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COVID-19 HEALTH UPDATE

As updated, if you have been fully vaccinated, you do not need to wear a mask if you prefer not to.

 

We ask that you do your best to continue to social distance at the start and post-race from those that are not in your party. Please be considerate and respectful of anyone who chooses to wear a mask.

 

Please complete the self-assessment health screening before you come to the race. If you feel sick, please stay home.

 

  • Do you have any of the following? Cough, Difficulty breathing, Shortness of breath, Chills, Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and sore throat.

  • Have you had any of the following? Muscle or body aches, Headache, Congestion, Runny nose, or Fatigue.

  • Have you had a temperature of 100*F or above in the last 72 hours?

  • Have you received a positive COVID-19 diagnosis in the last 14 days?

 

If you said yes to any of these, then please consider staying home to prevent the spread of germs to others!

11/5/20

B.  Check-In:

  1. Our Team will wear Gloves & have masks on …and not touch their face

  2. We will hand people everything needed…again, no touching

  3. We will drop safety pins in the participants' hands, so you don’t have to dig in & pick them up.

  4. Please make sure you’re wearing your bib on the front chest - very important.

  5. Please wear a mask.

C. Start Line:

  1. All races will be individually timed at the Start & Finish, so there’s no need to clump together. Please give each other room & spread out as much as possible.

  2. There will be small cones laid out in the start chute that are spaced, please use these cones as a reference as to where to stand.  Move forward one cone (when the cone is available) as participants start until you reach the start line and your bib is scanned.

  3. We will visually verify bib numbers and that they’re reading in the timing software

  4. We will continue to take a picture of starters for backup

D. Course:

  1. No water/aid stations along any courses to eliminate the need for contact. We ask that you please bring your own hydration for during the race if you are able. We will have water bottles available, but will need to limit 1 per person.

E. Finish Line:

  1. We’ll be verifying everyone's chip is read at the finish line as normal.

  2. We’ll by using hand scanners to capture backup reads. Please keep a safe distance as well & let us confirm you are scanned "good to go". These scanners are pretty fast.  

  3. NO BIB TAG COLLECTION! We will not come in contact with participants.  

  4. We’ll write down finishers in the order that they come across on a piece of paper as backup.

F.  Post Race:

  1. Our team will be gloved and hand out finish line refreshments.

  2. Please do not grab for items and give each other space.

  3. We won’t be getting to close.

G. Awards:

  1. Please give each other some space...remember - six feet.

  2. We’ll be handing medals to the athletes. Athletes may place it around their own neck, then turn and have their picture taken.  Unless the venue does not allow for maintaining social distancing.

H. Again...

  1. Try not to touch anything. 

  2. Everything will be wiped down before & after.

  3. We’ll be switching over to a 100% chip time for Awards

  4. We’ll be making sure participants have a little more room than they may normally have.

I. Bigger events

  1. For bigger events we’ll be making every effort to do different waves with about 30 minute gaps so we are able to follow the same start procedure above. This will extend the event out, but will reduce the number of people at any one time and moving along the course.

  2. If possible, we’ll separate the start/finish lines.

  3. For these events, there will be no official awards ceremony.  Awards will either be mailed or picked up at a later time.

6/8/20

I participated in Saturday’s Sour Patch 5K.  I was skeptical about the new format.  But I was wrong.  I think I actually like the new format better than the old one where everyone starts at the same time.  I’ve seen runners stumble at the start of a race.  I’ve seen runners fall.  The adrenaline gets a little too high (remember, we are not Olympic hopefuls).  On Saturday, I felt safe from unnecessary risk from the virus.  It felt great to be outside with other runners.  And there was less pressure at the start to “start fast.”  It felt competitive as my friend and I passed people who started ahead of us.  Who could ask for more?

 

I also thought your sponsor was great.  I’ll be visiting their facility regularly to show my support.

 

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for your creativity and your willingness to try new things.  You are a role model to the rest of us.

 

Thanks again.

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Robin P

4/23/20

It's been a long haul getting through these past few months, and what's to come may feel a little daunting as well.  But there's a few things we know...We want to get out and we don't want to put ourselves in harms way.  We can do both.  We've reworked and rethought out everything we do so that you feel and be safe.

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Before Georgia and the rest of the country shut down in self-isolation, we put measures in place to protect you and your family while out on the course. We are going to keep these measures in place as we re-launch our favorite events. Here is a quick run-down of some of what we are doing to keep our racers safe:

 

  • Small events like our racer-favorite Treasure Runs, where racers are spread out along the course, will restart but will remain “contactless” (no hand stamps)!

  • Larger races are under evaluation, but if they are held, we will continue to use the following practices that best comply with CDC guidelines:

    • Extended Racing Hours:  Instead of checking in from 7:00 - 8:00 am for an 8:00 am start, we'll be extending that out to encompass all of the wave starts.  We may be starting from 8:00 am to 10:00 am.

    • Marking the ground:  We'll be putting X's and arrows on the ground so you'll be able to keep your distance.

    • Net Chip Timing: Race times will be based on when you cross the start and finish line to avoid the need for bunching at either chute.

    • Wave Starting Lines: Racers will line up in groups of 10 or less so everyone can space out and follow CDC guidelines. Because of chip timing, your overall race time will not be affected!

    • Contactless Finish Line: Along with getting your chip time when you finish the race, we will also use our handheld tomcat scanners for a contactless time verification. We will not collect bib tags, and will instead get your name as you cross to verify finish order.

    • Awards: Medals will be passed hand to hand, and we will not put them over your neck.

    • Single Use Items: Bib pins will not be recycled, and be sure to bring your own hydration as we are not providing hydration along the course.

    • Masks:  We are asking that everyone bring & wear a mask for before and after the race (NO...you don't need to wear it while you run)

  • Every single event that we host in-person is under careful evaluation to make sure that we can provide the safest environment for the Five Star NTP racing family. As always, use your best judgement and do what you need to protect those you love. Please follow the latest CDC Guidelines.

  • For those who need to maintain social isolation: we will miss seeing you on the course, but there are still many virtual events going on! Join in on the corRUNa Challenge, or join the virtual division on upcoming races like the Super Mom 5K/10K.


We know that the past few months have fundamentally changed your life in small or big ways. However our foundation of family, fun, and fitness will never change. We may be wearing gloves or facemasks, and we may not be able to high five you after you cross that finish line but we will still be cheering you on!

 
So shake the dust off of your running shoes and feel the sun on your face. We can’t wait to see you again!

3/17/20

We wanted to reach out and give another update with regards to how we’re handling the COVID-19 outbreak here at Five Star NTP.

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As always, your safety is our first priority, we have cancelled events in the past due to weather, so cancelling something is not new.  Cancelling due to a pandemic however, is new.

 

Last Friday we said we would continue having events until the government said no.  This is because the bulk of our events are/were well under what the CDC was recommending avoiding (at the time it was) gatherings of 250 or more.  We held two events over the weekend and took a number of steps to allow people to keep social distancing as well as not touching things, washing hands, ets.  Attending the events were definitely less of a risk than going to a restaurant or the local Walmart.

 

New recommendations are now coming out from the CDC and the local municipalities, so we’re updating our processes as well.

  1. In addition to the items listed before (and below), any event scheduled for this weekend will be spread out and broken down into groupings of less than 10.  We’ll still be spreading people out at the start.

  2. There will be no awards given at the event.  Participants will pickup swag, run, and go.  Results will be posted online after the event has ended, and winners will be able to pickup awards at our offices or can opt to have them mailed.

 

There is a decent chance that this will be the last weekend we’ll be able to hold any events until May (or longer).

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We do have a number of virtual events that we’ll be hosting, so keep your eyes peeled for emails and posts about that.

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For events that are rescheduled: here’s what you need to know:

  1. Your registration is automatically moved to the new date…there’s nothing you need to do.

  2. If you can’t make the reschedule date, you’ll be able to participate in the virtual portion.  Same swag, same shot at awards, just run when & where you want.

  3. If you can’t make the reschedule date, and you don’t want to participate virtually, we’ll get you a coupon code for a future event.

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For events that are completely canceled: we’ll be issuing coupon codes to all participants who don’t want to let their registration fee become a donation to the organization hosting the 5K.

 

We’ll be emailing everyone that is currently registered for any event, so keep an eye out for that.

Thank you for understanding and working through this with us.

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*No COVID-19 Refunds will be Provided

3/13/20

We have a lot of great events planned and coming up, and we’re doing everything we can to try and keep everyone’s risk as low as possible.  With that said, we’re making a few modifications to the Start/Finish that everyone needs to be aware of.

 

 

  1. Awards

    • All awards (overalls included) will be given out based on NET CHIP TIME.  Meaning that your race time will start when you cross the start line and end when you cross the finish line.  This will help keep people from being compressed together in the Start chute at the beginning of the race.

  2. Start

    • There will be NO mass start.  We will be starting everyone in groups that are made up of a single line across the Start line.

    • Once participants are on the line, we will verify good reads on everyone, we get a start picture and then they’ll be sent off.

    • There will be NO gap-time or waiting, the next group will step up and the process will be repeated until everyone has started.  If done efficiently, it should only take a few minutes to get 100-150 started.

    • We encourage participants to NOT clump in together in the start chute, but rather give each other some extra space.

  3. Finish

    • NO funneling of the finish chute.

    • We will use our handheld Tomcats for backup, making sure everyone is scanned without any contact needed.

    • There will be NO bib tag collection

    • We will need to write down the bib numbers of the first 10+ finishers as a backup.

    • We will, as normal, get pictures of all finishers.

 

Other things that will be a little different

  • We will not be putting awards around peoples necks…we’ll hand them over and participants will put it on their own neck, and then (as usual) we’ll get your picture.

  • We will not be recycling pins.

  • Please be sure that all trash (even cups along the course) is put in trash cans.

  • Make your best effort to bring your own hydration to have along the course to minimize contact.

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