Hello there and welcome to the latest 2010 Credit Union QCM update!

Transcription

1 1 Credit Union QCM Blast July 6, 2010 Hello there and welcome to the latest 2010 Credit Union QCM update! From now up until the night before the race, we ll be sending you these updates from time to time, passing along information and reminders that we hope you will find helpful as you prepare for Sunday, September 12 th. And if you re now asking yourself What s so special about Sunday, September 12 th? then we both have our work cut out for us. By the way, this first update is rather a long one so if you re at work feel free to save it for later when you re on a coffee break or on lunch. We don t want the boss getting mad at you for lollygagging at work. Unless of course you ARE the boss, in which case lollygag away! First of all, on behalf of all the volunteer organizers of the 2010 Credit Union Queen City Marathon, thank you for helping to sell out our event in record time! We sold out last year and, while we crossed our fingers and hoped that lightning would strike again this year, we had no idea we would sell out all our events so quickly. Under the Recent Announcements part of our home page at we list all our events and when they sold out, but suffice to say that our 2010 race sold out almost two months earlier than in 2009, and we expect close to 3,900 total participants this year, coming from 9 provinces and territories and 8 states. Plus we currently have waiting lists ranging from several dozen to well over 200, depending on the event. So good on you for registering early. That s planning ahead, that is. Which brings me to the first of several update topics: Withdrawals Now, we know that you re all going to be fit as fiddles and raring to go come race day and that nobody is going to sprain an ankle while training or discover that they have to attend a surprise 95 th birthday party for Auntie Glenda on race day, BUT just in case If you do have to withdraw from the race for any reason, if you contact us via (runqcm@hotmail.com) by August 13 th to officially withdraw, you will be eligible for a 50% refund of the total paid for registration fees, pasta party tickets, T-shirt upgrades or retro hat purchases, less any credit card processing charges. After August 13 th, however, no fees or payments will be refunded for any reason. Registrations may not be transferred to another person or deferred to a future year.

2 2 Switching Events If you would like to switch events, please see the Event Switch information on our website. Go to the General menu, click on Frequently Asked Questions, then click on Event Switch. Please note that, because our events are currently all sold out, your request to switch events may be denied, as there would need to be space available in your target event in order for us to switch you into it. Free Subscription to irun Magazine When you were filling out your online registration form, you were asked if you wanted to receive a free subscription to irun Magazine. Many of you said yes and you should receive your first free edition in the mail sometime in late July or early August. And some of you said no thanks and that s cool, too. But, many of you gave no response at all, so if you still want to get in on the free-bee action, all you have to do is log in to and fill out the form. To complete the form you will need your race confirmation number, which is on the confirmation form we ed to you when you registered. Running Room Pace Rabbits The Regina Running Room store is organizing the pace rabbits for the Credit Union QCM and they still have a few spots available. For those who aren t familiar with the term, a pace rabbit is a runner or walker who is assigned a specific finishing time (for example, the 4:30 Full Marathon pace rabbit will complete the race in 4 hours and 30 minutes) so that other runners and walkers who are shooting for that target time can travel the course with the pace rabbit and everyone can cross the finish line at or very, very near the target time. It s a big responsibility being a pace rabbit, because lots of other people are counting on you to cross the finish line right at your assigned time. But it is also extremely rewarding to help so many of your fellow participants reach their finish time goal. The pace rabbit gets some cool pace rabbit gear from the Running Room, PLUS they get a free registration into the race! Of course, if they ve already registered, they get their entry fees refunded. The Regina Running Room store is currently looking for pace rabbits for the following events and times: Full Marathon 4:15 4:30

3 3 4:45 5:00 Finish (a.k.a 6 hours, which is the length the full marathon course is open) Half Marathon Walk 2:30 2:45 If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a Running Room pace rabbit, please contact the manager, Brock Friske, ASAP at the Regina Running Room store. You can Brock at regina@runningroom.com or phone him at Charity Fundraising When you cross the finish line on September 12 th, it s going to mean a great deal to you. Why not make that wonderful moment mean a great deal to someone else, too? The designated charity of the Credit Union QCM is the Leader-Post Raise-a-Reader Campaign, which supports child and family literacy programs in and around Regina. There are a couple of ways you can choose to raise funds for this worthy cause. You can ask your friends and family to log onto our website and click on the Pledge Now to an Athlete Participant button. Then they can just type in your name and make a pledge on your behalf to support family and children s literacy programs in our community. These donations are tax deductible and receipts from Raise-a-Reader will be issued in February of next year. The other way you can raise funds for Raise-a-Reader is to log onto our website and click on the Download a pledge form here link. You can download and print off a Raise-a-Reader pledge form and collect pledges and donations from your friends, family and co-workers (yes, it s possible that your coworkers may also be your friends, but we don t want to presume anything). Just follow the instructions on the pledge form for sending in your pledges. Donations or pledges of more than $10.00 will be issued a tax receipt in February of next year. Then, when you cross the finish line on Sunday, September 12 th and collect your finisher medal, you will have not only achieved your own personal moment of glory, you will have also helped someone to discover the power of reading. And that, my friend, will be a great day all round.

4 4 Pasta Party Tickets For those who did not already purchase their tickets to our Saturday evening pasta party hosted by the Conexus Arts Centre, you can still get your tickets now by contacting us at Tickets are $15 per person and you can mail your cheque or money order (no cash please) to us at: Credit Union Queen City Marathon Box Regina, SK S4S 7K3 Attention: Pasta Tickets Please make sure to include a note with your cheque or money order giving us your name, address and noting that you want to purchase pasta party tickets. There are only 600 tickets available in total for the Pasta Party, so we encourage you to purchase your tickets in advance. If there are any tickets still available by race weekend, we will be making them available for purchase at race package pickup. And, speaking of which Race Package Pickup For all the information you need about the where/when/why and what of race package pickup, please go to our website look under the General menu and click on Package Pickup. Credit Union QCM 10X Club Because we re celebrating our 10 th anniversary this year, we re planning a few little tokens of appreciation for the participants who have been with us every step of the way (pardon the pun). On our home page at under the General Menu is a section called 10X Participant Club. On that page we ve listed the names of everyone that we have records of participating with us from our first race in 2001, through 2009 and who also are registered to run or walk with us this year, for their 10 th time, in If you believe that you qualify this year to become one of the first members of the Credit Union QCM 10X Club, please check out that page. We re trying not to miss anyone but we need your assistance. If you think you should be on there but your name is not listed, don t panic. Just us at runqcm@hotmail.com with your name, gender, city, province, birthdate and the events in which you participated each year, including any race specifics you might have (bib number, finish time, etc.) That will help us track the necessary data to get you added to our! 10X Club.

5 5 By the way, this club will continue on in future years, with new 10-timers being admitted every year until some of you get bumped up to the 15X Club, then the 20X Club, and so on. Conclusion (and there was great rejoicing throughout the land ) Okay, we think we ve taken up enough of your time for this update. Thanks very much for taking the time to read it. We ll be sending another update in a week or two or whenever we have something new to tell you. In the meantime, if you have a question about the 2010 Credit Union Queen City Marathon, we strongly encourage you to read through the various information sections of our website Chances are, the answer to your question is in there. If you can t find an answer to your question on our website, please us at runqcm@hotmail.com and we ll do our best to assist you. Thanks again for your time and we wish you happy and safe training. We ll see you at the starting line on Sunday, September 12 th for the 10 th Annual Credit Union Queen City Marathon!