You all probably think we have been sleeping on the job since we have not posted any updates for a while, but far from it! We have been hard at work getting all the perks out to the Indiegogo supporters and planning your race.
All the Indiegogo perks have been sent out and lots of people have been using their registration codes to finish up the registration process. Getting all those perks out has been almost as hard as the Indiegogo campaign itself. But we are very glad to see people out wearing their new shirts and I have seen a few stickers around.
All the Indiegogo perks have been sent out and lots of people have been using their registration codes to finish up the registration process. Getting all those perks out has been almost as hard as the Indiegogo campaign itself. But we are very glad to see people out wearing their new shirts and I have seen a few stickers around.
 | Speaking of shirts, I am so happy to announce that our race will be giving every runner an Under Armour tech t-shirt! As runners, you all understand what it is like to go to a race and get a race shirt that is....less than amazing. Under Armour shirts are some of the highest quality athletic shirts on the market today and it is very important to us that you have a race shirt that is comfortable and you are proud to wear. If you were to buy these shirts from Under Armour, they would be around $23 each. With entry fees already well below the national average, we are giving you even more value for your money |
We understand that you need more information about the race, but we don't want to put out too many details until we have our permits in hand. This saves us from giving you misleading information just to talk you into signing up for the race.
The major part of our effort has been in getting the course finalized and more planning info out on the website. We have hired Gulf Civil Engineering to complete our Florida Dept of Transportation (FDOT) required traffic management plan. Creating this plan is a very expensive and time consuming process, but we expect them to complete the first draft by the end of Aug. This will then be sent to FDOT for their review and to the Ft. Walton Beach, Destin, and Okaloosa County authorities for their approval. Even though this is an extremely expensive and cumbersome process, we simply will not put on a race that is not on a course closed to traffic. Allowing runners and traffic on the same roads is unsafe for runners, does not allow runners the chance to enjoy the course, puts a burden on drivers to watch out for runners, and would be a huge liability for us.
We have also submitted a request to the Okaloosa County School Board to allow us to pay the county to use the yellow school buses to transport our runners to and from the race start/finish areas as many other races do. This activity would be outside the normal bus use policy, therefore it will require an exception to the policy or a change. We are hopeful that we can pay the county for this as it would keep our money local, provide extra income for our bus drivers, and support our local public schools.
The major part of our effort has been in getting the course finalized and more planning info out on the website. We have hired Gulf Civil Engineering to complete our Florida Dept of Transportation (FDOT) required traffic management plan. Creating this plan is a very expensive and time consuming process, but we expect them to complete the first draft by the end of Aug. This will then be sent to FDOT for their review and to the Ft. Walton Beach, Destin, and Okaloosa County authorities for their approval. Even though this is an extremely expensive and cumbersome process, we simply will not put on a race that is not on a course closed to traffic. Allowing runners and traffic on the same roads is unsafe for runners, does not allow runners the chance to enjoy the course, puts a burden on drivers to watch out for runners, and would be a huge liability for us.
We have also submitted a request to the Okaloosa County School Board to allow us to pay the county to use the yellow school buses to transport our runners to and from the race start/finish areas as many other races do. This activity would be outside the normal bus use policy, therefore it will require an exception to the policy or a change. We are hopeful that we can pay the county for this as it would keep our money local, provide extra income for our bus drivers, and support our local public schools.
| A lot of time has been spent getting sponsor packages out to our local businesses. In order to make a race successful, you need runners, volunteers/workers, and great sponsors. We have signed Destin Commons as the Official Finish Area Sponsor and look forward to working with them on putting together an amazing finishing environment for you! If you or someone you know might be interested in being a race sponsor and getting their brand in front of thousands of runners. Please email us at rd@destinmarathon.com. |  |
This week marks the start of the voting by our runners to shape the look of your race. The first vote is for the color of the race t-shirts. We have given the runners 7 color choices to choose from. They will be narrowed down to 3 colors this weekend and those final 3 colors will go up for vote next week. The winner will be announced on Aug 31st. Once the winning color is picked, we are going to put our design team to work creating several t-shirt designs that will then be voted on by our runners. When was the last time a race let you pick your shirt color and shirt design?!?!
That is a little taste of what we have been up to. Thank you for reading and taking the time to see what goes into putting on a world class marathon.
That is a little taste of what we have been up to. Thank you for reading and taking the time to see what goes into putting on a world class marathon.
