Awesome!
PBC 2016 had it all--records broken, awesome inspirational PBC stories, money raised to help the Butte, and more. Numbers will be coming in for at least 2 more weeks. Keep checking back to see what this little event with a big heart can do.
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153 Challengers ages 4 thru 98 * 58 VIP Spectators * New Women's Record * "Most Improved" Category * Over $2k raised * New Team Component * 1st Time on Friday * Faster Process * Emphasis on stories * Becoming a Premier Bend Event
2016 PBC Sponsors--there is no PBC without them
Please tell them, "Thank your for helping Pilot Butte" every chance you get
Please tell them, "Thank your for helping Pilot Butte" every chance you get
Main Event
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Business donations
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Teams/Team Sponors
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Silent Auction
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Event Suppot
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click on logos to learn more
Quickly find all sponsors (click Here)
MAIN EVENT
BUSINESS DONATIONS
TEAMS/TEAM SPONSORS
SILENT AUCTION
EVENT SUPPORT
- Superfit Productions
- Rebound Physical Therapy
- FootZone
- Pilot Butte Charities
- Deschutes Brewery
- Pizza Mondo
BUSINESS DONATIONS
- Rebound Physical Therapy
- FootZone
- Aloha Cafe
- Bend Heating
- CVT Cascadia Vehicle Tents
- Bend Built
- JessBFit
- Max Muscle
- Ron's Body Shop
TEAMS/TEAM SPONSORS
- Inspiration
- Longboard Louie's
- Bend Built
- Central Oregon Breeze
- Turtles (Youth Soccer)
- CVT Cascadia Vehicle Tents
SILENT AUCTION
- Anthony's
- Brew Dr, Kombucha
- Stop and Go Mini Mart
- Growler Guys at Stop and Go Mini Mart
- Pierce Footwear
- FootZone
- Shoe Inn
EVENT SUPPORT
2016 Headlines
Coming Soon: The "Fundraising Breakdown"
The PBC stands alone as a great event. When you become a Challenger we hope it has the same overall feel it did 18+ years ago. Now we've built something around the PBC to greatly improve the park for years to come. The cool thing is all you need to do is what you've always done. Check here when it's over and you'll see what else was accomplished. Then shoot on over to the Butte Thing page to see what happened with the money raised last year and to see what' s on tap for next. Stay tuned,.
NEW IN 2016!
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PBC TEAMSFour teams entered the PBC
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TEAM RESULTS
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BEND BUILT WINS PRIZE FOR BIGGEST TEAM
Bend Built is a family business with two employees. They came in as underdogs because everyone else had five or more members. In no time they were up to 11 and could have gone higher with more time. Why? Happy customers. They reached out and their customers took the Challenge. Long time Butte supporter Longboard Louie's is excited to make them a special Family Style meal as their reward. |
2016 TEAM DATA
What are Teams?
Teams are mainly a way to increase the community feel of the PBC and have some extra fun at the same time. This year teams were formed around a person, companies, and a youth soccer team. Other possibilities might be nonprofits, large families, reunions, clubs, government agencies (think police or fire departments), churches and schools, and maybe a PE class or even an elementary school class.
A team must be five people or more. People on teams receive a substantial discount of 15 to 25 percent off of registration fees. This year two teams were four people but that was because they had a member who registered and then weren't able to attend. We can already see that teams are a popular and worthwhile addition to the PBC. We expect a cap next year on both number of participants and number of teams. We're certain all slots will fill before the event.
The many advantages of being on a team include:
There are also ways teams help the PBC and they include:
A team must be five people or more. People on teams receive a substantial discount of 15 to 25 percent off of registration fees. This year two teams were four people but that was because they had a member who registered and then weren't able to attend. We can already see that teams are a popular and worthwhile addition to the PBC. We expect a cap next year on both number of participants and number of teams. We're certain all slots will fill before the event.
The many advantages of being on a team include:
- Discounted registration fee.
- Prizes and awards exclusive to teams available.
- While you compete in the PBC as an individual, you also have other ways to compete within and among the teams. For many this stretches the entire PBC experience into other areas.
- Your team can and should raise money for the Butte, When we say "should," it's not a requirement but it's so easy to do (we'll even help) and you may get perks, This year one team got shoes and shirts worth nearly $1,500.
- For teams that want to raise more money, there is another competition there to see who raises the most to help Pilot Butte. Again, it's nor difficult and we can help.
- Creativity is welcome. As long as it doesn't interfere with the event we'd love to see what you do. It could start a trend that will catch on.
There are also ways teams help the PBC and they include:
- Teams help us let people know that the PBC is for everyone.
- Filling the event before it happens makes everything much easier. It also helps keep costs down and fees affordable. Teams almost insure that the PBC will fill well before Challenge day.
- We have many sponsoring businesses and this will get some of them even more involved in the what we do.
- The PBC is the launching pad for what is done to improve the park year round and especially at the Butte Thing in April. Teams improve the PBC and with a better launch, more can be accomplished in the park. The reason is that the media has traditionally had a strong interest in the PBC. This year, with a record number of participants, KTVZ covered the finish live,. We think that has never happened before.
MOST IMPROVEDIt's No Coincidence
Medalists for most improved time also won individual medals. You get rewarded at the PBC when you work to improve your health and fitness. More important, you stand a good chance of living a better and longer life as can be seen in people like Art Vinall, John Kerstetter, PBC creator Denny Sullivan and many others. |
Most improved time compared to PBC 2015
We use the most popular calculator to predict your 2016 time off your 2015 time. We then compare that time to your 2016 time to see how much you improved compared to yourself. The playing field is leveled among challengers It's a little complicated and not perfect. But it's fun and has establisjed validity: Also having improved times were Sally Blust (15:02), Cort Irby (11:04), Dagmar Eriksson (14:19), Patrick Judge (7:28), Emily Leavitt (13:05), Art Vinall (31:58), Kyle Kirsch (10:10), and Ron Carpenter (8:15). Note: results are not yet final.
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2016 INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
The results get broken down many different ways. Some like your place among the runners will not appear here until the results are finalize after October 30th. Once results are finalized. we could be printing the record boards for the park as early as a day later. Once printed they are expensive to replace. That's why we give you many opportunities to make corrections. Just click on what you want to see and a box will drop down with the results. Items marked ** are not yet ready for publication
Please note we have three new age divisions in 2016 (8 and under, 9-10, 11-12). Digital records for the PBC go back to 2007 (data before that is lost), but we are having difficulty finding the original spreadsheets containing ages (as oppose to age categories). Until we do, these new categories will only go back to 2015. If you can prove you were in one of the new age divisions with a faster time than we have listed, we're happy to make the change. All we need is your birth date in most cases.
Please note we have three new age divisions in 2016 (8 and under, 9-10, 11-12). Digital records for the PBC go back to 2007 (data before that is lost), but we are having difficulty finding the original spreadsheets containing ages (as oppose to age categories). Until we do, these new categories will only go back to 2015. If you can prove you were in one of the new age divisions with a faster time than we have listed, we're happy to make the change. All we need is your birth date in most cases.
OVERALL
MEN'S OVERALL
WOMEN'S OVERALL
Note: These are not final results
- 1st Mario Mendoza 7:06
- 2nd Josh Amberger 7:07.2
- 3rd Albert Hesse 7:24.9
WOMEN'S OVERALL
- 1st Rene Metivier 7:51
- 2nd Camelia Mayfiekd 8:18.0
- 3rd Caitlyn Reilley 9:06.4
Note: These are not final results
Masters
MEN'S MASTERS
WOMEN'S MASTERS
Note: These are not final results
- 1st Jason Irby 7:45.3
- 2nd Ron Carpenter 8:14.7
- 3rd Dan Packman 9:03
WOMEN'S MASTERS
- 1st Suzanne Knox 9:26.8
- 2nd Cherie Touchette 10:43
- 3rd Jenny Kneece 11:17.8
Note: These are not final results
Age Divisions (women)
Following USATF standards, results are rounded up to the next second for the record boards in the park. Results are in the original form on the alphabetical list. Please note that these results are not yet final.
Updated 10/19. Almost there. One major change in the new 8 and under men's division. Some minor timing changes with a few more to go. We realize this has taken longer than it should but we've been working simultaneously on the record boards and may have them installed in the park in record time. We're learning that when you give out this many awards, each year will be different from all the others. Superfit Productions has been exceptional at helping us get accurate results and that really helps when it comes to being confident enough to print the record boards that really can't be changed once they go up.
8 and under
9 - 10
11-12
13 -14
15 - 18
19 - 29
30 - 34
35 - 39 (1 very small possibility of place change)
40 - 44 (1 very small possibility of place change)
45 - 49
50 - 54
55 - 59
60 - 64
65 - 69
70 - 74
Updated 10/19. Almost there. One major change in the new 8 and under men's division. Some minor timing changes with a few more to go. We realize this has taken longer than it should but we've been working simultaneously on the record boards and may have them installed in the park in record time. We're learning that when you give out this many awards, each year will be different from all the others. Superfit Productions has been exceptional at helping us get accurate results and that really helps when it comes to being confident enough to print the record boards that really can't be changed once they go up.
8 and under
- 1st Lexie Thompson 21:19
- 2nd Chloe Nordstog 21:41
9 - 10
- 1st Ainslie Knox 10:15
- 2nd Evangeline Cordell 14:38
- 3rd Brylee Hawkins 20:29
11-12
- 1st Teaghan Knox 9:16
- 2nd Piper Brannin 11:16
13 -14
- 1st Katelynn Leavitt 11:05
- 2nd Ellie Pierce 13:25
- 3rd Tess Mitchell 17:32
15 - 18
- 1st Emily Leavitt 13:05
19 - 29
- 1st Camelia Mayfield 08:19
- 2nd Caitlyn Reilley 09:07
- 3rd Taylor Kopecky 14:13
30 - 34
- 1st Rene Metivier 7:51
- 2nd Kerry Witterschein 11:53
- 3rd Jennifer Fischer 18:23
35 - 39 (1 very small possibility of place change)
- 1st Courtney Drewsen 9:51
- 2nd Joanne Clemes 10:37
- 3rd Kelly Kneece 12:08
40 - 44 (1 very small possibility of place change)
- 1st Jenny Kneece 11:18
- 2nd Angie Farnworth 13:01
- 3rd Ilenia Bertipaglia 13:27
45 - 49
- 1st Suzanne Knox 9:27
- 2nd Jamie Parsley 12:11
- 3rd Lisa Mushel 15:25
50 - 54
- 1st Cherie Touchette 10:43
- 2nd Valerie Wodrich 12:14
- 3rd Lauren Culbertson 15:31
55 - 59
- 1st Maureen Schlerf 12:20
- 2nd Diana Timmermans 13:39
- 3rd Shawn Wheeler 15:18
60 - 64
- 1st Linda Carstens 13:19
- 2nd Sally Blust 15:02
- 3rd Diana Heynen 15:22
65 - 69
- 1st Jeanette Groesz 11:47
70 - 74
- 1st Dagmar Eriksson 14:19
- 2nd Jill Sydnor 23:39
- 3rd Marjorie Folkestad 25:21
age divisions (men)
Following USATF standards, results are rounded up to the next second for the record boards in the park. Results are in the original form on the alphabetical list. Please note that these results are not yet final.
Updated 10/19. Almost there. One major change in the new 8 and under division. Some minor timing changes with a few more to go. We realize this has taken longer than it should but we've been working simultaneously on the record boards and may have them installed in the park in record time. We're learning that when you give out this many awards, each year will be different from all the others. Superfit Productions has been exceptional at helping us get accurate results and that really helps when it comes to being confident enough to print the record boards that really can't be changed once they go up.
8 and under
9 - 10
11-12
13 -14
15 - 18
19 - 29
30 - 34
40 - 44 (1 very small possibility of place change)
45 - 49
50 - 54
55 - 59
60 - 64
65 - 69
70 - 74
75 - 79
80 - 84
85 - 89
90 - 94
95 - 99
Updated 10/19. Almost there. One major change in the new 8 and under division. Some minor timing changes with a few more to go. We realize this has taken longer than it should but we've been working simultaneously on the record boards and may have them installed in the park in record time. We're learning that when you give out this many awards, each year will be different from all the others. Superfit Productions has been exceptional at helping us get accurate results and that really helps when it comes to being confident enough to print the record boards that really can't be changed once they go up.
8 and under
- 1st Garfield Cordell 10:55
- 2rd Liam Brannin 11:59
- 3rd Leonardo Eidukas 12:30.6
9 - 10
- 1st Kyle Kirsch 10:10
- 2nd Seth Mikalson 12:52
- 3rd Rex Cordell 15:20
11-12
- 1st Cort Irby 11:04
- 2nd Owen Kochersberger 12:43
13 -14
- 1st Joshua Taylor 10:26
- 2nd Max Cordell 16:28
15 - 18
- 1st Albert Hesse 7:25
- 2nd EG Pierce 9:36
19 - 29
- 1st Josh Amberger 7:08
- 2nd Thomas Robinson 8:41
- 3rd Paul O'Neill 12:33
30 - 34
- 1st Mario Mendoza 7:06
- 2nd Patrick Judge 7:28
- 3rd Nick Scalfone 08:12
- 1st Moses Alanis 9:31
- 2nd Danny Harris 9:44
- 3rd John Adkins 10:02
40 - 44 (1 very small possibility of place change)
- 1st Jason Irby 7:46
- 2nd Andrew Knox 9:47
- 3rd Jose Macias 13:29
45 - 49
- 1st James Blanchard 9:39
- 2nd David Prevish 10:44
- 3rd Saulius Eidukas 12:01
50 - 54
- 1st Ron Carpenter 8:15
- 2nd Dan Packman 9:03
- 3rd Murray Perkins 10:13
55 - 59
- 1st George Pierce 10:19
- 2nd Scott Zettle 10:32
- 3rd Glenn Schultes 11:43
60 - 64
- 1st Tom Cushman 9:22
- 2nd Charles Ryan 10:33
- 3rd Ted Wolfe 10:47
65 - 69
- 1st Rod Thompson 10:37
- 2nd Doug Dunlap 14:46
- 3rd Gregory Kahofer 16:19
70 - 74
- 1st Peter Krasa 15:00
- 2nd Ronald Temple 15:19
- 3rd Bob Folkestad 24:33
75 - 79
- 1st Gilbert F. Gutierrez 21:51
80 - 84
- 1st None
85 - 89
- 1st Bob McLaughlin 34:18
90 - 94
- 1st John Kerstetter 28:40
95 - 99
- 1st Art Vinall 31:58
challengers ALPHABETICALLY
CLICK HERE TO SEE NEAR-FINAL LIST dated 10/19
There are just a couple of changes since 10-15. Please check ALL your data carefully. If you find or suspect a mistake, tell us in a comment or email [email protected]
Updated 10/19. There are still a few minor time changes needed that won't affect medals or standings. Changes can be requested until midnight 10/20 for those who registered online. Those who didn't will have a little more time. Standing still could change as they did in Men's 8 and under. But that's becoming less and less likely.
There are just a couple of changes since 10-15. Please check ALL your data carefully. If you find or suspect a mistake, tell us in a comment or email [email protected]
Updated 10/19. There are still a few minor time changes needed that won't affect medals or standings. Changes can be requested until midnight 10/20 for those who registered online. Those who didn't will have a little more time. Standing still could change as they did in Men's 8 and under. But that's becoming less and less likely.
Most improved since last year **
Coming
RESUlts 2007 - 2016 By challengerS Name **
Coming
2014 Record Boards **
Coming soon
2015 record boards
See below for now.
How to Compare your results over the years
If you are in the age range 19-29, you can compare directly, These are considered a runner's prime years. (also true for walkers). Age makes little difference. Ages 18 and below will generally get faster with age with the greatest effect during the younger years. For example, someone age 8 might pick up one or two minutes in a year with no training whatsoever, When you go the other direction (older), times will generally get slower with the greatest effects well after the age of retirement. For example, Art Vinall who was 98 in 2016, is expected to be over three minutes slower if he doesn't train. Most likely that won't happen because Art is very active and hikes the Butte a lot,
With all of this in mind, a good way to compare is with age grading. Here's an online calculator that makes it very easy. Put in your age. distance, and time and it will predict what your time should be without training at any age you enter in the lower portion. With that information you can remove most of the effect of age and see if you'r e gaining ground or losing ground over the years. That was the original purpose of the PBC--i.e., a measurement of your overall fitness from year to year.
Here's the calculator. Why not give it a whirl? http://www.runbayou.com/Wavacalc.htm
This method has a few drawbacks but they are mostly an inconvenience. This calculator is meant for road running. There is another for track and field events. There are none for trail running or anything else. The main inconvenience is it shows things like the world's fastest time for your age for the distance you select. That time and other stats will be way below what you'll get on the Butte. That said, the predictions are pretty good. We've tested several Butte runners who we have times for in the PBC over the years. It's clearly in the ballpark with real results on the Butte. It's rough but it's the best you have especially if you happen to be young or old.
Coming soon. Another calculator that will tell you what your time might be in your prime years base on recent results. It also gives a number you can use to compare results of men vs women of any age. With it you can compare times of everyone you know, young or old, male or female. This is interesting. Rene has an amazing time in 2016 and broke the women's overall record. Mario also had an amazing time beating Rene by over 40 seconds. Using this calculator they are very close but the nod goes to Rene. While not perfect by any means, close results is what you would expect when elite male and female runners are somewhat equalized when it comes to age and gender. That's what we mean when we say in general these calculators work for the PBC even though they are meant to be used in a very different type of race.
With all of this in mind, a good way to compare is with age grading. Here's an online calculator that makes it very easy. Put in your age. distance, and time and it will predict what your time should be without training at any age you enter in the lower portion. With that information you can remove most of the effect of age and see if you'r e gaining ground or losing ground over the years. That was the original purpose of the PBC--i.e., a measurement of your overall fitness from year to year.
Here's the calculator. Why not give it a whirl? http://www.runbayou.com/Wavacalc.htm
This method has a few drawbacks but they are mostly an inconvenience. This calculator is meant for road running. There is another for track and field events. There are none for trail running or anything else. The main inconvenience is it shows things like the world's fastest time for your age for the distance you select. That time and other stats will be way below what you'll get on the Butte. That said, the predictions are pretty good. We've tested several Butte runners who we have times for in the PBC over the years. It's clearly in the ballpark with real results on the Butte. It's rough but it's the best you have especially if you happen to be young or old.
Coming soon. Another calculator that will tell you what your time might be in your prime years base on recent results. It also gives a number you can use to compare results of men vs women of any age. With it you can compare times of everyone you know, young or old, male or female. This is interesting. Rene has an amazing time in 2016 and broke the women's overall record. Mario also had an amazing time beating Rene by over 40 seconds. Using this calculator they are very close but the nod goes to Rene. While not perfect by any means, close results is what you would expect when elite male and female runners are somewhat equalized when it comes to age and gender. That's what we mean when we say in general these calculators work for the PBC even though they are meant to be used in a very different type of race.
PBC 2016 STORIES
Coming Soon! Our favorite stories from this year's PBC. Everything from inspirational to the totally wacky. There's one to start things off and we'd love to hear your's using the form below. Just jot it down fast. We have good writers and editors who will polish it up and we'll call if we have questions.
trees don't just walk away
Finding the starting line for the PBC has always been easy. There's a tree and some other landmarks. If you know what they are, you can pinpoint the start line in second. We went to do that and something seemed wrong. It turned out the tree was gone! It was a healthy tree nearly 20 years old. We confirmed on Google Earth that it used to be there. But it's gone now with no trace of it ever being there. Fortunately there are other trees and we found the line. They say to prepare for the unexpected when putting on an event like this but missing trees? No way to prepare for that. What's next? Trees that move?
Denise Wallace who was the race director for the PBC for many years would measure back from the finish line every year to make sure the course was the same length. She did it multiple times each year too. We asked if the starting line ever changed and she said no. She just likes to make sure on things like that and she even admitted it probably wasn't needed. We're going to start measuring. Something like this was probably the reason why Denise started doing it in the first place, maybe at another event.
Denise Wallace who was the race director for the PBC for many years would measure back from the finish line every year to make sure the course was the same length. She did it multiple times each year too. We asked if the starting line ever changed and she said no. She just likes to make sure on things like that and she even admitted it probably wasn't needed. We're going to start measuring. Something like this was probably the reason why Denise started doing it in the first place, maybe at another event.
YOUR STory
goes here.
Your story
goes here
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THE REST OF THE STORY
For those wanting the scoop in detail
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Variety
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Park Improvements
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Changes Worked
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Art Vinall Award
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We Fill in 2017
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Amazing Volunteers
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Each year the Challenge attracts a wider variety of participants with the common theme of health and fitness goals uniting them. When it works, everyone wins. It has never been about being fast or winning a race. It;s about whatever floats your boat when it comes to where you're at when the Challenge comes around, Many enjoy competition and that part improves every year. Big stories there like Mario Mandoza winning a second time and a bit faster than 2014. But this time he won by less than 2 seconds with Josh Amberger right in his tail, Meanwhile, Rene Metivier broke the all time women's record set just last year by a good 5 seconds. Meanwhile, the Masters competition was dominated by people who run the PBC almost every year. Jason Irby turned in a time faster than last year to lead that pack of accomplished runners.
But if you look at just that, the PBC is just another race. It's nowhere close. The age range was broader than ever with Chloe age 4 anchoring the bottom and Art age 98 back for his ninth year in a row. The PBC started at 6:00 and Art was done at 6:02 with a time just over 30 minutes. One more reason Art defies logic,. But there was more variety than that. Bend Built brought in a large team of employees and customers who came mainly to experience the vibe. They did and they added to it. Thanks to publicity by The Bend Life and The Butte Lady, not to mention all the social media shares, we had many people who had never walked to the top. until that day. We also had one of our longest times--about 52 minutes. Think about how difficult that must have been. They pushed themself the whole way. It's almost the definition of why this is called the Challenge. People are mainly there to see what they can do and everybody respects that. Then they come back next time to see if they improved. Each year we also have some who don't make it. This year was no exception. That's respected too. There are just so many who would never even think about trying.
We had more families than ever, more businesses represented, plenty of moms carrying babies, a man who sprinted to the top carrying an American Flag, a five year old who ran faster than all twelve kids in his "8 and under" division (and faster than some adult runners), Variety is the spice of life and in many ways the PBC is what it is because the people who do it are the ones who have a leg up on life. No one ever went wrong trying to improve their health and fitness while having fun and being inspired at the same time. If you stand on most scales in a certain way you can fool yourself into believing you weight less than you really do. At the Challenge the stop watch doesn't lie. It's a good measurement of where you stand compared to a year ago.
But if you look at just that, the PBC is just another race. It's nowhere close. The age range was broader than ever with Chloe age 4 anchoring the bottom and Art age 98 back for his ninth year in a row. The PBC started at 6:00 and Art was done at 6:02 with a time just over 30 minutes. One more reason Art defies logic,. But there was more variety than that. Bend Built brought in a large team of employees and customers who came mainly to experience the vibe. They did and they added to it. Thanks to publicity by The Bend Life and The Butte Lady, not to mention all the social media shares, we had many people who had never walked to the top. until that day. We also had one of our longest times--about 52 minutes. Think about how difficult that must have been. They pushed themself the whole way. It's almost the definition of why this is called the Challenge. People are mainly there to see what they can do and everybody respects that. Then they come back next time to see if they improved. Each year we also have some who don't make it. This year was no exception. That's respected too. There are just so many who would never even think about trying.
We had more families than ever, more businesses represented, plenty of moms carrying babies, a man who sprinted to the top carrying an American Flag, a five year old who ran faster than all twelve kids in his "8 and under" division (and faster than some adult runners), Variety is the spice of life and in many ways the PBC is what it is because the people who do it are the ones who have a leg up on life. No one ever went wrong trying to improve their health and fitness while having fun and being inspired at the same time. If you stand on most scales in a certain way you can fool yourself into believing you weight less than you really do. At the Challenge the stop watch doesn't lie. It's a good measurement of where you stand compared to a year ago.
Many have known for a long time that the PBC could raise money to improve the park. Last year Rebound Physical Therapy was able to raise about $1,000 and we turned that into over $5,000 wort h of improvements last April at the Butte Thing, This year we raised more than double that amount but we also did something few noticed. We tested a bunch of different approaches. As soon as we saw something was working and we knew enough to do it better the next time, we moved on to another approach. Here's the scorecard that makes us think we can raise at least $10,000 at PBC 2017 without affecting the event in any negative way.
- You've always been able to donate when you register. That stayed the same but raised more money because donations were matched/doubled (see below).
- Whenever fundraising was included in the event, the goal was to make it better and that worked. The silent auction was a good example. It was a huge hit and it will be bigger next time.
- Matching donors weren't hard to find. As a result, almost all donations were doubled. Next year, with more time, we can bring in the matching donors before fundraising starts. Then we'll have a bigger target--probably $5,000 in 2017 with the overall goal being $10,000 .
- The Butte Lady proved that with the RaceEntry.com software, anyone can raise money for the Butte. She came up with the craziest idea she could think of,. In about two hours her lemonade stand that charged way too much (as high as $15 a cup), raised close to $150 for the Butte. But notice how she did it. It's an instant Butte tradition that will be more successful every year.
- PBC Business Week was a big success. The key is the timing of the mostly online donations. During the week before the PBC, attention skyrockets. It's a perfect time to make a donation to help the park. Even the smallest business can make a big difference. This worked well in 2016 but has almost unlimited potential. We will automate a lot of it this next year to give the businesses immediate and substantial attention. This year we put them front an center on the results page. There are plans for more things like that. It's the way we always wanted to do this and it seems to be working even better than we ever thought it would.
- Teams will bring in a lot of money. This year we proved it was easy to find a team sponsor who makes a donation to help the park, Next year we expect some teams to compete to see who can raise the most money.
- Finally, the new VIP spectator component was a much bigger hit than we could have ever imagined. We never really marketed it and over 60 signed up. It's not a fundraising campaign but it does bring more people to the PBC. The more popular the event, the easier it is to get donations. A private company managing the event is a big factor too. If a company is making money, raising money is much easier for a host of reasons.
Any time you change something that has been working, you're taking a big risk. Except for a problem with a light that never showed up (go figure, 250+ people need light when it gets dark no matter how much fun they're having), everything seemed to work. Here's a recap:
- Moving it to Friday we ended up having the biggest attendance ever with only a few complaints and we think we can make adjustments to help most of the people who made them.
- One past problem was it seem to take too long to get everyone to the top. We proved this year that it can be done in 45 minutes. It always to 90+ minutes before.
- The PBC has always been like riding the train. Expect delays. This year the results came in much faster than ever before and we learned some things to make it even faster next year. That was the biggest problem in years past.
- Weather is always a potential fun-killer, especially this time of year. You would think an evening start might make that worse. The opposite is true. It forces us to be more prepared than ever. We lucked out this year because the weather was pretty good. But we should have put more counter measures in place. We'll do so next year having learned that in the evening there's no such thing as doing too much.
- Even though we didn't get a chance to try it, we have a really good way to make the medal ceremony more enjoyable while moving much faster than before.