Most importantly, we would like to thank you for coming to our first LUVGLO event in downtown Memphis and supporting the work of Habitat for Hope. We have received feedback from some of our runners that there was some confusion in the wayfinding of the course. This was by no means our intention. From what we can deduce, it appears that some early runners took a wrong turn, and in turn, several followed. We want to reassure our runners that MPD helped us appropriately mark the course with cones. We also heard from a couple of our volunteers that an attempt was made to redirect a group, but instead, some runners chose to follow, or inadvertently followed those that were “off course”. LUVGLO 2013 had 1,050 registered runners, roughly 900 on the course the evening of April 26.
Regarding extra distance ran and timing, we have no way of knowing which of you ran off-course and for how long, and as such can not adjust timing.
Our events are completely run by volunteers and by our Habitat for Hope staff members. If you were misdirected by a volunteer, we sincerely apologize. LUVMUD/LUVGLO races are the primary source of funding for our nonprofit, Habitat for Hope. LUVMUD/LUVGLO has no operating budget independent of our charity, so 100% of proceeds after costs go to the work of our nonprofit. We thank you for your support and hope you will join us again.
It is our hope that you give us some grace. For those of you who did run longer and were proud of your accomplishment…ROCK ON. For those of you that were frustrated by the extra mileage or the effect on your recorded time, we apologize. Our 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishers ran the appropriately marked course. Most of you completed the course right on track and had a great race. For some of you, this was your first 5K ever and we want to thank you for your allowing us to experience that with you.
Our races are not NORMAL 5k events. As many of you have experienced with our LUVMUD races, its about the experience, the challenge, the fun, and using a creative event to make a positive impact in the city of Memphis. This event is something to take home with you, share with your friends and create memories with friends and loved ones. Many of you had this positive experience Friday night and some of you were justifiably frustrated with some course confusion. We addressed this as quickly as we could and tried to get everyone back on the right path.
In the last 4 years we have had over 6000 people run our events. We do all we can to put on a crazy, fun and memorable event that brings you and your friends back every year. Our hope is that you will remember the LUV and the GLO from LUVGLO 2013, and the opportunity to spend an evening with friends (new and old) that are making Memphis an incredible place to live and play.
If you would like to address me directly you may do so by emailing me at mark(at)habitatforhope.org.
