 100 brochures. The brochure is great for beginning running programs, marathon training programs, race bag stuffers, and more. The RRCA will gladly co-brand the brochure if your club, event or store orders 1000 copies or more. Contact Jean Knaack at [email protected] about co-branded orders.

The brochure outlines general running etiquette for road and trail running, the race start and on-course etiquette, aid station etiquette, and awards ceremony etiquette.

To place an order visit our online shop at:

http://store02.prostores.com/rrca

SAVE THE DATE FOR THE 3RD ANNUAL RUN@WORK DAY

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1. TRUE Answer: The RRCA policy provides “host liquor liability” as long as you’re not in the business of

manufacturing, selling, or distributing alcohol.

2. FALSE Answer: As long as the race director is a club member and is not an independent contractor that is hired to perform the job function of race director, she is provided coverage under the RRCA policy. If an independent contractor is hired, the club should obtain a certificate of insurance from them which names the club as an additional insured.

3. FALSE Answer: It is much better to have no General Aggregate vs. having a limited aggregate such as

$2,000,000. If a city or municipality is questioning your aggregate limit, let us know and we can send a letter of explanation to them that usually straightens them out.

4. FALSE Answer: The Hired and Non-Owned Auto Liability coverage does not provide liability coverage

for donated vehicles, transportation of participants or 15-passenger vans. Nor does it provide any physical damage coverage. If the club is in need of coverage for donated vehicles or transportation of participants, we can obtain a quote from the insurance carrier. There is no coverage available for 15-passenger vans.

5. TRUE Answer: As long as both clubs are members of RRCA, have purchased the RRCA liability

coverage and have listed the event on their schedule of events calendar with RRCA National Office, both clubs are provided coverage for the event.

6. TRUE Answer: Please send your certificate requests to our office at least two weeks prior to the event if

not sooner. This helps us as well as you out. Many times we’ve seen an additional insured reject a certificate because it didn’t have the proper wording or it needed an endorsement to go along with it and we need to re-process them. It’s very difficult to get this done if we only have a few days before the event is to take place.

7. FALSE Answer: The only acceptable additional insureds to be added are sponsors,co-promoters and

lessors of premises (including municipalities). Timing companies should actually provide your club with a certificate of insurance that names your club as an additional insured.

8. TRUE Answer: The RRCA coverage includes a $10,000 limit of Excess Accident Medical coverage

(with a $250 per claim deductible) and a $2,500 limit of Accidental Death & Specific Loss coverage for all participants.

9. FALSE Answer: The insurance company will not allow any law enforcement agencies to be included as

additional insureds on the policy. They will allow the city’s additional insured language to include employees (i.e. The City of Ft. Wayne, its agents, employees, etc.), which may satisfy the police department’s request.

10. FALSE Answer: The premium charge for $1,000,000 in excess coverage is 20% of the premium paid for

the primary coverage. There is a minimum premium charge of $1,500 per million. 11. FALSE Answer: You should only request and distribute additional insured certificates to those entities

that specifically ask for them. When you name someone on your policy as an additional insured, you are sharing your limit of liability with each one of those entities.

12. TRUE Answer: The RRCA insurance policy only provides incidental medical malpractice coverage.

Since medical personnel and hospitals are professionals and their medical work is not incidental, the incidental medical malpractice coverage would not apply to them. They must carry their own medical malpractice insurance coverage. The club as well as a non-medical volunteer that performs CPR on a fallen runner, however, would be covered under the policy.

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TERRY DILLER’S INSURANCE POP QUIZ ANSWER KEY!

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1. Make the RRCA your club or event’s charity of choice. o Donations to the Grassroots Supporters’ Fund help the RRCA produce items like the new

Race Etiquette Brochure. o Donate to the Roads Scholar Fund. o Did you know that an individual contribution to the RRCA is tax deductable? o Don’t forget to select the RRCA to receive matching gift funds from your employer.

2. Develop a fundraising team for the Kids Run the Nation Fund, which provides small grants to youth running programs around the US.

o Better yet, donate a portion of your race’s proceeds to the Kids Run the Nation Fund. 3. Host an RRCA Expo Booth.

o Do you have an event that draws several hundred to thousands of runners? o Provide the RRCA with complementary expo space. Recruit local running club members to

volunteer to staff the booth. We will ship you an RRCA banner and brochures to hand out (please give us a couple of weeks notice so we can get items shipped).

o We can also invite other members to ship you race brochures to hand out at he booth as well. 4. Budget one or more attendees for the convention – the most affordable meeting for the

running industry (approx $1200 with registration, airfare & hotel). 5. Donate a race entry to:

o The silent or live auction held in conjunction with the RRCA Convention. o If you are an RRCA Regional Championship, donate an entry to the RRCA State Champions

in your region. If you are an RRCA National Championship, donate entries to the RRCA Regional Champions from a similar distance.

o Sponsor an RRCA Roads Scholar to your event. 6. Buy all of your Board Members a subscription to Inside Track.

o Order online today at http://store02.prostores.com/rrca. 7. Send us press releases about your club or event for inclusion in FOOTNOTES.

o Email [email protected]. o Post the link for FOOTNOTES on your club or event website. o This doesn’t cost you a thing!

8. Send your best practices ideas for inclusion in Inside Track. o This also doesn’t cost you anything!

9. Support our Sponsors by purchasing from them. o Most of our sponsors give the RRCA contributions based on your purchases. o Most of our sponsors also offer product discounts to your club members.

