The Importance of Well-Planned Refreshment Tables

at your Events

 

Competing in endurance sporting events is tough for most competitors as they push themselves beyond their comfort zones to achieve their personal best. Refreshment tables are set up on the route, not only to keep athletes hydrated and energized but also to serve as comfort and recovery points for participants. Events with well-stocked refreshment tables keep competitors happy and add to their overall race experience.

So what should a good refreshment table provide? The answer to this question varies depending on the event length, type, accessibility and budget.

Providing the basics such as water and some sort of energy drinks like Coke, Energade or Powerade will be fine for a 5, 10 or 21 km event. But for longer events, competitors will require more fuel to keep going. Good options are:

• Fruit such as bananas, orange slices and apples for quick energy.

• Protein or energy bars - a popular choice for competitors if the budget allows.

• Pretzels, potatoes and biscuits for carbs and salt.

• Jelly sweets or glucose chews for fast energy in small doses.

For events that take place in remote areas with limited accessibility (like MTB or trail runs), you will need to be more selective in what you provide at your refreshment tables. Competitors are able to carry protein bars, energy bars and fast energy sweets with them, so it is probably better to provide other choices like fruit, pretzels and potatoes. Water is always essential so participants can re-fill their hydration packs.

If the budget is tight and it is a stretch to provide well-stocked refreshment tables, then there is also the option of finding businesses to sponsor a table. In return for sponsorship, the businesses get to brand the refreshment table which is a great way of advertising their products and establishing a strong presence in the community. If the businesses don’t want to man the refreshment tables themselves, they can ask charities to provide volunteers and in return make a donation to the charity. An added bonus for businesses is that both the sponsorship and the charitable donation (as long as the charity is a registered Section 18A Public Benefit Organisation) are tax deductible.

There is also the option of looking for food and beverage sponsors for your refreshment tables. Companies in general are more inclined to give away their products than hard cash. This is a way of still providing well-stocked refreshment tables without breaking the budget.

To make sure your refreshment tables are up to par, here are a few tips when setting them up:

• Clearly label all food and drink types so competitors don’t need to waste valuable time searching for what they want

• Tables need to be spaced out and well stocked. Nothing makes a participants more grumpy than when they have been looking forward to a promised energy bar and the table has run out of them.

• There needs to be volunteers (or paid workers) to organise the table, hand out items and pour drinks to save competitors time.

• Waste bins need to be placed nearby for cups, peels and wrappers. This will encourage participants to throw away their rubbish themselves which will not only keep the area tidy but will also reduce the cleaning up afterwards.

• Cold items need to be stored in coolers or ice buckets where possible especially in hot weather, as warm liquids don’t go down well with over-heated athletes.

• If possible, the refreshment table at the end of the race needs to provide recovery drinks and snacks like chocolate milk, yogurt, muffins and sandwiches.

Good, well-stocked refreshment tables add to the competitors’ enjoyment of the race and elevates their race experience. This will encourage them to do the race again and tell other athletes about it. Race organisers need to view their refreshment tables as not only providing hydration and fuel for their competitors but also as a benchmark by which competitors assess their race.

What do you need help with as an event organiser? If there is an area of organising you would like to know more about, send a mail to tim@finishtime.co.za and we will see if we can find some info for you.

Words To Live By ...

“Behind every unforgettable race is an organiser

who refused to settle for ordinary.”

–Anonymous

FinishTime:

Custom-Made Timing Systems

What makes FinishTime different from your standard timing company is our ability to custom-make our timing systems to suit every event’s needs to ensure that each entrant gets an accurate time.

Whether it is a swimming event like Midmar Mile that needs ankle bands with waterproof timing chips, a canoeing event like the Dusi that needs floating timing sensors or running events like Two Oceans or Comrades that need multiple timing mats on check points along the route, FinishTime will be able to supply the best timing solution possible. With live timing results, even the most complex and large races can have their competitors’ results available at any time.

But FinishTime is able to go even further. With an innovative in-house I.T. team that can incorporate qualifying time checks, historical data and a host of other admin functions, we are able to ensure a smooth process that culminates in the best possible race-day experience for all entrants. We also have a very effective ticketing system where particpants can log queries about their times if needed.

As our slogan says: It always ends with a FinishTime!

French runner awarded her body weight in wine

after winning vineyard marathon

Event organisers are always looking for innovative ways to attract competitors to their events. This marathon in France definitely wins hands down when it comes to offering something different.

According to Canadian Running, the Alsace Vineyard Marathon, or Marathon du Vignoble d’Alsace’s course winds its way through the vineyards of the Alsace region in north-eastern France. It features 12 food and wine tasting stops along the way. It’s a festive event, with many participants running in costumes.

But where it really differs from other marathons is when it comes to the grand prize. Emilie Tissot of Strasbourg, France won the 42.2K race in 2:50:37–and, for her grand prize, received her weight in bottles of wine. Probably one of the few times she wished she weighed more! She didn’t complain however, because she still took home 51 bottles of wine. Needless to say she won’t be needing to buy wine for parties or house-warming gifts for a while!

The rest of the field didn’t miss out entirely either as at the end of the race, all participants received not only a medal and a finisher T-shirt but also a bottle of wine. What could be a better way to kick back and relax after a hard marathon than with nice glass of wine!
 

Do you have an unusual, wild, whacky or funny story about event organising? If so, send it to tim@finishtime.co.za (max 300 words please).