2012 Bunion Derby Rules

Series General Information

The Bunion Derby is a series of eight races, each of which counts toward series points. Points are awarded in 5-year age groups, beginning with 14 and under, and ending with 80 and over. The rules are as follows:
  1. Your age on the day of the first series race you run is your age for the entire series.
  2. Points are awarded to the top twenty places in each age group. The first place runner in an age group receives 20 points, second place earns 19 points, etc.
  3. You must be a DCRRC member on the day of the race to earn points for that race. In the event of a tie, the winner will be determined by the victories in head-to-head competition. If there is still a tie, the time difference in those same head-to-head races will determine the winner.
  4. One must run three races to qualify for an award. A runner's top five races will count in the total scoring for the series.
  5. You must volunteer at a qualifying event or activity ... see below for details.
An awards ceremony is held in the Fall and the top three finishers in each age group are presented an award. All Bunion Derby Races are free for DCRRC members.

Race Schedule

  1. Women's Distance Festival and Run After the Women 5Ks, June 13
  2. Hugh Jascourt Memorial 4-Miler, June 21  Attempting to re-scheduling for July 17
  3. Age-Handicapped 4-Miler, July 4
  4. Bastille Day 4-Miler, July 14
  5. Cross Country 3-Miler, August 4
  6. Bluemont 5K, August 7
  7. Steve Thompson 8K, August 14
  8. Paul Thurston Burke Lake 4.5-Miler, August 21
To encourage people to pre-register for low-key races, the DCRRC Board voted in March 2012 to adopt a two-tier price structure.  There remains NO entry fee for Club Members to these races, and the entry fee remains $5.00 for non-Club Members, provided you pre-register online by 6 p.m. the day before the race.  The fees for race day registrations are $5 for members and $10 for non-members, if we are able to accommodate race-day registrations ... and for races on National Park Service grounds, we cannot.  Please note, we want you to pre-register, not to pay more.

Bunion Derby Award Eligibility

In addition to the usual eligibility criteria for a Bunion Derby age-group award -- running a minimum of 3 races, and being a Club Member -- we have added a requirement that we hope will encourage more volunteer participation in support of our race program.
Specifically, in order to be eligible for an age-group BD award in 2012, a Club Member will have to volunteer in one of a specified list of roles between May 14 and September 2, 2012.
This requirement (like the other Bunion Derby eligibility criteria, such as being a Club Member), applies ONLY to the end-of-season Bunion Derby awards given out in Fall. All contestants in each race remain eligible for the individual age group awards in that race, regardless of whether they meet the criteria for "Derby" awards.
As you will see from the list below, the number and variety of opportunities is quite broad. Some involve work at a Bunion Derby race, which we encourage from ALL who participate in the Bunion Derby program. Some involve work in other key races or functions.

Eligible Volunteer Roles

No runner will be eligible for a Bunion Derby age-group award unless that runner volunteers in one or more of the following roles:
  1. Bunion Derby races: Water Stop; Finish Line (timing or scoring); Course Marshal; Race Director or Assistant Race Director. You cannot get volunteer credit for supporting a race that you also run (although you're welcome to both support and run in the same event).  The WDF & RATW races are the same "event" for purposes of this rule.  No exceptions. 
  2. Other Races between May 2011 and September 2011: One Mile Track Run, Track Championships, Larry Noel 15K & 3K, National Capital 20-Miler and 5-Miler. You must volunteer BEFORE the race by contacting the race director directly so that they may assign you a position and have an accurate volunteer count.
  3. Saturday Long Run/Marathon Training: Volunteering to provide beverages for the month.
  4. Marathon/Half-Marathon/Army Ten Miler Training Programs: Coach or small-group coach.
  5. Newsletter Editor; Website Manager; Team Coordinator, Permit Coordinators, Photographer, Weekly Workout Directors (SLR and Wednesday Night).
  6. Other volunteer roles, as suggested, at the discretion of the Club president and vice-presidents acting jointly.
By rough estimate, the functions in 1 through 5 involve at least 150 separate volunteer "positions." This should be ample for people to choose from without "bunching" too many volunteers for a single event. If that occurs, priority will be given to those who volunteered first for the event, and others will be suggested to volunteer at a different event.
Comments and questions are welcome at president@dcroadrunners.org or membership@dcroadrunners.org.
 
 DCRRlogotypeRRCA member

The DC Road Runners Club is a member of the Road Runners Club of America and is also affiliated with USA Track & Field. We provide a year-round schedule of running events that offer everyone a chance to participate regardless of age, gender, or athletic ability.