Frequently Asked Questions

Index:

1. What is the Arkansas RRCA?
2. What is the Grand Prix Series and how can I enter?
3. What do my Grand Prix dues go toward?
4. What if there is not an Arkansas RRCA Club in my town?
5. How is the Grand Prix Series scored?
6. What is the difference between Championship and Non-championship Races? And how are Championships determined?
7. How is my final scored computed? Do I have to run all 20 races?
8. How does Team scoring work?
9. If my club doesn't have enough runners to field a team at a particular race, can I still earn overall/age group points?
10. What is the Long Distance Running Committee and what does it do?
11. How can I get my race into the Grand Prix Series?

1. What is the Arkansas RRCA?
   - The Arkansas RRCA is our state's chapter of the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA). The Road Runners Club of America is the national association of running clubs, running events, and runners dedicated to promoting long distance running as a competitive sport and as healthful exercise. RRCA's mission is to represent and promote the common interest of its member clubs, events, and individual runners through education, leadership, programs and other services.
   
   The Arkansas RRCA exists to meet these same goals on the state level, serving as a liaison between Arkansas's local running clubs and the national organization and to help develop, promote and establish new clubs. For 2010, the Arkansas RRCA will administer two races in central Arkansas: the River Trail 15K and the Rock Run 8K. The Arkansas RRCA also puts on the annual Grand Prix Racing Series.




2. What is the Grand Prix Series and how can I enter?
   - The Arkansas RRCA Grand Prix is a series of 20 races affiliated with Arkansas running clubs throughout the state. The Grand Prix Series features road races of various distances, from 2 miles to a marathon. The Series generally consists of 10 Championship Races and 10 Non-championship Races.
   Individual runners earn points in each race they enter based on placement among other Grand Prix runners at the race. The state's running clubs also compete against one another in the Grand Prix Team Competition.
   
   To enter the Grand Prix Series, a runner must first belong to one of the state's running clubs. To find a club in your area, check out the list on our Clubs Page. Any club member may then sign up for the Grand Prix Series via Online Registration, or by mailing-in an Entry Form. Annual dues remain just 15 dollars.

   
   

3. What do my Grand Prix dues go toward?
   - The Arkansas RRCA funds the Grand Prix Series through 3 sources: individual Grand Prix dues, sponsors, and a 50 dollar fee from each race in the Series. The Arkansas RRCA uses these funds to pay for awards and prizes at the Annual Awards Ceremony, the Grand Prix Awards Ceremony, this website, hosting the River Trail 15K and Rock Run 8K, and general administration fees in putting on the Grand Prix Series.




4. What if there is not an Arkansas RRCA Club in my town?
   - If there is not an Arkansas RRCA Club in your town, please consider starting one! Find one or two like-minded individuals in your area while out on a run, and you've got the beginnings of a running club. The RRCA has a ton of helpful information for starting a club on their website; click here to read up. Some of the state's biggest clubs are in our smallest towns, and were started by just a few people organizing a local weekly training run.
   
   If organizing a local club is the long-term solution, for the short-term you can always join the nearest Arkansas RRCA Running Club in order to compete in the Grand Prix Series. Our clubs are always happy to gain a new member!




5. How is the Grand Prix Series scored?
   - Grand Prix participants earn points at each Series race they finish. There are two different areas that a person can score points in:
   The Overall Divisions and the Age Groups.
   
   The four Overall Divisions are: Overall (all ages), Masters (ages 40 and over), Grand Masters (ages 50 and over), Seniors (ages 60 and over).
   The top ten Grand Prix runners in these divisions will earn points at each race. An individual can earn points in more than one division provided that they meet the age requirements for the division and place in the top ten among Grand Prix runners. For example, it is possible for a 52 year-old runner to earn Grand Prix points in the Overall, Masters, and Grand Masters divisions, but not the Seniors division.
   Point breakdown for the top ten Grand Prix runners in each of the Overall Divisions breaks down as follows:

   Championship Races:			Non-championship Races:
   1st	30 points		1st	20 points
   2nd	27 points		2nd	18 points
   3rd	24 points		3rd	16 points
   4th	21 points		4th	14 points
   5th	18 points		5th	12 points
   6th	15 points		6th	10 points
   7th	12 points		7th	8 points
   8th	9 points		8th	6 points
   9th	6 points		9th	4 points
   10th	3 points		10th	2 points

   If the 52 year-old runner from the example cited above placed 8th among all Grand Prix runners, 4th among Masters runners, and 1st among Grand Masters runners at a non-championship race, he/she would receive points as follows: 6 in the Overall division, 14 in the Masters division, and 20 in the Grand Masters division.
   
   The Age Groups are scored for each Grand Prix race in a similar fashion for the following age divisions:
   0-9, 10-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, and 80+.
   Each Grand Prix participant will earn points in one (and only one) age group for the entire Grand Prix season. Your Age Group is determined by your age at the final race of the season. For example, in 2009 a runner who turns 40 before the Duck Race will be scored in the 40-44 Age Group for the entire year, even if they are 39 years old for the first 19 races.
   Points are accrued based on the same breakdown in the table above with one exception:
   Grand Prix participants placing 11th and over receive 1 point in the Age Groups. Thus, as long as you finish a Grand Prix race, you will always receive at least one age group point.




6. What is the difference between Championship and Non-championship Races? And how are Championships determined?
   - The goal of the Arkansas RRCA Championship Races is to help the host club or event recruit top performing runners, attract sponsors, and improve civic and media support. The Championship label indicates to runners that the race meets higher criteria of race standards. In the Grand Prix Series, runners earn more points at the Championship Races as noted in the table shown above.
   Just one race per distance may be designated as a State Championship in each year. If more than one race bids to be a Championship event at a given distance, a vote is taken among Grand Prix participants to determine which will be the Championship for the upcoming year.




7. How is my final scored computed? Do I have to run all 20 races?
   - You will accumulate more points each time you complete a Grand Prix Series race. Your total score at the end of the year will be the sum of your five best Championship Race scores plus your five best Non-championship Race scores. The maximum score that can be obtained in any division is 250 points (150 max from 5 Championship Races + 100 max from 5 Non-championship Races).
   For example if you ran 6 Championship Races and earned 24, 18, 15, 30, 9, and 18 points in your age group at these races, your Championship score total at the end of the year would be 105 (the 9 is thrown out as lowest score). If you ran 8 Non-championship Races and earned 20, 16, 14, 16, 20, 12, 14, and 14 points in your age group, your Non-Championship score total at the end of the year would be 86 (the 12 and two of the 14s are thrown out). Your total score would be 191, reached by adding your Championship and Non-championship totals together.
   
   Any runner can therefore maximum their point total by running just 10 races, so no one must run all 20 to compete in their division. BUT... if you can finish all 20 Grand Prix races in a given year, you will be given a special IronMan or IronWoman award!
   
   Even if you can't make it to ten races in the year, you can still participate in the Grand Prix Series. Every year dozens of runners compete and earn awards in the Overall Divisions and the Age Groups without a full ten race score. Awards and gift certificates are given to the top three male and female finishers in the 4 different Overall Divisions and the top five male and female finishers in each Age Group. Grand Prix participants can win an award in only one Overall Division or Age Group, so there are 184 chances to win each year!
   
   A Grand Prix participant must finish a minimum of 5 races in order to be eligible for an end-of-season award.
   
   But, even if you can't make it to five races, you can still help your local Running Club out in the Team Competition by showing up for a single Grand Prix race...




8. How does Team Scoring work?
   - In addition to the individual divisions, the Arkansas RRCA Running Clubs compete against one another in the Team Competition. A club must have 4 male finishers to earn points for a race in the Men's Team Competition, while Female Teams must have 3 finishers to earn points (the two genders are separate though, your club doesn't need to have a female team in order for the men's team to score points and vice versa).
   
   If teams don't reach their minimum number of finishers then they will receive 0 points for the race in the Team Competition, so even the last place finisher can mean make a huge difference in the outcome of the team battle.
   The actual scoring of the team competition is done in the cross-country fashion. All Grand Prix finishers are ranked in order of placement. A club earns one point for having the first Grand Prix finisher, two points for having the second finisher, and so on. The men's team scoring is computed by adding together the first four finishers' point totals for each club, for example if Team A had the 1st, 5th, 7th, and 15th finishers, their score would be 28 points (1+5+7+15). If Team B had the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 16th finishers, their score would be 27 points (2+3+6+16). The lowest score wins, so Team B would have narrowly defeated Team A in that example.
   Once the team placement is determined Grand Prix points are given out according to the same scale as for individuals points in the table above (first place team would get 20 Grand Prix points for a Non-Championship Race, 2nd place team gets 18 Grand Prix points, etc...).
   The female team scoring is computed in the same way, except that only the first three female finishers' placements are added together.
   
   But, you don't have to be among your club's top finishers to help your team to victory. Club runners not in their team's top 4 male or top 3 female finishers at a given race will still factor into the scoring as Displacers. Displacers are also ranked according to finish and while they can't make their own team's score any better, they can still deliver victory for their club by making the other teams' scores worse! To explain, let's revisit the example above. Team A still has the 1st, 5th, 7th, and 15th finishers for 28 points. But let's say Team A also the 16th and 17th placed finishers. These two Displacers would bump Team B's fourth finisher down to 18th place. Team B's score is now 29 (2+3+6+18). Team A now defeats Team B by a single point because of their Displacers! So, only the top 3 female or 4 males may score points for their team, but every runner, regardless of speed, can help the bring the club a victory. Club members who haven't signed up for the Grand Prix Series don't count at all, so make sure you and all your fellow club members sign up for the Grand Prix before you start running the races!
   Additionally, ties between teams are broken by the highest placing Displacer.




9. If my team doesn't have enough runners to field a team at a particular race, can I still earn overall/age group points?
   - Yes, scoring in the Overall Divisions and Age Groups is completely separate from the Team Competition. You can be the only runner from your club at a race and still earn top overall or age group points.




10. What is the Long Distance Running Committee, and what does it do?
    - The members of the Long Distance Running Committee (LDRC) are the representatives of Arkansas RRCA Running Clubs that actively sponsor the annual RRCA Grand Prix Series. The LDRC serves to meet the goals and mission of the RRCA, promote the benefits of running in Arkansas, and encourage participation in the Arkansas Grand Prix Series. The LDRC also votes on issues relevant to the Standards of Arkansas Road Racing and the Arkansas RRCA Grand Prix Series scoring, rules, grievances, and awards. Members participate in occasional LDRC meetings called by the State Representative and are required to attend the annual year-end meeting to discuss and vote on any issues affecting the goals and mission of the Arkansas RRCA for the next year.
    LDRC members are appointed by the Arkansas RRCA State Representative to serve on the committee for each calendar year. Click here to learn more about the Long Distance Running Committee.




11. How can I get my race into the Grand Prix Series?
    - The 2009 Grand Prix Series schedule is already completed. An online bid form for the 2010 Grand Prix Series will be posted on this website in September of 2009. If you are an RD and interested in having your race become part of the Grand Prix Series, please review the Arkansas RRCA Road Racing Standards and Grand Prix Rules by clicking here. Also note that your race must be affiliated with one of the Arkansas RRCA Running Clubs in order to be considered for acceptance into the Series.




12. Still have a question not answered above?
    - Contact Andrea Sieczkowski, Arkansas RRCA State Rep at staterep@arkrrca.com