LRC Running Festival

This race is held by the Lakeland Runners Club, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to promote running and fitness for people of all ages and abilities in the community. 

  Celebrating 50 Years Join the LRC at our 2023 Running Festival

 

We're having a party!  2023 marks 50 years of the Lakeland Runners Club bringing the running community together, and we are kicking off a year of celebration with a running festival. There will be lots of running, music, food, and fun - whether you are a kid or a kid at heart!

One of the greatest things about the sport of running is that athletes of every ability can participate together in the same event, but it's rare to see everyone during the entire race, so we're shaking things up a bit and holding our running festival at the George Jenkins High School track. 

Friends and family are invited to attend - come learn more about the LRC, enjoy the camaraderie of the day, and cheer in the stands.

    ♦ Festival Store ♦

 

Celebrate the LRC's 50th year with custom gear from the store! Items can be previewed below and purchased separately or added on during registration.

    ♦ Festival Schedule ♦

 

  7:00 AM - Heat 1 50-Minute Run 
  8:00 AM - Heat 2 50-Minute Run 
  9:00 AM - Heat 3 50-Minute Run 
10:00 AM - Youth Races
11:00 AM - T-Rex Race
12:00 PM - 1-Mile Time Trials (multiple heats)

Hot breakfast will be served from 8:00 AM until 11:30 AM. Each participant will receive one breakfast ticket with their entry. Additional tickets are available for pre-purchase for spectators and guests. 

    ♦ 50-Minute Run ♦

 

The 50-minute run is a group run where your friends never get too far away!  You'll be able to encourage each other to complete as many full laps as possible of the 400-meter track in 50-minutes. It's a party - so there will be music to keep you pumped up, and a water station so you can refresh as often as you wish.

During registration, you will select the heat you want to run in - 7 AM, 8 AM, or 9 AM. Each heat will be capped at 100 runners, and runners of all paces are welcome in each heat. This is a celebration of our running community and an opportunity to cheer for runners of every ability and pace.

Runners, run/walkers, and walkers aged 10+ are welcome to join in the 50-minute run. 

After all festival events are completed, the results from the 50-Minute Run will be combined, and full results will be sent and posted to the LRC website. Certificates will be sent to recognize male and female 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places in these age categories: under 14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-84, 85+, as well as overall male and female, masters male and female (fastest runners over 40) and grandmasters male and female (fastest runners over 50).

The American record for 24-hour races held on a 400 m track are held by Rae Clark (male) who ran 664+ laps, and by Camille Herron (female) who ran 655+ laps. 

    ♦ Youth Races ♦

 

The LRC holds a free weekly running program for kids to introduce them to the sport of running, and these races will take that experience to a new level with a run on the track.

These events are open to runners ages 4 - 14, are for fun, and will not be timed. Runners will receive a commemorative item at the end of their race. Runners will be grouped into heats by age, with a maximum of 8 runners per heat. We will run as many heats as necessary so everyone has the opportunity to participate.

Runners will be instructed to stay in their assigned lanes. Parents must remain in the grandstand or along the fence after runners are checked in for their heat. Parents are welcome to volunteer with the youth races. 

Event distance by age:
4, 5, 6, 7  - 100 m
8, 9, 10 - 200 m
11, 12, 13, 14 - 400 m

    ♦ T-Rex Race ♦

 

100% fun - runners will run the length of the football field - 100 yards - for bragging rights about being the fastest dino in Lakeland!

Runners need to supply their own T-Rex costumes. (inflatable, fully enclosed, not the ride-on version)

This event is open to runners aged 10+ and is not timed.

    ♦ 1-Mile Time Trial ♦

 

This event is chip timed and will be four full laps of the 400m track plus 30.6 feet. 

Runners will be seeded into heats (groups) by similar pace, with a maximum of 20 runners per heat.  

The total number of participants will determine the number of heats, and the heats will run fastest to slowest. Heat assignments will be included in runner race instructions.

In addition to a heat assignment, runners will also receive a hip number. This number will help the race official place runners in the best lane assignment so the heat can be started efficiently with minimal interference between runners.

The 1-Mile time trial is open to runners aged 10+. Heats will start at 12 PM or the conclusion of the youth races whichever is later.

After all festival events are completed, the results from the 1-Mile Time Trial will be combined, and full results emailed and posted to the LRC website. 

Additionally, certificates will be emailed to recognize male and female 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places in these age categories: under 14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-84, 85+, as well as overall male and female, masters male and female (fastest runners over 40) and grandmasters male and female (fastest runners over 50).

    ♦ Track Etiquette ♦

 

The lanes of the track are somewhat like a highway. The inside lane is for the fastest runner, and each subsequent lane indicates a slower pace. For example, a five-minute miler would take the inside lane, a walker would take the outside lane, and the middle lanes are for everything in between.

This spacing is all relative to who is present on the track on any given day. Runners will be given lane assignments based on a recent 5k time, but can move between lanes after observing the pace of other runners during the first lap. If in doubt, err on the conservative side and stay in an outer lane until you have a good feel for your abilities and that of the other runners. 

Leave your headphones at home. There will have music over the loudspeakers, and will be making frequent announcements that we need everyone to hear. 

Never try to predict another runner coming from behind or make room for them on the inside because they are going faster than you. Leave room for other runners to pass on the outside half of the lane you are in. Runners passing from behind should always move to the outside to pass. This conserves energy for everyone and prevents collisions. 

If you are taking an extended walk break or have slowed enough to disrupt the flow of the rest of the race, please move to an outer lane. If you are getting aid or using the restroom and need to get to the outside lanes, always check that you will not cut off another runner by doing so. Runners who are using short walk breaks as a strategy for hitting their goals are permitted to do so without moving to the outside lanes.