"Mandatory Info"

dewd2

I got my RnR San Diego Half Marathon Packet Pickup Confirmation Sheet today. On it I have to fill out the "mandatory info" including how I got to San Diego, how many are with me, what hotel I am staying at, and where I rented my car. I can understand them needing some information, but what the hell does my car rental have to do with my race???

Is this normal to ask these questions? Does anyone have a clue why?

kristinegift

Not typical, but maybe they want to figure out where people are staying/how they're getting around so they can make deals for runners for next year's race? They can have stats to bring to companies to make their case that sponsorship/deals will bring them more business? That's the only thing that makes sense to me, anyway.

litsy3

Well, that can't really be mandatory because you might not be staying at a hotel or have rented a car. It makes sense to know where you're staying and who you're with in case anything happens though.

MeanderingMammal

I'd veer towards it being driven by googly-eyed marketing filth as well.. That said, given how close SD is to the border it's not completely out of the question that it's DHS/ ICE driven.

CarsonRuns

Because it R and R. They are mining data to use for marketing or to sell to other parties. Yet another reason to avoid running that company's races.

SonicDeathMonkey80

Because CGI uses this information as an economic potential proposal to persuade more cities to pay for them to put on races in their locales. And the best part? A big chunk of their profit-making "work" with regard to the race is done by volunteers!

The_Enginerd

Make up some stuff. Be creative

briebee7

They are trying to do an economic impact report. Essentially they want to be able to quantify how much money their event "makes" for the city of San Diego. They then use this information to either help position themselves into a new city and/or help them stay in good graces with current cities. I.e R'n'R San Diego shuts down an entire freeway along with several main streets (aka traffic nightmare!). They then need to be able to show SD that it is monetarily worth it to do that.

With that said, I can't imagine that it could possibly be mandatory for you. They are probably trying to scare people into filling it out. I have had smaller races email them out after the race asking questions about how much time/money I spent in the area of the race. Always optional.

Stoshew71

I would think that if this information was really manditory, then they should have asked these questions during the registration process before you handed them your money, not afterwards.

It's really sleezy of them to ask you after the fact. You already paid your registration fee, you already booked your travel plans, your hotel, your car rental. So now they are holding your bib and packet hostage until you agree to give up some personal information that you are not comfortable with giving away.

Is it valuable information? It is to RnR. But they have to compete with all the other local running clubs that sponsor races. Most of these local running clubs already have established relationships with the city where they put the race on. Most of these running clubs do it by real volunteers who make no money or give whatever they make to a charity. RnR does it for profit. They are a company whose main goal is to make money any way they can. They are a big business outsider who are trying to make a case that it is in the best interest of the city to allow them to put on this race or to another city. Maybe it is profitable for a city to allow RnR to put on a race. But you shouldn't sleez ball your way to the participants of the race, and undermine the volunteers who actually work the race just to make a buck. There are so many more well organized races whose goal it is to simply put on a good race and maybe raise some money for a well meaning charity. I think RnR should go bankrupt for their company practices.

If you don't want to give the information out and RnR refuses to give you your bib or money back, then you may want to take it up with the City of San Diego and complain. I am sure San Diego would not have favorable opinions of RnR if they knew how they treated participants, participants that may not want to sign up for the RnR in San Diego next year. Then again, San Diego may not care if RnR can get more people the following year. But it's worth a shot and not much effort to make a phone call or write a letter to embarass this company.

dewd2

Thanks for the responses. It makes sense that it is for marketing purposes which is why it irritates me. I am spending a full week in the city and it is not the first time I've done so. It is the first time I have run a race there.

I am giving them very vague answers. I am there as part of Team in Training to raise money for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society (so I didn't technically sign up myself). I did sign up for the RnR Half in Virginia Beach. We'll see if the questions are similar later this year...

Roxiegirl2008

I have run 3 RnR events and they always ask the questions. I never fill it out. It is just for marketing and things like that. It's a fun race. Enjoy!