Skunk Cabbage and Indoor Track Meet Canceled

Announcements
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It is with deep regret that FLRC must announce the cancellation of the 2020 Skunk Cabbage Classic 10K and Half Marathon on April 5th, 2020 and the club’s indoor track meet on March 29th, 2020, both of which take place at Cornell University. On March 10th, Cornell announced proactive measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including a ban on all events with over 100 people. The FLRC board explored the possibilities of postponing or moving these races, but neither proved feasible.

Skunk Cabbage Donations, Refunds, and Virtual Race

We understand (and share) your disappointment, particularly for those who have been training for Skunk for months and the hundreds of people who pre-registered. Although FLRC has a general no-refund policy for races, in this special circumstance, we would like to offer everyone who has already registered two choices:

  • Donate your registration and shirt fees to the club. You don’t need to do anything to donate your registration and clothing fees (the shirts and beanies weren’t printed). Fees from Skunk make up the lion’s share of FLRC’s revenues for the year. They allow us to maintain low registration fees for our races and to support other worthy running-related organizations, such as Girls on the Run, the Ithaca Youth Bureau, and Wilderness Search & Rescue.
  • Request a refund, minus fees. If you wish instead, we’ll refund your entry and clothing fee, minus RunSignUp’s registration and cancellation fees. To request a refund, please send an email message to fingerlakesrunners+skunk@gmail.com with your name and address. It may take a few weeks to process all the refunds.

Regardless of whether you donate your fees to FLRC or request a refund, we invite all pre-registered runners to participate in a virtual Skunk and receive a half-marathon finisher’s medal! Run a 10K or half marathon on your own, wherever you want, any time on or before April 5th, 2020, and you can pick up your medal at the Finger Lakes Running Company once stores are allowed to reopen. If you can’t make it to Ithaca, give us your address and we’ll mail it to you once things settle down. (Medals available while supplies last.) This virtual race and medal giveaway is on the honor system, and we encourage you to post about your effort on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter (tag #VirtualSkunk and @FLRCithaca), and consider joining FLRC’s Strava group.

Skunk 2020 medal
Skunk 2020 medal1080×1080 360 KB

If you have any questions, please reply to this topic using the Reply button below.

Indoor Track Meet Canceled

Along with Skunk, we have to cancel our indoor track meet on March 29th. Since we don’t collect fees at pre-registration, there is no need for a refund policy. We sincerely hope that the situation will improve sufficiently that our summer outdoor track meets will be able to take place. They aren’t on the FLRC Web site yet because we’re still determining where we’ll be holding them—construction is forcing some changes.

Advice for Preventing the Spread of COVID-19

Check this post for our updated recommendations.

Again, our sincere apologies for having to cancel these races, and if you have any questions, just reply to this post.

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Hey! Are you planning on also distributing shirts too if we paid for one before?
Thanks!

3

Drat! I knew there was a detail that would slip through (our race director is in New Zealand right now, so communications with her are a bit sporadic, given the time zones).

I believe the answer is that shirts have not been and will not be ordered, so the shirt fee will be included in the donate or refund decision. I’ll confirm that as soon as it’s morning in New Zealand, post again here, and update the info above.

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I figured as much, but worth a shot asking. I thought the shirts might have made a funny story!

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Maybe next year’s shirt theme could be be “Return of the Skunk” with a big zombie skunk graphic. :slight_smile:

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I will totally draw that t-shirt design for you folks!!!

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Hello! The message indicates that 10k finishers receive a medal as well. I thought that that was just for the half marathon finishers. Just wondering who qualifies for a finisher medal.

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Yes, for the actual race, the medal was just for half-marathon finishers (which is why it has a 13.1 on it). However, since we don’t anticipate that everyone who was (and would still have) signed up for the half will want a medal, we’re happy to give them out to people who do a virtual 10K as well (as long as supplies last). The goal is to distribute them all—they’re better on your wall than in a box on our floor!

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Would you offer a deferment registration instead of the refund?

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No, sorry, race director @AlexK said that managing deferments was a lot of extra work, since so much can change between now and next year for both you and the race. So the best way to simulate that would just be to request the refund and sign up again next year.

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I wish to do the skunk cabbage half as a virtual please. i do not live near ithaca so i would like my medal and bib mailed–Debra So sad.

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We’re pretty devastated too. :cry: But please do take all your training and run a virtual race. To get the medal if you can’t make it to the Finger Lakes Running Company (which is a great place to get shoes and other gear as well), please enter your name and address in this form so we have them all in one place to print mailing labels.

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Is there a Black Diamond club run scheduled for Sat Apr 4? If so, maybe those who are interested could race each other instead of the typical easy-going fashion. Or if that’s not the scheduled week, we could do that the week prior or after. Any takers?

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Hello! Thank you all for your hard work in light of these unprecedented circumstances. I was wondering if it would be possible to have the shirts created and given to those of us who have already paid for them, since it was an extra $20 on top of the registration fee. I believe giving the shirts would motivate more people, myself included, to opt for donating the registration fee and running a virtual race as opposed to asking for a refund. Thank you for your consideration.

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At the moment, yes, there should be a Black Diamond group run on April 4th, so that would be a great way to get the virtual Skunk in the bag with some company. I’m sure there will also be other people running their virtual races on April 5th as well.

I can’t absolutely speak for @AlexK, but shirt orders aren’t simple things. There are minimum orders to get reasonable prices, to start, and there would be a massive amount of effort necessary to distribute shirts given that we don’t have a single pickup point and time like at a race.

If you’d like to donate just your registration fee to the club, and get a refund for the shirt fee, note that in your refund request email.

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@AlexK @adamengst To follow up with @gramma’s Facebook question, are bibs included for anyone who opts for the virtual race and medal?

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Bummer about the track meet too. I’d been anxiously awaiting the mental anguish that comes with 15 laps inside Barton.

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15 laps in a 3000m is nothing compared to the 25 laps that 71 people did in February’s 5000m. The sudden and inexplicable popularity of the indoor 5000m clearly shows that the world is going mad. :crazy_face:

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@Petorius and @gramma, we will not have bibs available this year.

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What about the beanie? I paid for that, but it’s not been mentioned. Can I still get that?
Thanks,
Dina