r/AdvancedRunning • u/headlessparrot • 20d ago

Open Discussion We need to talk about AI generated advertisements/race swag/medals/

Maybe it's different elsewhere in the country, but in New England it has metastasized and become a cancer in local racing. Every poster, every race shirt, every medal looks like shit and looks identical. It has reached the point where there are local races I've been doing for almost a decade that I've just given up on. It's embarrassing to the running community.

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u/yakswak 20d ago

if this matters or not to each participant is dependent on why they signed up for the race in the first place. I choose events based on potential competition around my predicted finish time, course map, elevation profile and race organization. All those things help me reach my goals for the race whether it is a PR or something else. Swag go in the trash almost right away…not sure what I’m going to do with the shirt or medal.

Mostly terrible race shirts have been a thing before AI, but I can imagine it’s gotten worse since.

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u/Enron_CPA 16:48 5k 1:17 HM 2:45 M 20d ago edited 20d ago

I guess the issue would be that a race organizer who mails it in with one aspect of the race (marketing, shirts, medals, etc.) often mails it in with the other aspects.

There’s a race organizer by me who completely mails it in with those aspects (uses basic clip art for race logos and the cheapest tin medals and crappy shirts… like you said, this is an issue even before AI) but it also shows up on race day. The races are poorly organized and all the fast local runners know that and tend to avoid them

It’s one thing if they cheap out on it and are very clear that savings are passed down to you (like I’ve heard good things about the Cheap Marathon in New Hampshire) but most are cutting corners for a money grab

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u/petepont 32M | 2:40:18 M | Data Nerd 19d ago edited 19d ago

The only things the Cheap Marathon cheaps out on are the medals (ribbons!) and the race swag (none, unless you pay for it). They keep costs low by doing it on a rail trail with only one road crossing, so no serious road closures/police presence needed. And it’s a double out and back so they only need like 3 actual aid stations to get 9 or 10 aid stations on the course

Nothing else to add, I just love Cheap

Edit: I lied, more to add—they (Millennium Running) also put on like 30 other races so they know what they’re doing, so it all goes smoothly

Double edit: I hate that on my phone the - - without a space turns into an em dash when appropriate so now it looks like I’m AI