Update From the Race Director:
Greetings,
On behalf of the Dares Beach Civic Association, thank you all very much for signing up for this Saturday morning’s Daring the Blaze 5K Run/Walk (or agreeing to volunteer/spectate), and supporting our courageous neighbors at the Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Department by doing so! I just wanted to send some clarification updates before our race tomorrow morning.
The link for online registration is here for anyone you’d like to share it with: https://www.raceentry.com/8th-annual-daring-the-blaze-5k-runwalk/race-information?
Participants can still sign up on race day, although the price would have gone up to $25 to enter on race day.
I am excited to announce our neighbors that have partnered with us this year as sponsors:
Be Natural Music Makers (formerly Sacchetti Music) – https://www.sacchettimusic.com/
Brick Wood Fired Bistro – https://brickwfb.com/
Calvert Counseling Center LLC – https://opal-evans.clientsecure.me/
Floor Systems Inc. – www.floorsystems.net
Handyman Construction (HMC) – https://gethmc.com/
Project Run! (PR!) LLC (Michael Land, Author) – https://www.facebook.com/mjland17/
Sneade’s Ace Home Center Inc. – https://www.sneades.com/
Sweet Frog Premium Frozen Yogurt – https://www.sweetfrog.com/stores/frozen-yogurt-cleancity/35084
Thank you all so much for joining the team to support the Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Department!
Virtual Race Participants: The race for you starts on Saturday morning, June 29th, and you have until Saturday evening, July 6th to complete a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) distance. If you want to be included in the results, please email me or send me a message on Facebook with your times once you finish. Feel free to share photos for our event’s Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/daringtheblaze5K) if you would like. This year, we will not be having a ZOOM awards ceremony for the virtual race, though if you won a performance award in the form of a virtual certificate, I will be emailing them to award winners.
The rest of this email is for the participants in Saturday morning’s live race. Thank you all so much for your enthusiasm and participation to support the Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Department!
Live Race Participants:
First, park either on the Green or on the shoulders of Dares Beach Road between Macrae Avenue, and the intersection of Dares Beach Road, Dares Wharf Road, and Goldstein Road. If you park on the Green, be mindful that some spots are sectioned off for our sponsors’ tables as well as our timing team (K2 Race Management and Timing Services :)). It appears that we are fortunately going to have a more sizable turnout than before, so I encourage Dares Beach residents to walk/jog to the Green where the race starts and ends instead of driving. This will help maximize parking availability for those that have to drive, however, if you live further back in the community or have young kids with you, then by all means drive to the race if you would like. There will be a few police officers manning Dares Beach Road for traffic control purposes during the race. Members of the Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Department will be there on a fire engine (with at least one EMT), and that area right by the intersection of Dares Beach Road and Macrae Avenue will be coned-off for them.
* Also, local author and regular participant, Michael J. Land (from Project Run) will be selling copies of his latest children’s book entitled Katie’s First 5K and possibly other titles. He will donate a portion of the proceeds to the Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Department.
* One of our high-visibility sponsors, The HandyMan Construction, LLC will have a table set up with information about their terrific home improvement organization
* After the race, Sweet Frog is hosting a fundraiser from 12-10 PM this Saturday for the PFVFD in collaboration with the race. If you would like to further support the fire department and have some delicious frozen yogurt, visit Sweet Frog in Prince Frederick (902 Costley Way Ste 13-B) from Noon-10 PM and say that you are there for the Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Department fundraiser.
Also, for those that may not be familiar with the 5-kilometer (“5K”) distance, 5 kilometers is 3.1-miles. While it is a race with performance awards, you are welcome to run/walk/jog as you see fit to complete the course. In fact if you’re moving at a leisurely pace and you’d like to take pictures, feel free to do so, and feel free to post/share/tag them on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/daringtheblaze5K) Please pace yourself well as this course is hilly, and progressively becomes more so with every mile. The course is completely on neighborhood roads, and the first road should give runners and walkers ample time and space to spread out before entering slightly smaller streets of the neighborhood. While there will be quite a few turns the course will be well-marked with cones with arrow signs and marker discs. There will be course marshals along the route as well. I’ve attached a copy of our updated race flyer with a course map included.
There will be a water stop manned by two volunteers, and due to its position on the course, you can access it twice. You’ll first encounter the water stop a little over halfway through the course at around 3 kilometers. Please hydrate well beforehand. You are welcome to carry your own water on the course, just please dispose of it in the trash bags at the water stops or at the start/finish area once you are finished with it.
Day-of registration opens at 7 AM, and the pre-race announcements from myself and the Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Department begin at 7:50 AM at the starting line. I would recommend that all participants, those pre-registered and those registering the day of, aim to be at the race by 7:30 AM. If you pre-registered, all you need to do is go to the “Pre-Registration” desk, check-in, and get your bib Those that are registering on race morning go to the “Registration” desk, complete the form and pay the $25 registration fee (in cash, or make checks payable to the Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Department), and then pick up their bibs. Kids 12-and-under registering race day can still participate for free.
Please consider bringing sunscreen and bug spray. While there should hardly be any mosquitoes in Dares Beach in the morning, there may be some in the later part of the route closer to the woods.
As you enter the finish line area (heading eastbound on Dares Beach Road just before you reach Chesapeake Avenue), K2 Race Management and Timing Services will be timing the race, so just follow their prompts. This way we can properly figure out who won awards in various age categories. In addition, I’ve attached the list of our current course records by age category if you feel so competitively inclined.
After finishing there will be bottled water and some Gatorade in coolers. You can also help yourself to some granola bars and fruit snacks.
We are excited to have you all participating in this event in the Dares Beach community. As I mentioned the entire course runs through our residential community, so please be respectful. We have done this very well in the past. Try to keep the noise and yelling to a minimum. As much as I enjoy cheering each other on, let’s not be too loud. Stay off of other people’s yards, and do not litter. There may be some cars parked on the sides of the streets, but there should be adequate space to run around them on the streets as well. There are many dog owners in the neighborhood, so some dogs may begin barking excitedly at seeing you run/walk by (especially if you are walking a dog). That is to be expected, and it’s nothing to worry about.
If you have any questions, please email me at noah.wood1983@gmail.com or call me on my cellphone at (443)-310-6427. I will probably not be checking my email on race morning, so calling me would be a better way to get a hold of me on race day. Our Facebook page has course maps, details, and other updates.
I will look forward to seeing you at the race for an enjoyable time daring another Summer’s blaze for our fearless heroes and neighbors at the Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Department. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Noah Wood
Race Director of the Annual Daring the Blaze 5K Run/Walk
http://www.facebook.com/daringtheblaze5K