RUN@WORK Day Planning Kit

Here you will find everything you need to plan, promote, and host a RUN@WORK Day event in your community including:

• Basic ideas and guidelines for making your event successful, motivating, safe and fun
• A sample press release to send to your local media or circulate within your office (after approval from management)
• Basic information about nutrition and running that you can share with your participants

Planning Your RUN@WORK Day Event

1. Work with your employer to gain support from management for hosting a RUN@WORK Day event from your place of work.
2. Determine if you will host your event before work, during lunch, immediately at the end of the work-day, or at all three times.
3. Follow the RRCA Guidelines for Safe Events or RRCA Guidelines for Leading a Group Run.
4. Plan a route for your participants.  Choose a central location where everyone can meet-up at the specified start time.  The route should be approximately 3-5K in distance to allow people to run or walk for at least thirty minutes.  A route can be an out and back from a central starting point or a loop course.  Use a mapping tool such as Gmap-Pedometer to help you determine your route.  The course should be pedestrian friendly.
5. Use an event registration service like RunSignUp.com or create a Facebook event page to collect names of participants to determine your participation numbers for your RUN@WORK Day event.  Be sure you have all event participants sign a waiver.
6. Engage several volunteers to help organize the start and finish of the event.  Have a run leader, a mid-pack course marshal, and an end of the pack “sweeper” to ensure your participants are supported during the run/walk.
7. Be sure to provide your participants with information on how to get involved with a running club or event after the conclusion of the run/walk.

Promoting Your Run@Work Day Event

1. With permission from your employer, send an email to your co-workers about your event.  Use the RUN@WORK Day sample press release and sample Twitter and Facebook posts to announce your event.  Work with your human resources department to promote the event.  Provide information about the event in an employee newsletter or inter-office memo.
2. Order FREE copies of the RRCA RUN@WORK Day poster to hang around your office or in our community to help promote your event.
3. Work with a local sponsor or your employer to provide incentives for your participants.  Consider designing and selling t-shirts to participants and donate the profits to a health related organization such a local running club’s youth running program.  Be sure to include the RUN@WORK logo on your t-shirts.
4. Provide a map of the planned route before the event.  Be sure to remind participants that your event will be a fun run or walk and that all participants should follow the rules of the road and obey traffic signals.  See RRCA Guidelines for Leading a Group Run.
5. Call into a local radio station to give them information about your participation in National RUN@WORK Day and discuss the local event you are hosting and talk about healthy lifestyle choices including the importance of 30-minutes of exercise a day.
6. Work with other get active partners in your community such as your local YMCA, your local Parks & Recreation Department, etc. to assist with and to promote your event.
7. Post your event on the RRCA Run@Work Facebook page or on a local event calendar.

RUN@WORK Day Follow-up

1. Be sure to thank your RUN@WORK Day event participants for running or walking 30-minutes on RUN@WORK Day.  Encourage them to continue running or walking 30-minutes every day following your event.
2. Be sure to share information about your local running club or event and how your co-workers can also get involved with the club or event.
3. Follow-up with your employer and share with them www.YourWellnessAdvantage.com, a free workplace wellness resource for small and mid-size businesses from the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (an RRCA partner organization).
4. Start planning your 2012 RUN@WORK Day event!