Striders,
I am sure you are all frustrated with the lack of races and fun runs to date this year. Me Too!
I just want to give you a point of contact on which to focus your irritation or support, whichever way you lean on this divisive topic.
As of this date we have decided to cancel all events through the end of June.
Please realize that the State of Wisconsin has left us in a quandary. While the Governor has taken the conservative approach to protect State Residents from more exposure to COVID 19, the State Legislature in deference to the economy and business has fought the Governor’s order and called for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to overturn that closure order and they have. So, businesses are re-opening in a limited way. Our decision needs to be just as measured (if not more so).
We are required to obtain permits from the parks and communities that we run our races and fun runs through, at this point, we have not received any of the permits necessary for our events this year. Future races will be reviewed individually along with community officials and you will be notified at least 30 days prior to the event.
We still cannot and should not be gathering in groups for runs, or simply to get together. Believe me, I understand the desire to gather with friends and socialize before or after a group run. This is not a civil rights issue; this is a common-sense preventative measure against disease spread.
We (BLS) are trying to figure out how we are going to run events in the coming days and indeed from this day forward. You can expect to see changes for runners and volunteers as accommodate the new rules. The Road Runners Club of America (our national organization) has come up with some recommendations for running group runs and events. We are still in the process of reviewing those recommendations and will update this post as more decisions are made.
If you are interested please read this RRCA Article https://tinyurl.com/y9onz7a5 and give me your input (email address below).
We anticipate giving full refunds for any cancelled BLS races that you have already registered for minus any fees or expenses we have already incurred.
We are weighing whether to run some of the June races as “Virtual Events”. Many of you have seen Barb’s survey on Facebook about whether we should have “Virtual Events”.
In my world, the idea of a “Virtual Race” seems ridiculous. I understand your need for a venue in which to exercise your competitive demon(s) but do I trust those other cheaters in the 60 to 65 year age group not to pad their times? Not Likely! 😉
In any case I cannot see us charging more than an administrative fee to cover our expenses for such a race.
For example, if we decide to have the Superun as a Virtual Race, we would have at a minimum the costs of marketing and the perks which we could offer for such a race (this is a hypothetical case).
So, here is the status of our upcoming races (or not);
RACES
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Superun – Run for Fallen Heroes 5K
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6/17/2020
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Cancelled
|
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Hartfest Half Marathon
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6/20/2020
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Cancelled
|
|
Firecracker Four
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7/4/2020
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Cancelled
|
|
Cudahy Classic Races 5Mi/10Mi
|
7/25/2020
|
Cancelled
|
PROGRAMS
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Fun Run – Burger Builder - Estabrook Park #5
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6/3/2020
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Cancelled
|
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Fun Run – Italian Food - Whitanll Park #3
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6/10/2020
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Cancelled
|
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Fun Run – Surprise FR - Hart Park
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6/24/2020
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Cancelled
|
|
Marathon Build Up – Lake Park #1
|
6/27/2020
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Cancelled, Virtual.
|
|
BLS Track Meets
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6/30/2020
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Cancelled (July also)
|
|
Fun Run – Hot Potato FR - Jacobus Park #2
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7/1/2020
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Cancelled
|
|
Marathon Build Up – Lake Park #2
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7/11/2020
|
Still On.
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LONG TERM PLANS
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Strider Half – Estabrook Park Beer Garden
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8/29/2020
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Still On.
|
|
BLS 24/12/6 Hour Runs – Lapham Peak
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9/5/2020
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Still On.
|
|
Briggs & Al’s Run for Children’s
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9/12/2020
|
Virtual Race only.
|
|
Ice Age Trail Races – Kettle Moraine South
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9/26/2020
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Still On.
|
|
Lakefront Marathon & 5K
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10/4/2020
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Still On.
|
|
Glacial Trail Races 50K / 50Mi
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10/11/2020
|
Still On.
|
| Lakefront Discovery Run |
10/31/2020
|
Still On.
|
| Turkey Trot – Whitnall Park |
11/8/2020
|
Still On.
|
| Strider PR Races – Pettit Center |
12/6/2020
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Still On.
|
