The Muddy Monk Schiller Chiller that I ran in yesterday had a lot of promise. As a trail runner that usually has to drive out to the southwest Chicago suburbs, Indiana or Wisconsin to participate in a race, I was really excited that this one was less than a 30 minute drive from my home. However, I knew this was not going to be like other races in the past when I arrived to the start of the race. As all races go, runners are hydrating prior to the start of the race, and need to use the porti-potties when we arrive. I couldn't believe that this 500-person sold out race had only two porti-potties. 2!!! And with a pretty barren wooded area (it is December after all), there was not any where hidden for a girl to pee in the woods (which I am not against). So, I (and my other friends, and about 100 people in line) had to run the race without doing their business or starting late so that they could use one of the two or run to the next closest porti-potty (which was a 5 minute run to). They did a nice job laying out the race with some footing challenges and hills, but that was all a wash when we found out that the 10K race, which is the equivalence of 6.2 miles was in reality about a 1/2 mile short! Now, I get it with trail races, it can be difficult to map out the terrain, but 1/2 mile! That is pretty huge! I should have known when I passed the finish line and was amazed that I ran a 10-min trail mile. Wow - I did really well! Then someone told me "if you think you did really well, you didn't because the race was a lot shorter than 10K". WHA???? Then 2 other people with GPS/running watches confirmed it with me. DAMN - that sucks!
The after race fun was not that fun. This is what the website said when you registered: "After the race you can fill your mug with hot chocolate, "adult" hot chocolate, Irish Coffee, Hot Toddy, or grab a locally crafted beer. Post-race snacks will be provided and there will also be food available for purchase." This is what that sounds like to me - all racers get one of these drinks after the race and can purchase chili or a pulled pork sandwich after the race, like MOST of the races I have ran in before. But I had to PAY for my mug-filled "adult" drink or beer. Stupid. I mean, it's not the biggest deal to not have booze after a race, but race organizers know that there are 100s of these each year to compete with and they tempt runners by displaying "perks". The Schiller Chiller advertised for early sign-ups a t-shirt (which is always a crapshoot - but this one had an UGLY logo that didn't even match the mug or shot glass. I mean, why didn't they just use the Muddy Monk logo and put a winter coat or fuzzy hat on him???), a shot glass (which only a few runner got because there were a bunch that were broken in transit, and a mug (that I couldn't even fill with my promised hot booze).
A lot of missed opportunities for this race. My score card:
Maps for race: A
Runner Perks (t-shirt, mug, shot): C
After-run party: L (for liars)
Site Prep: Fail (for the 2 porti-potties)
Race Layout/Measure, which is the MOST important part of a race: EPIC Fail
I really had high-hope to make Muddy Monk one of the local running series to attach to, but after this experience, I won't be wasting my money in the future unless some MAJOR change in organizers happen. And for goodness sakes - hire more staff next time! read more