Many of our races take place on land controlled by the National Park Service (NPS). For example, the Mount Vernon Trail, Capital Crescent Trail, C&O Canal Towpath, Glen Echo, Fort Hunt Park, and Rock Creek Park are all in NPS’s jurisdiction. Beginning in spring 2009, NPS has imposed increasingly strict terms and conditions on permits it issues to conduct races and other “public gatherings.” These include limits on the number of runners in the field, the number who may start at a time, requirements to hire off-duty Park Police Service officers for the event, among others.
We need the cooperation of all race participants, members and non-members alike, to continue to make our low-key races successful and accessible. Here are ways you can help:
- Please pre-register on the web site for races you’re going to run. This facilitates pre-race check-in, and eliminates the need to exchange money on NPS lands (which has always been against their rules).
- If you’re a member (so low-key races are free), do not register unless you’re reasonably sure you are going to run. If you find you can’t run, e-mail the race director so your place can be released.
- Re-use your Chronotrack D-tag from race to race. With the tag number associated with you in our database, we don’t have to enter your data at each race, and can process the results faster.
- Even if you're pre-registered and re-using a Chronotrack tag, check in with volunteers at the registration desk to let them know you're present. This will help the Race Director keep track of how many runners he or she has.
- If we have to start a race in multiple “heats,” seed yourself according to your speed. Let the fastest runners start first … you will find yourself running with people of similar ability, and you all will “push” one another toward faster finish times.
- If we reach the reach the limit on the number of people permitted to race, we may have to turn away runners who have not pre-registered. We will try to minimize these occasions; the web site will not accept further registrations when a race fills, and we will try to accept runners on-site in lieu of no-shows (with which, as noted earlier, we ask your help in minimizing). If it happens, respect instructions from the Race Director not to run. At a minimum, you will be disqualified from the race.
