After more than 32 years of racing all over the state, the Arkansas Grand Prix series hasn’t hit the wall.
With the 33rd season about to start - at Sunday’s One Hour Track Run in Danville - registrations in the 2014 series are pouring in via the website arkrrca.com.
A record number of runners - 506 - enrolled in 2013 in this year-long contest among the state’s 21 official running clubs - “official” meaning they are affiliates of the Road Runners Club of America. In 2012, 495 runners signed up.
2011 - 421
2010 - 414
2009 - 387
2008 - 226
Grand Prix is highly competitive. Why is its popularity growing?
“I believe it’s a representation of the organic growth in running,” says David Meroney, who as state representative to the national RRCA is spokesman for the Arkansas Grand Prix and also for the Long Distance Running Committee, which includes representatives of the state clubs that make the rules.
“I think new runners are often intimidated by the Grand Prix, for various reasons, but mostly that they feel it’s for only fast runners,” he says. “But if people keep running, sooner or later they’ll discover the Grand Prix is really just a year-long party of friends who share interests, mutual respect and competition.
“As soon as a new runner sees the Grand Prix for the fun that it is, they are hooked.”HOW IT WORKS
Grand Prix is a metacompetition - a contest based on results of other contests. The series includes 20 footraces with distances from 1 to 26.2 miles. Some have large fields with 500 or more racers; others are small (see the chart on Page 6E of the 2014 lineup, which includes the number of participants each event drew in 2013). Being part of the series typically ensures a good turnout, as many teams drive across the state for the chance to collect more points.
To play, a runner first joins a local running club, volunteers for its male or female Grand Prix team and then pays $15 to join Grand Prix (those 18 and younger pay $10). Racers also pay the regular entry fee for every race they do.
Teams and their members earn points at races based on their performances against other Grand Prix members. So throughout the year, clubs try to field a team in as many races as possible. But individuals need to complete only five of the 20 races to contend for Grand Prix honors.
Teams and individuals with the most points after the 20th event win plaques in these categories: men’s team, women’s team; overall individual, masters (ages 40 and over), grand masters (50 and over), seniors (ages 60 and over); and in five year age divisions from age 9 and younger to 80 and older.
Except for the team awards, those categories correspond to award divisions that each race in the series is required to offer its first-, second- and third-place winners (aka “three deep”), male and female. That means a Grand Prix event provides all its entrants, even people who aren’t doing the series, an abundance of trophies.
In addition, half of the 20 races are “championship” events, and they have to give awards five deep in the most competitive age divisions.
Even if a racer isn’t fast enough to win a plaque in any of those categories, anyone who finishes every race in the series earns the title “Iron Runner.”
For 2014, racers can join the series one day and begin earning points the next day. In the past they had to sign up a week before. Also, in races that use chip-timing, Grand Prix will base points on chip times rather than gun times.
2013 AWARDS
The 2013 Grand Prix awards ceremony will be noon Feb. 1, after the River Trail 15K in North Little Rock. But it won’t coincide with that race’s awards ceremony.
Instead, Grand Prix members will gather in the auditorium at St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center in Little Rock. Meroney plans to serve pizza and coffee, and all runners are welcome to attend to give honorees some applause along with their plaques.
The Little Rock Roadrunners men’s team and the Arkansas Ultra Running Association’s women’s team won the series in 2013.
Individual winners include:
Overall female: Jenny Wilkes, Jennifer Harpel, Leah Thorvilson
Overall male: Mark Ferguson, Imari Dellimore, Tim Richard
Masters women: Tammy Helmick, Tammy Walther, Cymber Gieringer
Masters men: Todd Hink, Don Edge, James Bressette
Grand masters women: Betsy Tucker, Kathleen Rea, Bernita Lovelace
Grand masters men: Ron Webb, David McCormick, Kim Howard
Senior women: Debbie Hill, Angie Orellano-Fisher, Carol Torrey
Senior men: Danny Williams, Joe Milligan, R.C. Fason
ActiveStyle, Pages 23 on 01/20/2014