How to pull off (organize) a 10K and/or age prematurely.

With the second annual Run, Run, Ye Saints successfully completed, I am prepared to share my expertise:

1.  Ask for NO help.  Intend to do everything yourself.  In case there may be some things that you absolutely CANNOT do, plan to have married a wonderful, supportive spouse.  (This will take substantial forethought.)  Inform him/her that he/she has an assignment.  Follow up with much love and appreciation.
2.  Keep the route simple.  The fewer the turns, the better.  Runners run.  They don't necessarily think.  I can say this because I am one of them.
3.  Make your chalked arrows BIG and have one at every intersection.  Even if there is no turn intended, mark it anyway.  If you make maps, highlight the route by hand on each copy, and do it VERY late the night before.
4.  Advertise.  Make posters.  Turn into a nag on facebook.  Pester the people who print up the weekly announcements at church.  Again remember - Do this all yourself!  No delegating if you can help it.  That way the stress level can really build.
5.  Hope for good weather.  Prepare for a serious guilt trip if it's too hot.
6.  Buy food.  You CAN TRY to guess how many you will be feeding and if so, good luck with that.  Spend $5 in gas driving all the way to the next town to the store where it SHOULD have been cheaper, to save a whopping 8 cents on four gallons of chocolate milk.  Thank your lucky stars for the nearby dollar store because they sell the cups, cookies and helium balloons.
7.  Also thank those same lucky stars for RoadID and their free bib numbers.
8.  Give birth many years prior, to a talented son who can write a computer program with which to time all the participants.   Then step back and let him and Husband do it.  Don't try to simplify their plan.  Don't suggest that their plan is a bit over-kill.  Just worry about the weather and the price of chocolate milk.
9.  Give birth even more years prior, to a cheerful daughter who has a key for the church building where we were based.  Ask her to arrive early and be grateful when she does, and also when she stays after to help clean up.
10.  Give birth, also many years prior, to another helpful son who willingly drove all the way to Portland to pick up stuff for the Hood to Coast that is happening in three weeks.  Make a mental note to NOT ALWAYS schedule your 10K on the same morning as the annual HTC team-captain-meeting-and-stuff-pickup.
11.  Most of all, LOVE all the people who actually showed up (84 total!) and obediently ran/walked your route through the flat little town of Dayton without getting lost!  Then challenge them ALL to do a little more next year!
12.  Resolve to NOT volunteer again next year, knowing full well that you will.

Eager runners and walkers gather to sign up.   Husband Dear is at the keyboard.

Waiting for the signal to go.

They're all heading in the right direction!

Helpful spotters Jo and Dorothy keep them on course.

1st one in. 

FRP and ..... friend?

Talented Son finishes his 1st official 5K.   Can you say Future Marathoner? 

10K runners.  "Sue made me run the whole *#%^* thing!"

Note about my previous post: If I'd really been on the ball, I would have taken a photo of the little garage sale sign sitting quietly nearby.  But I didn't.  It even had balloons.  Don't be alarmed though, because this year ... no garage sale monster in sight!  I heard from alert witnesses that the monster was busy ravaging the same neighborhood of last year's run.  (hehehehehe)