RACE CALENDAR
Finish 2022 Racing
South African athletes are blessed with an incredible number of running events , including not only road and trail running , but also many other running-related disciplines , so check out SA ’ s most complete running calendar , featuring two months of upcoming fixtures , and get your entries in , all right here !
– COMPILED BY NICOLE HAYES
From the Ed ’ s Desk … From the Ed ’ s Desk … by SEAN FALCONER
Time for a Centralised Trail Calendar ?
In road running , most races are organised by running clubs and race calendar are controlled by the various provincial athletic bodies . Clubs must submit their preferred race dates to the province , and these are then debated at a provincial fixtures meeting . There are only so many weekends in a year , so there are inevitably some clashes , compounded by the ever-growing number of clubs that all want a date on the calendar , but the clubs usually try to accommodate each other while working out a schedule that will benefit the running community .
Unfortunately , the same can ’ t always be said for trail running , where most event organisers are private event companies that are not affiliated to ASA or a running province , and there are no national or provincial calendars , nor fixtures meetings to hash out race dates . All too often this leads to trail organisers picking a date on the calendar and advertising their race , then finding out later that another organiser has also put an event on that same date , in the same area , and now they are competing for the same runners ’ entries . This is not necessarily a problem for some of the smaller events , which can only accommodate a few hundred runners anyway , but it still forces runners to choose between events that they may have wanted to run . Let me tell you a quick story to illustrate my point .
A Clash of Dates
A few years ago , I saw that three different trail organisers based in or near my home town of Stellenbosch were putting on an event on the same weekend . I was therefore forced to choose between the three , and I was a bit irritated when I looked at the race calendar and found that there were no races in the Stellenbosch area the weekend before the ‘ triple-header weekend ,’ and none the weekend after . In other words , the three events could have each had a weekend to themselves , which would have allowed me to run all three , while the events could each have attracted more entries .
I duly spoke to all three organisers , to try work out how this kind of thing could happen , and each one told me exactly the same thing : “ We did check the calendar when choosing our date , and there were no other races on that date .” The problem was that they had all checked different calendars … because there is no centralised calendar that contains all trail events . The result is that I was left frustrated , as I missed two races right on my proverbial doorstep , that I would really have liked to run .
A similar thing happened more recently , with two prominent Cape trail organisers finding themselves at loggerheads when Organiser A added a new event to the calendar on the same weekend as an event put on by Organiser B for much of the last 10 years . Again , when I made enquiries , I was told that Organiser A had checked the calendar for an open date and found nothing on that particular weekend . However , I could point them to the website of an informal trail association they were founding
Looking Ahead to 2023
At this time of year , many of us working in the running media are searching for fixtures for the new year , as running provinces are busy finalising and publishing their official calendars , and event companies are tying down their major dates as well . Therefore , the fixtures published here must be accompanied by a disclaimer that 2023 fixtures are still a ‘ work in progress ,’ and some provinces have not yet sent us their official calendars . We ’ ve included what we can , but must stress that there will be further changes . members of , where their new fixture was listed right next to Organiser B ’ s longstanding fixture .
I commented to Organiser A that a centralised calendar could eradicate this kind of clash , thus giving the running community more options when it comes to entering races , and growing the number of potential entries for all events , so it would be a win-win for everybody . His response was that he preferred not having anybody tell him what he can or can ’ t do with his events , so he definitely did not want to be part of an official trail calendar , nor work under the control of an official trail organisation .
Choice is Good , But …
I respect the fact that most trail organisers are commercial companies , and that competition is a good thing in order to raise standards and offer people choices . Just like we have multiple shops that we can go to for our groceries , having compared ranges , prices , service , parking , etc , so too we can have multiple races to choose between … but when you have two races you want to run taking place on the same weekend , and there is nothing on the weekend before or the weekend after in that area , you end up with a disappointed client . No business or industry wants that . I therefore think that even if trail organisers do not want a centralised calendar , better communication and a spirit of co-operation between them could be to the benefit of all involved , both runners and organisers . Just my opinion .
The Modern Athlete Race Calendar is compiled by sourcing info from various platforms , including provincial calendars , online entry portals and event companies ’ sites . Thank you to all the organisers , administrators and volunteers that make this sport tick .
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