10. Actively Participate in RRCA Programs & Services o Post your event for FREE on the RRCA website o Advertise your event by purchasing a banner ad on the RRCA website. With over 1 million

hits a month, you will be seen. o Nominate someone for an RRCA National Volunteer Certificate or RRCA National Grassroots

Running Award. o Host an RRCA Championship event o Host a Run@Work Day event

THANK YOU TO OUR 50th ANNIVERSARY CONVENTION GOLD SPONSORS

TOP TEN WAYS (with a few extras) TO SUPPORT THE RRCA !

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For starters, I want to extend a big thank you to the Flying Pig Marathon, the Runners Club of Great Cincinnati, and everyone that attended, spoke at, and sponsored the 50th Anniversary RRCA Convention. It was a great event. It is always hard to pick my favorite moments from each convention – perhaps it was the “flying pigs” at the Friday night event, perhaps it was the moving speech by Dick Beardsley, or perhaps it was the healthy discussion shared by the members in attendance at the Annual Meeting. All of these are great memories. However, when I think back on the RRCA Convention this year, what sticks out in my mind was greeting Michelle Didion, RRCA Female Open Runner of the Year, accompanied by RRCA Indiana State Rep Sue Brown Nickerson, in the lobby of the hotel after Michelle had won the women’s open title for the 2008 Flying Pig Marathon. Michelle was beaming and her State Rep could not have been prouder! At that moment their enthusiasm seemed to embody the spirit of the RRCA. It was all there in one moment, an RRCA club runner and national award winner who had just won the marathon of an RRCA event member that was held in conjunction with the RRCA Convention. In 2006, we launched the new look of Inside Track, the print newsletter of the RRCA, that is mailed to the presidents of running clubs, race directors for events, running media, running industry leaders, and more. As we transition to a new president for the RRCA, I thought it would be fun to refresh the look of Inside Track. I hope you enjoy our new look and please feel free to email me your ideas or articles about best practices in club/event management to include in future issues of Inside Track. If you would like everyone on your board of directors to receive a copy of Inside Track, you can order subscriptions through our online store at http://store02.prostores.com/rrca, or you can include the link for Inside Track on your website: www.rrca.org/resources/publications Earlier this spring we had the pleasure to work with Kevin Lee, a graduate student at George Washington University. Kevin worked on a project to document the number of events RRCA members will host in 2008 along with how many people are participating in our members’ events. Our preliminary numbers are strong. RRCA members host nearly 5000 events around the country with over 2.5 million participants. In the next issue of Inside Track we will share more data from Kevin’s project along with results from some upcoming surveys we will conduct through our monthly email, Keeping Pace. Please take time to participate in these mini-surveys. In closing I look forward to working closely with Brent Ayer, RRCA President, and the Board of Directors as we work together to achieve the mission and vision for the RRCA.

Happy Running,

Jean Knaack [email protected]

THANK YOU TO OUR 50th ANNIVERSARY CONVENTION SPONSORS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S NOTE

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Dear RRCA Member, The 51st Annual RRCA National Convention is coming to San Francisco, CA, March 24 - 29, 2009. The Convention hosts are the Pamakid Runners, the Dolphin South End Runners, the San Francisco Road Runners, and the Lake Merritt Joggers & Striders.

We have Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist Frank Shorter lined-up to not only talk, but also run with us. San Francisco local, Dean Karnazes, will join us for the Saturday luncheon along with Runner’s World’s Chief Running Officer, Bart Yasso, for the Friday luncheon. The opening reception will be at the South End Rowing Club where the birth of San Francisco running will be retold.

We have partnered with the Presidio 10 who will host the RRCA Western Region 10 Mile Championship. This is a great opportunity to run 10 miles or 10 kilometers out and back on the Golden Gate Bridge.

I was born and raised in San Francisco. I have been running in SF since 1981, and I am still in awe of our great scenery. It is my pleasure as RRCA State Rep and convention director, to invite you to the 2009 RRCA Convention. I guarantee you that it will be the most informative and exciting running meeting that you will attend in 2009.

Come play by the Bay! George Rehmet

HYATT-FISHERMAN'S WHARF 555 North Point Street San Francisco, CA 94133 Book your room NOW for the 51st Annual RRCA Convention! Located in the heart of world-famous Fisherman's Wharf, this four star hotel has easy access to Pier 39, the Cannery, Harbor Cruises and Ghirardelli Square; across from the Powell and Mason Cable Car Line, about a mile from Union Square, the

Financial District and Nob Hill. The Convention room rate is only $172 per night for a room with either one or two beds. For more details about the hotel visit: www.RRCAConvention.org/hotelinformation.html. Want to share a room but don't have anyone to share it with? The convention organizers will match you up with someone of similar interests and gender. Visit the Convention website for more information.

RRCA 51st Annual RRCA National Convention Preview

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!!ROAD RUNNERS

CLUB OF AMERICA 1501 Lee Hwy, Ste 140 Arlington, VA 22209 703-525-3890 www.RRCA.org

Running the Nation for 50 Years!

In the Next Issue: 2008 Roads Scholars RRCA Membership Overview And more !

The "How to Brand Your RRCA Championship Event" flier is posted on the RRCA website at: www.RRCA.org/programs/championships/branding.pdf. The flier contains great tips for branding your event. Contact your State Rep about being selected to receive up to 2000 RRCA Championship fliers for your event to be stuffed in race bags. Great product discounts are offered on the flier. All Regional and National events will receive the fliers as well. Be sure to borrow the RRCA Championship banner from your State Rep or Regional Director. Work with your State Rep to log your RRCA Champions in the Championship Database at the bottom of the page at www.RRCA.org/programs/championships.

TOOLS TO HELP MARKET YOUR RRCA CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT