We're looking forward to seeing you Saturday, June 7th at the
Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction.
Please read carefully and completely - it's A LOT of information!
Event Info - Part 1
GOTR Volunteers (the folks in the red shirts) will help direct you as you enter the
Expo. There will be 150+ volunteers helping in a variety of ways that morning.
Coaches & girls should wear their jade 2014 program shirts.
Site signs (where the coaches and girls meet) are placed alphabetically BY
SCHOOL NAME around the perimeter of the lawn between the State Building and
the stadium.
Some larger groups will be to the right of the lawn area, across the paved road,
against the fence. If you are one of these sites, you will be notified of such by
Robyn or Cara. (This will be determined within the next week.) We also hope to
have a map of the site sign layout on display as you enter the lawn area.
There will be a Help Tent (located by the Finish line) in the event of misplaced
children or for general information. Emergency Services will be at the event for
any medical issues.
GOTR VT staff and Event Committee members will be wearing name badges.
Dogs are not allowed at the event unless they are service animals.
Travel , Parking , & Time
We expect nearly 2,000 girls and coaches and about 3,000 parents and
community members to be at the 5k! Given these numbers, please allow extra
time for everything - driving to the Expo, entering and exiting the parking area,
restrooms, etc.
In the morning, there will be two gates open to enter the Expo: B Gate is the main
gate, located on Pearl Street (Route 15) and E Gate is located on Route
2A. Please note that E Gate will be closing at 9:30, so it will not be an exit route
after the event. We suggest avoiding the Five Corners in Essex Junction, if
possible. If you're heading north on 89, you may want to consider using Exit 15
instead of Exit 12.
Timeline - Coaches & Girls
8:15 a.m. - Coaches arrive, wearing jade program shirts. Please go directly to your
site sign and prepare for the arrival of the girls.
8:30 a.m. - Girls arrive, wearing jade program shirts and comfortable active wear
and footwear.
Upon arriving, girls should turn in their yellow Scholarship Drive envelope at the I
Went the Extra Mile tent located directly through the GOTR balloon arch to collect
the gifts they've earned.
After visiting the I Went the Extra Mile tent, girls should report to their site/school
sign to meet up with coaches and teammates.
8:30 - 9:30 a.m.- The next hour is for putting on name tags and event bibs (located
in a zip lock bag in your blue garbage bag at your site sign) as well as visiting the
Happy Hair Station for spray on hair color. For additional fun girls should stop by
the Blue Cross/Blue Shield face painting tent and photo booth. Of course, there
will plenty of GOTR tattoos for everyone!
It is strongly encouraged that this time also be used for restroom visits, shoe-lace
checking, face decorating, and dancing! Not necessarily in that order...
9:30 a.m. - Girls and Coaches should gather back at their site sign to stretch and
prepare for the group warm up.
9:35 a.m. - Listen for an announcement to assemble at the stage area for an
inspiring Zumba warm up with our very own Kate Barash-Engel, GOTR Coach
Extraordinaire.
Considering the amount of people expected at this event, announcements can
be hard to hear. Please be mindful of the timeline to assure your team gets where
they need to be.
9:40 - 9:50a.m. - ZUMBA
9:50 a.m. - Proceed towards the starting line and prepare for the start of the 5k.
10:00 a.m. - Ready , Set Go!
Participants generally complete the course within 60-90 minutes with the event
typically wrapping up by noon.
Event Registration
Reminder: Coaches & girls participating in our Girls on the Run programs are preregistered for the 5k event. Further registration is not required.
Parents, family and community members are invited to register to participate in
the 5k run/walk. Registration fees are $20/adults ($25 the day of the event), $10
children and $40 for a household of 3 or more. Please note that the household
rate is only available the day of the event.
Pre-registration is encouraged and can be accomplished on-line via
our website or by mail postmarked by May 31(registration brochures were sent
home with the girls).
Pre-registered participants need to check in at the State Building between 8:30
and 9:30 a.m. to pick up their 5k bib and pins.
There is no fee to be a spectator, cheering the girls on from the sidelines is
encouraged and appreciated!
Info for Coaches
At your site sign will be a blue bag for each group. The bag contains one white
bag for each girl with giveaways from our 5k sponsors. The enclosed clear Ziploc
bag has name tags, event bibs and safety pins for the girls and coaches, as well
as a marker and face crayons.
All coaches and girls need to wear a name tag and an
event bib on the FRONT of their shirts.
Please do not distribute any extra name tags or bibs to non-GOTR VT girls, adults or
siblings.
The site sign area can feel congested. Please do your best to stay within your
designated area.
Canopy style tents can be assembled in the site sign area to provide shelter from
sun or rain.
Robyn and Cara will be in the site sign area to answer questions and meet your
team.
All yellow Scholarship Drive envelopes need to be turned in at the I Went the Extra
Mile tent located just as you enter the field through the balloon arch. If a girl can't
be at the event, you may turn in the envelope on her behalf and collect the prizes
to bring home to her.
We strongly encourage you to discuss the 5k Etiquette document with your girls in
the days before the event. Feel free to give them copies of the document to take
home and share with their families as well.
This email is also being sent to the parents that provided valid email addresses. It is
suggested that you have copies on hand for those that did not receive the
distribution. A printer friendly version will be available this afternoon on the
Coaches Forms & Documents tab under 5k Information on our website.
Please make sure that your site sign area is clean when you leave. Trash and
recycling barrels are in the area and you can use the bag that your group supplies
came in to collect trash.
Event Info - Part 2
The event happens rain or shine - please be prepared with extra clothes, water,
snacks, rain coats, sunscreen, hats, etc.
All participants on the course must wear an event bib.
Spectators are welcome and encouraged - feel free to make signs, bring pompoms, etc. to cheer on the 5k participants!
The course is run as two laps but spectators should note that the participants do
not circle past the start line for the second lap, so you'll want to move to the Finish
line area after the event starts to get a good view of your girl!
After the first lap, each 5k participant receives a string of "Mardi Gras" beads to
indicate the completion of that lap. It is important that participants do not wear
any beads at the start of the course so that the volunteers can easily identify who
has been through the first loop.
There is one water stop on the course that the participants pass twice. Water,
oranges, bananas and bagels are available for 5k participants after they finish the
course. Beverages and food will NOT be sold at the event, everyone is free to
bring their own snacks.
The event is not timed. There will be a time clock at the finish line for participants
interested in checking their completion time. Times will NOT be posted.
Medals are given at the finish line to all participants wearing a No. 1 event bib. This
includes community members that have registered to participate.
We encourage the 5k participants (especially the girls and coaches) who have
finished the course to return to the finish line area to cheer on their teammates until
everyone has finished.
Trash and recycling cans will be in several areas - please keep the ground clean.
2014 event shirts ($10) will be available for sale - quantities are limited.
Remember - no dogs allowed except for service animals.
5k Course Map
This map will be posted at several locations throughout the festivity area.
Questions??
We encourage you to call or email with your questions. Cara, our Program
Coordinator and Robyn will happily assist you. Our office is open from
8:30 a.m.to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday
(802) 246.1476
Thank You!
We look forward to meeting your amazing girls! If you need to reach us
the Friday before or the morning of the event, please call:
Robyn - (802) 380.1940
Nancy - (802) 258.1601
Thank you to our statewide program sponsor: