Did any BA's do the Yuengling 5K in Bethlehem on Sunday? The running course was really nice and felt fast, but I thought the event was horribly organized. ~5,000 runners plus spectators jammed into a small area, not enough bathrooms, parking and shuttle services were terrible, the PA system sounded like crap, and little to no directions or signage for people. But the worst part was that the 5K race registration included admission to the Yuengling Oktoberfest and 2 beers, which was a big selling point and heavily advertised. But after the race my friends and I waited at least 20 minutes in the line to get into the Oktoberfest and we weren't even halfway through. At which point my friends and I decided it wasn't worth waiting over an hour for two free Yuenglings, so we left and went to a bar down the road instead. I thought the actual race was really well planned, well marked, there was plenty of elbow room for runners, and chip timing with almost instant race results was great, but everything else sucked. I'm probably going to email the event organizers about my displeasure, but I thought I'd see if anyone here had any thoughts. Needless to say I doubt I'll do the event next year.
I went to Oktoberfest last year. It was a Friday night, and nearly empty. Granted it had rained all day long, and I think that scared people away. I think they were charging about $4 for Yuengling, and that was the only beer option. Granted they had 4-5 Yuengling beers, but for $4 I was disappointed.
I went to the Oktoberfest last year as well and probably won't go back. They only had Yuengling beers on tap for one. This years email stated that they had more beer options, a tent or something even. Mostly local PA beers which I can get anywhere anyway. No need to drive an hour to drink the same old beers. Besides the crowd wasn't all that great. Tons of old people and kids.
I participated in the 5K. I mostly agree with everything you said. They definitely didn't plan for the pre-race bathroom rush, the post-race water/snack handout needed more help (and would've worked better on both sides) and the beer line got real long. I got my beers (but they were in smaller 12oz cups, not the pints. if you're giving out half-liter mugs, the expectation is that the 2 beers are going to be in them, though). I waited about 15 minutes total for them, but got on line right after my wife crossed the finish at 39:00. By the time we got ours, it was crazy long. Also, I have to say that I've been in more races with lousy PA systems than ones with good sound! That being said, inaugural events are often not without problems. I saw that they apologized on the event's facebook page and hopefully will learn and fix things. I did like the course and had fun during the race. There were actually about 4200 runners and walkers, and it was to be capped at 5000. I have a feeling it wouldn't have been quite so nice with another 800. I think it should be capped at 3000ish. For the festival itself, there were more craft beer options, but basics (Yards IPA, HopDevil, Troegenator were 3 that I saw). They also had a PA craft brewer's village that was an extra fee to get in, but $25 for 1.5 hrs was crazy, so I skipped it. But yeah, for a sunny Sunday afternoon it felt a little dead. It could be fun, though, with some tweaks.
Yeah it was also annoying that they weren't doing anything with the mugs they handed out. After we got tired of the line, we also tried to get beer and food at one of the counters near the start/finish. They wouldn't honor the tickets. We were OK with paying, but then they wouldn't fill the race mugs even though there was a sign right there saying "mug fills" with a price. What's the point? The whole thing just pissed us off and we left. They needed to make the entire area 5K area into post-race festival grounds with more than one tent to get beer. They also should have checked IDs and put wrist bands on everyone before the race. They would have had a few more exits/entrances to patrol, but it wouldn't have been too bad due to the existing buildings and permanent fences already there. Bethlehem has some experience with crowded events, like MusicFest. I thought they would have given a few more pointers on this, but I guess not. FWIW, I've run Tough Mudder where they get thousands of runners in a day, and they hand people a cold post-race beer as they walk down the finish chute.
They actually did do this. They had the id check booth right by ArtsQuest. I don't know how long before race time they stopped that, but I had no problem. The website/facebook scared me about parking craziness, so we got there around 9:00 and had no problems parking right on the grounds. I'm that type with races though, that likes to be there early and settle in. I have a feeling that the mug/2 beers debacle thing will be adjusted next year to allow for more locations to pour. Also having 2 different mugs was very confusing. What they ended up doing with the race mugs was they sold you 2 pints in plastic cups that you could dump into the mug. How ecological! They needed a separate price for racer mugs. Also, I got the feeling that the booths that were by ArtsQuest were not part of Yuengling's setup.
You were smart to get there early and I assume you were in the first heat, and therefore one of the first in line to the fest. I got there around 10:00 and they weren't pre-checking IDs any more. Not that it would have mattered because in the 20 minutes I was in line I didn't even reach the ID check. My friends and I were in the third heat and we went back to our car in the nearby lot for jackets and the race mugs... That was a big mistake, because by the time we got back the line was massive! And you're right that the booths near the start/finish were not part of the official Yuengling Oktoberfest, but that wasn't made clear until we got up to the counter to order. It was weird because there was live band nearby, tables, tents, etc.... like a competing event to the official grounds. Oh well... the race was really good, but the rest of the organization was horrible. If I go next year (emphasis on IF), I'll make sure to be very early and get into the first heat so that I'm one of the first in line to the fest!
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bet...oberfest_5k_organ.html#incart_related_stories Looks like the organizer, CK Running, is apologizing for the event's poor coordination and says they will make improvements nest year. They seem to put a lot of the blame on the event hosts, ArtsQuest. Personally I think a company that specializes in coordinating races should have been more involved, particularly for an inaugeral race event. I'd rather see a portion of my money returned as an apology, but I know that won't happen.
I'd even be happy with a discount code to a future race that they run. I'm pretty sure I've run a race coordinated by them in the past and it wasn't this bad. (Not that this was that bad for me. I got everything promised and the lines I waited in were never more than 10-15 minutes. Guess it was much worse if you finished in the second half) I don't like that they are putting some of the blame on ArtsQuest, though. I saw that on FB and that was the one thing that really didn't sit well.
Agree on a discount code and unfair blaming ArtsQuest. Since many people never got the promised Oktoberfest, $50 is a steep price for a just a 5K. It's really silly, because if they had just expanded Oktoberfest grounds and beer ticket benefits to the entire race area they would have had plenty of room for everyone and extra portable toilets.
I have a feeling that there was an issue of 3 entities promoting the same thing(ish). Yeungling is the actual O-fest, ArtsQuest had their mini fest and CK had the 5K. And CK being the 3rd, newest wheel should have done the homework and worked the hardest at communicating. I'd be curious to see the Runner's World events coming up, but didn't sign up for any of that. To solve the beer problem next year they have to let the vouchers be used anywhere on the grounds, at any time during the fest. (But I have a feeling that CK "paid" for their share of the kegs and Yeungling wanted them kept separate.) Oh well, the people that did the Flying Fish 5k did a good job and they plan on turning it into a series of brewery runs (with better beers!). I'm down for the Yards 5000 Yard run if they get that off the ground.
@schteve Agreed... vouchers would have been the way to go. Victory has been hosting a 5K for many years now, so they must be doing something right, but I've never gone. Yuengling has been hosting their own 5K in Pottville for years, but that's a long drive. I'll have to check out Flying Fish 5K and Yards 5000 yard, but no more inaugeral events...I learned my lesson.
@Ranbot If you're referring to the Light Lager Jogger, I believe CK Running is actually the race coordinator for that, too. It's how they got involved in this. So it wasn't their first rodeo, but it was a stampede. I actually overheard someone saying that the first year of that one wasn't great either.
I think they are, because they had to send a new link for sign ups the first day and I recall that name.... We had friends run it last year and they enjoyed it, and we signed up to do it with them this year, so let's hope it goes smoothly unlike the sounds of this one. EDIT: as far as if it were well run or not, I don't know but I don't remember them complaining. I guess the goal is run fast to be first in the beer line?
I got an email tonight from CK thanking participants. It said those with unused beer tix can use them this week at the Mack Bar (the one that looks like a truck near the artsquest stage) and you can get $5 off entrance to the craft brewers village (which I thought was way overpriced at $25 for 1.5 hour session. Now $20 for runners)
Good for people that live in Bethlehem, but that's a 30 minute drive for me for a free Yuengling. No thanks.
