Subject: From the Owner of RAM Racing
From: "Hot Chocolate 15/5k" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 4 Dec 2011 16:47:36 -0500

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RAM Racing presents...
[1]Hot Chocolate 15/5k - DC

Dear Hunter,

In trying to formulate what to say in regards to yesterday's events, I realized
that what I said over and over to the folks I helped get on returning shuttle
buses was exactly what should be said to all. While it became repetitive, it
was no less from the heart in any one time from the other:

I am the owner of RAM Racing. Please allow me to tell you how deeply sorry I am
for the way yesterday's race went. I am terribly sorry that the race did not go
off anywhere close to as planned, and I feel terrible that your day and
experience was not a good one because of that.

We have been putting on races for 10 years now, producing over 100 races. In
fact just a month ago we put on the Hot Chocolate race for 40,000 people in
Chicago without a hitch.

With that being said, yesterday was a nightmare for us, to say the least.
Whether it was auto accidents on the highway causing insane traffic or a
terrible choice of venues that couldn't support this race, there are no
excuses, in the end, I am responsible. Again, I am terribly sorry.

I want to share just a portion of the manner and the extent to which we planned
for this event and the series of incidents that ensued, in an effort to be
transparent, not to offer excuses. Over the past year:

-We worked extensively with, and paid a great deal to, the county and state
police to handle traffic. While that is always the case when putting on races,
the efforts here, and the involvement and control required by the county and
state police was significant. There is an element of trust inherent in this
process.

- We were assured that the National Harbor could handle parking 5,000 cars in a
short period of time

- We devised a comprehensive parking plan, again at a great expense, including
additional parking lots and shuttle buses

- The course mandated by the municipality, in the end, while narrower than
desired was to be handled with an equally narrow starting line. Something we
have had to do many times before and that works well if executed properly,
something that we have had great success with.

What went wrong:

- Two pre-race reported traffic accidents stopped all traffic on the inbound
highways

- The parking company hired by the National Harbor to park cars in their lots
was not even close to sufficient to handle the job, adding to the traffic
issues as cars backed up on the highway waiting for access.

- This in turn left the 75 shuttle buses we hired, stranded in traffic as well,
delaying the delivery of waiting runners

- In an attempt to wait to allow the bulk of the runners to make the race
start, we delayed the start. We considered starting the race after only a brief
delay, but the continuous stream of late arriving runners would have crossed
the course and that was an unacceptable safety concern.

-Finally, we start the race! What happened next defies belief, absolutely
inconceivable!!! After planning with the police for months, the lead biker for
the 5K was misdirected by a police officer at the first turn of the 5K,
literally not allowing him to follow the course as planned and as approved by
the local authorities!

- This action directed the 5K in the opposite direction from the way it was
supposed to flow, insuring that the runners would run into themselves.
Horrifying!

- Our race director quickly came up with a contingency plan, real time, on the
spot, in the horror of what could have been a disaster.

-We had to open up the start line much faster than we would have liked, in
order to avoid returning runners from running into outbound runners, which
would not have been a problem if the lead runner was allowed to follow the
planned course.

-This worked and while the 5K course was too crowded, everyone was able to run
the entire course and no one was injured!

- From there it was a matter of putting out fires that all developed due to the
initial course reroute, as the 15K had to flow through the same area as the 5K
race near the end of the 15K course.

- To finish it all off, after the race, there was another traffic accident on
the beltway delaying returning buses, as well as we believe the buss company
appeared to significantly under-deliver the number of buses we contracted for.
We had to find buses immediately and get all the people returning to Crystal
City and Old Town on their way.

The above are not excuses, merely an explanation. We are experienced race
organizers. We didn't come close to showing you the terrific race event that
should result from the tremendous talent and work ethic of our staff. DC did
not get to experience the great race event RAM Racing is known for. I
understand, and again, I am deeply apologetic. I am sorry from the bottom of my
heart!

As for my staff, I have never been so proud of a group of people in my life. No
business, and no race organizer, should ever have to experience the unfolding
events of Saturday. Yet, these talented professionals adapted on the fly, kept
their cool, and never took their eye off of trying to give our racers the best
experience possible under the circumstances. I am deeply in debt to you all and
have the utmost respect for your efforts.

I would like to thank the vast majority of our racers who, while justifiably
upset with the way the race experience unfolded, took it in stride, completed
the race, enjoyed the post-race party, participated in the Expo, and persevered
to get the most out of the day as possible, your example is inspiring. For
those of you that have publicly or privately shared your frustration and anger,
we appreciate your honesty.

What doesn't kill us will make us stronger, and we intend to learn from this
experience and use it to make the next race better and hopefully more insulated
from these kinds of circumstances.

When we make it back to the east coast, I would pray that you give us a second
chance. We have an amazing team that puts their heart and soul into their work.
They are unquestionably among the best in the business. It is terribly
unfortunate that you couldn't see that yesterday, as they are amazing!

Again, I cannot apologize enough for the way yesterday's race went and I hope
the rest of your weekend is much more enjoyable.

Keep running and racing!

Thank you.

References

1. http://www.bucktown5k.com/

[USEMAP]
file://localhost/tmp/lynxXXXXwhUTX6/L18129-7779TMP.html#Map2
1. http://www.facebook.com/RamRacingOrg

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