Dolphin Challenge 10K Ballincollig May 11th

polaris68

I'd like to do a 10K in mid-May in preparation for the Cork city half-marathon and have come across this race organised by Dolphin RFC:

http://dolphinchallenge.ie/

Seems a bit pricey at €30 - anyone familiar with this race or done it in the past?

slingerz

way too expensive for me especially when theres a cork bhaa 6 mile on the 14th

jebuz

wouldn't mind doing this also but 30 is fairly steep, is it chip timed does anyone know?

Condo131

As slingerz says...Pfizer 6 Miles, Wed 14th., €5 for registered, or €8 for unregistered. Accurate course. nice "Spread" afterwards. What more do you want. They say "Supporting Marymount Hospice"...but not in what way...or how much.

Another one worth doing is the Emer Casey 10k, in Youghal, Sunday 18th. €20 entry. Every year the Emer Casey Foundation raises approx. €50k for Cancer Research Scholarships.......and you get a talk from the Researchers before the Prize Presentations, while you're eating another good "Spread".

Rugby clubs charging €30 ......:rolleyes:

opus

I've already done my expensive 10k this year with the Samsung Night run last weekend so will pass on this one! Already signed up for the Emer Casey 10k as it's a nice event.

In addition to the above, don't forget the Cheetah Run on May 15th Entries open today at 10am.

viperlogic

I asked the organizers last night is their chip, medal, t-shirt etc included for the €30 and also how much of the €30 is going towards the charity.....their reply was please see the poster!

Poster states goody bag and prizes!

jebuz

viperlogic wrote: »

I asked the organizers last night is their chip, medal, t-shirt etc included for the €30 and also how much of the €30 is going towards the charity.....their reply was please see the poster!

Poster states goody bag and prizes!

bloody hell, well in that case, sign me up

dolphin challenge 2014

Hi, I am one of the organisers of the event and saw your threads up regarding the run .
I will try my best to answer your questions and give you a better idea of the event.
This is our second year running the event, we had about 100 participants last year between the 10k run, the 5k x 2 relay and the 5k walk.
It is a fundraiser for the Dolphin underage kids and Marymount Hospice.
Last year we raised €1,000 for Marymount and hope to increase that again this year.
The route is 2 laps of Ballincollig Regional park ( 10k ).
There is not chip timing but a race clock and all times will be posted up on the website after with photos. Prizes are sponsored by Keane's Jewellers & Lifestyle Sports.
Along with the races we have organised a fun day as well which will have inflatable obstacle courses ,tug of war, egg & spoon race, Fire Engine, Target practice for all boys and girls of all ages.
Goody bags will be given to all runners, walkers and kids on the day.
O Crualaoi Butcher will be doing the food.
We know the registration is higher than the average 10k run but we are trying to raise some money for good causes and have put a lot of effort in to making the whole event a good fun day for all. Registration is at dolphinchallenge.ie .
Would very much appreciate any support !

polaris68

It looks like a fundraising event for Dolphin RFC with a donation going to Marymount from the takings

The emphasis does appear to be on "fun" - so to be avoided unless you're involved with Dolphin RFC.

jebuz

Thanks for taking the time to post but I still won't be doing it, €30 for a non-chip timed race may be ok for family and friends of the club but you'll be doing well to get the average punters signed up. I just signed up for the Cheetah run in 2 weeks, 12 euro and chip timed, that's good value.

If roughly 100 did it last year at €30 euro a pop, that's roughly €3000 raised, where does the other 2k go after your charity donation? You don't seem to have many overheads, no chip timing, t-shirts or medals and all prizes are sponsored.

Condo131

I have to agree with jebuz. Cheetah Run costs just €12, and 50% of the proceeds go to a registered charity. The balance remains in the sport, going to Eagle AC. The event is licenced by Athletics Ireland and has been measured to Athletics Ireland and AIMS/IAAF standards.

It appears that your event has neither an Athletics Ireland permit, nor been measured and it appears, by deduction, that the main beneficiary will be underage Rugby.

As jebuz says, your overheads appear very low and you appear to have good sponsorship, so I'm guessing that your costs will be pretty much covered. 30% going to Marymount.....70% to your underage section? There is no mention on the webpage of anything going to the underage section, giving the impression that it's a Marymount fundraiser. Some transparency would be of benefit.

As I said in a previous post, the Emer Casey 10k costs €20, and 100% of the proceeds go to a registered charity. Equally the recent Great Island 10 Mile, cost €18.50, gave 100% to the Irish Cancer Society.

Personally, I take a dim view of events (of any sort) that are essentially fundraisers for themselves, but bolt on a charity, as a highlight, to generate goodwill.

Cona

Have to agree with all of the above. There are so many races on the calendar now that runners have a wide choice and most are starting to see these type of events for what they really are, a source of revenue for the organiser, but sure 'it's grand as long as you are donating a fraction to charity'

Dolphin RFC and a lot of other groups or individuals are piggy backing on the swelling numbers of people who are out running these days and think that they will just throw on a race in park to make some money. Why don't you guys organize a tag rugby event at the same cost? Surely, this would also help to attract people to your club and may even help promote rugby. You can even have you bouncy castles etc and a fun day for all the family...

roro2

Condo131 wrote: »

There is no mention on the webpage of anything going to the underage section, giving the impression that it's a Marymount fundraiser. Some transparency would be of benefit.

This is the key. You are free to charge €30 for a non-AAI and non-chip timed event with donated prizes. I'm sure there will be people associated with the club who will be happy to take part, but probably not many people outside of this.

The issue is that your advertisement simply states "supporting Marymount Hospice". This is misleading (at best) and is presumably designed to attract as many runners (and as much money) as possible that don't have a connection with the club and otherwise wouldn't take part. What you don't advertise is that the organisers will keep most of the funds, as your post confirms.

The hefty entry fee just makes things worse - many would assume that the full entry fee would go to the charity as with that sort of price tag and little overheads the event will obviously make a profit.

1978red

After having a very good experience last year I will be supporting the event again this year, from the advertising it looks like that a even bigger effort has gone into the event with a particular focus on young kids and families.....I feel that the event is supporting two very worthy causes, i.e. a rugby club which has an excellent youths and minis structure with teams from u'6s up to u18's and also a worthy charity.

rom

1978red wrote: »

After having a very good experience last year I will be supporting the event again this year, from the advertising it looks like that a even bigger effort has gone into the event with a particular focus on young kids and families.....I feel that the event is supporting two very worthy causes, i.e. a rugby club which has an excellent youths and minis structure with teams from u'6s up to u18's and also a worthy charity.

RULE 1: Only run races where an athletics club or professional race organizer with a track record is involved or else it will be a joke.

RULE 2: Don't run races that you have to give money to charity. You are not a bad person. The other 3 sports don't contribute to charity everytime they play a game. Why should we. If you want to raise money for charity then that is a personal choice and should not be imposed on you. You don't see a portion of the gate receipts in any of the top 3 sports going to charity then why should I have to pay.

RULE 3: Would you get dentist to do brain surgery on you? Then only do races that an athletics club or professional race organizer with a track record is involved in.

NOTE: The press release for this race has the head on finance of the club promoting it. http://www.corkindependent.com/20140508/news/dolphin-challenge-to-raise-funds-for-marymount-S83657.html
Thats what it is all about. Making money out of an event that they only care about the bottom line and not about going the extra mile.

slingerz

rom wrote: »

RULE 1: Only run races where an athletics club or professional race organizer with a track record is involved or else it will be a joke.

RULE 2: Don't run races that you have to give money to charity. You are not a bad person. The other 3 sports don't contribute to charity everytime they play a game. Why should we. If you want to raise money for charity then that is a personal choice and should not be imposed on you. You don't see a portion of the gate receipts in any of the top 3 sports going to charity then why should I have to pay.

RULE 3: Would you get dentist to do brain surgery on you? Then only do races that an athletics club or professional race organizer with a track record is involved in.

NOTE: The press release for this race has the head on finance of the club promoting it. http://www.corkindependent.com/20140508/news/dolphin-challenge-to-raise-funds-for-marymount-S83657.html
Thats what it is all about. Making money out of an event that they only care about the bottom line and not about going the extra mile.

Your very cynical there. I'd run fundraising races and found them to be well organised and marshalled as well as having a good post race reception too. so your rule 1 & 3 are a bit misleading.

I think you should use your common sense at the end of the day. I generally do local races, BHAA events and parkruns/races organised by those involved in athletics.

The local races which are often fundraisers have a good buzz with them and are very enjoyable as well

rom

slingerz wrote: »

Your very cynical there. I'd run fundraising races and found them to be well organised and marshalled as well as having a good post race reception too. so your rule 1 & 3 are a bit misleading.

I think you should use your common sense at the end of the day. I generally do local races, BHAA events and parkruns/races organised by those involved in athletics.

The local races which are often fundraisers have a good buzz with them and are very enjoyable as well

Why should I have to contribute to cause X. Do GAA players pay 5 euro to the local meals and wheels for every game they play?

slingerz

rom wrote: »

Why should I have to contribute to cause X. Do GAA players pay 5 euro to the local meals and wheels for every game they play?

You dont have to and neither do they. Your attitude is very cynical though is it just GAA organised fun runs that you have an issue with or does the local boy scouts 5K give you the same heartburn?

If you dont want to do them, then dont do them! Its that simple really. There are plenty of people in a locality that will do these events to support the cause, because they enjoy running races and the social aspect of doing a race with your neighbours and friends.