Why pre-registering for a race usually has its advantages

With the spring weather in full swing, runners are starting to see more races available in the Central Texas area. There are several online race calendars for runners to check out when, where, and how much for different races. For most of the local races, organizers use the online company Athletes Guild. This company advertises the race on their calendar, does registration for the group, and then times the race and hands the race director the age category results to award trophies. There are several other companies in the area that cover most of the same services.

For a runner that is planning to enter a race, there are certain advantages to pre-register for the race. One is that for many races, an early entry pays a smaller fee rather than an increase in cost on the day of the race. Another important point is that a pre-registered runner can select the race shirt size and be guaranteed to get that size. Race organizers pretty much have to guess shirt sizes for runners and hope that their estimates come close to every runner’s size shirt. The old theory was that if you run out of small sizes, you can give them a medium size. If you run out of medium shirts, you will give them a large shirt. The problem comes when a small shirt size arrives late and only the large, or extra-large sizes are left. Or, on occasion, an extra-large-size runner with only small-size shirts left. A small point but if you have a phone number listed, the race organizers can contact you if there is a change for the starting time, or if the race is canceled.

If you are going to register on the day of the race, it is better to arrive very early before the race. There have been some popular races where the line to register on the day of the race is a 30-minute wait. Depending on the number of volunteers registering runners that day of the race, the registration line can be long. A problem occurs when the runner fills out the entry form. It takes time to fill in the name, address, hometown, shirt size, sex, age, and sign a waiver. It helps if you do not use initials, nicknames, abbreviations (such as town or state), and fancy twists to a letter that make it unreadable. And while most runners took a good handwriting class in school, there are some runners who practice a medical doctor’s signature and the person doing the registration has not taken a shorthand class to decipher the signature. This is often important for registering for the “kid’s run” and hopefully the parent will fill in the necessary information. Some kids’ signatures are tough to read. The same is true when a family lists several family members on the same form. It can really cause problems later. Have each family member fill in a form and the line continues to grow longer. Then there’s the process of paying the entry fee. Some races have arranged for the use of debit or credit cards but there are still a good number that only take cash or checks. Then each runner is assigned a bib number that is written down on the registration form. And after all the registration forms are filled in and signed, the runner is either handed a race tee shirt or given a ticket to take over to the table where day-of race T-shirts are being handed out. More time to get things organized before the start of the race.

And if the runner does not fill out their little box for their gender, things can be a problem. There are neutral names such as Lee, Jackie, Lynn, Gene (Jean), etc. that leave the registration person confused. Then there are a few problems at the award ceremony if the runner puts down the wrong age group. When a runner who is obviously well into the 40-year age group steps up to take an award for the under-20-years or over 65-year age award, there is a need to go back to the race results sheet and correct the mistake. 

At the very bottom of the entry fee, there is a waiver statement stating that you will not hold the race organizers responsible for any injuries that occur before, during or after the race. Whether this will hold up for all injuries, it still gives the race organizers a little safeguard against injuries. Race organizers are under no obligation to allow you to run if you do not sign the waiver release.

There are many reasons for a runner to wait until the day of the race to register but if you do register late, you have to understand that you may not get a correct T-shirt size and the time between registering and the start of the race may only be a few minutes with no time to warm up.