Fun Run Planning (10.20.18)

I tend to run events for mom group and decided to expand and organize a fun run and festival for the preschool.  It was a lot of work but actually way less work than other things I do for mom group since Beth ordered the food and ordered the bounce house. She figured out the snacks based on what I had used at a previous tot trot and then she called around and found a big bounce house.

We had a designer design the race bibs and the race medal for us. We are disappointed in them though because they shrunk down the circle instead of adjusting the wording to account for the hole for the necklace string. I am not sure how disappointed the kids are but I am quite disappointed in them.  We also have enough left for next year so I'll get to be disappointed again next year when the time comes.

We had to find a date and get board and church approval. It was also nice to be able to do it on campus.  Then we chose a cost to have it be a fundraiser. 

Beth and I walked a few different loops early on to plan a course. Then we walked again closer to the event to finalize the course.

We had games and various booths for after the race.  The balloon arch was a nice touch too.

It was nice having a Halloween theme because we could use Halloween decorations to decorate and use cobwebs to create the photo booth.

We had a few volunteers help set up and do registration which was a huge help. Since it was a smaller event, we did not have official race packets so you just picked up your race bib the day of the event.

We had people register via paypal, check, or cash. It might be easier to have a more legit way to sign up next year instead of a google form and payment options. I was reminding people often not to forget to pay.

We had bagels with cream cheese, bananas, granola bars, and water as post race snacks. Beth also brought tomatoes from her garden that people said were delicious.

Since we were using the same race medals for 2 years in a row, we did not get the date put on them and we printed labels with the date and put them on the back of the medals.   We did a lot of printing for the signs, bibs, and medals the day before. It would be easier to do it more in advance but we were taking sign-ups up until a few days before the event.

Next year it will be even smoother to set up and do all the prep work when we do it.

I sent out an email the day before so people knew more of what to expect. 

Costumes are encouraged!

Agenda:9:30 - Registration (sign in and pick up your race bib)9:30 -10:30 Hair Braiding booth9:30 - Bounce House!9:55 - Start lining up!10:00 - Race for 4-7 year olds~10:05 - Race for 1-3 year olds. 10:15 - Games, Face Painting, Bounce House

The Registration table will be in the breezeway, where the race will start and end.  There will be some balloons so we will be hard to miss. Children participating in the Fun Run will need a race bib to participate so be sure to arrive early enough to get the bib.

The fun run is untimed and the prizes will be handed out at the finish.

Adult cooperation during race line-up ensures a fun race experience for all. Please line up your older racers who are running solo at the start line and younger racers accompanied by an adult at the back. This will allow all kids a chance to run!  Kids can run or walk to finish. You can even carry your child for part of the event. It’ll be fun. No matter how they get to the finish line, they’ll get a finisher medal. Parents, we love your enthusiasm and encourage you to cheer your kids to the finish line. We will be running 2 heats. Ages 4 through 7 will run first. They will run 0.3 mile through campus and the parking lot. The kids 3 and under will run the same course but in a second heat.

Post race snacks will be near the registration table. There will be water, granola bars, cuties, bananas, and bagels.