bakers dozen

POWERED BY Athlinks

The Bakers Dozen Series is comprised of 13 Half-Marathon events that are produced by Northwest-based organizations (AKA “Home Baked Miles”). These events give back to their local communities in numerous ways, including the support of local charities, children’s programs, high school sports programs, as well as health and fitness initiatives across the NW.

RACES INCLUDED IN THE SERIES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

A Half Dozen Reasons to Participate in the Bakers Dozen “Home Grown” Local Race Series!

  1. Chance to win one of a Bakers Dozen passport to do any or all of these races for FREE next year! (See details below)
  2. Supporting local race companies means you continue to get a lot of great local races to choose from!
  3. You will be supporting the many charities in OUR COMMUNITIES that these races support (e.g. boys & girls club, Leukemia & Lymphoma, mental health challenges/developmental disabilities, breast cancer, HS sports programs and so much more).
  4. Getting to run with a lot of your friends!
  5. You won’t get lost in the huge corrals of some other national races!
  6. Chance to win the opportunity to run/walk these great races free in 2014!
  7. You’ll burn so many calories that you’ll be able to treat yourself to some REAL donuts!

ABOUT THE BAKERS DOZEN HALF-MARATHON SERIES:

The Bakers Dozen Series is a selection of 13 Half Marathon events spread out over the Spring and Summer. Participants taking part in the series have the opportunity to win a “Bakers Dozen Passport” (defined below) and to see how they compare with respect to one another within the “Bakers Dozen Rankings”. Participation in any of the 13 events earns you Bakers Dozen points.  Points are determined as follows:

SERIES POINTS / RANKINGS

To help you track your points, we’ve partnered with Athlinks, the largest results database and social network for endurance athletes on the Web.  Click on their logo on the right to check out their website, create a profile and find your results today! If you’ve competed in a race, they’ve got your results. Then make sure to come back to our site after each race and claim your result. It’s a sure-fire way to make sure you keep all of your points together and accurate.



SERIES AWARDS & INCENTIVES:

THE BAKERS DOZEN SERIES PASSPORT: The Bakers Dozen Series Passport (BD Passport13 ) affords the holder of the passport free admission into any of the series races in 2014. With the average cost of the series races being $65.00 the passport is valued at $845.00. It must be noted however that the comped entries are for the holder of the passport only, these entries are not transferable to another athlete. And the comped entries are only good for the year following the awarding of the passport.

The series will award 25 total passports, 12 to TOP PERFORMERS according to series rankings and 13 to FREQUENT RACERS where the series rankings are not taken into account.

TOP PERFORMERS



FREQUENT RACERS

# RACES =
# CHANCES
 # BONUS
CHANCES		 TOTAL #
CHANCES
3
 13
 16
4 26
 30
5
 39 44
6 *
 52
 64
7 *
 65 79
8 *
 78
 94
9 *
 91
 109
10 *
 104
 124
11 *
 117
 139
12 **
 130
 166

* HALF DOZEN STATUS = DOUBLE RACE POINTS
** FULL DOZEN STATUS = TRIPLE RACE POINTS

 

INCENTIVE PRIZE DETAILS:

  1. All series participants must completed a minimum of three series races to be including in the Bakers Dozen rankings or to have chances to win the random drawings.
  2. Passport winners will be selected from all eligible entries (chances) during the awards ceremony at the last event of the series (Sunriver Marathon for a Cause) on September 1, 2013. Winners need not be present.
  3. Passport winners will be posted on the Baker’s Dozen website on Monday, September 2nd.
  4. Odds of winning depend on the total number of races completed and bonus chances earned.
  5. Prizes are not redeemable for cash.
  6. Passport winners may not request a prize substitution. Passports are non-transferable and may not be claimed or used by any person other than the winner.
  7. Passports will be mailed to all winners within 15 days of their posting on the website.  Or may be picked up at the AA Sports, Ltd. Beaverton, Oregon office.
  8. Bakers Dozen incentives are only good for the year following the awarding of the prize.  Prize awarded for 2013 Series is good for 2014 only (no exceptions).

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

We, at AA Sports are excited about all the interest being received from athletes regarding the new Bakers Dozen Half-Marathon Series.  We are listening and rolling with many of the ideas, and our mission is to continue to evolve, change and improve the series. As new details emerge we will update the Baker’s Dozen website, but in the meantime, we are here and open to answering your questions and listening to your suggestions.  Feel free to contact me at:  lynne@aasportsltd.com

The following are some of the questions and answers to-date:

Q: What is the purpose of the Baker’s Dozen Half-Marathon Series?

A: Our goal in developing the series is to encourage the NW athlete to recognize all local races, and keep our hard earned funds supporting these northwest non-profits, charities and businesses. “Race home baked miles”.  Additionally, the series allows athletes a way to be ranked so that they may be able to compare their running / walking prowess with their peers, and build the overall experience of training and participating in the half-marathon distance.

Q: What is a Bakers Dozen?

A: For us it was just a fun, catchy name, and we had 13 regional Half-Marathons that we wanted to showcase.  The historical description: A baker’s dozen, devil’s dozen, long dozen, or long measure is 13,  one more than a standard dozen.. read more

Q: Out of the 13 races, why are two of them on the same day?

A: Regarding the two races that are on the same day (Whidbey Island & Race for the Roses), this is an aberration for 2013. Race for the Rose is traditionally held on the first Sunday in the month of April unless that day is Easter. It then would move to the second Sunday in April. Unfortunately this year the Oregon Convention Center is unavailable on April 7 (the first Sunday in the month) so the event had to break with tradition and go with Sunday, April 14, which is the only Sunday where the correct hall that needs to be used within the OCCis available. They are both great races and we did not want to leave either one out of the Series. We do not anticipate that very many participants will do every event in the series since it requires only three races to qualify for the rankings and to be included in the “Frequent Racer” drawing.

Q: This looks really fun and I’d love to participate this year. However I have a conflict with the races on April 14th. Will you add another race so someone could actually get a full 13 points for participating in every race?

A: The Bakers Dozen concept is limited to 13 races.  We understand and agree that there are many additional great half-marathon races produced in the NW.  We do not want to discourage participating in other regional events. This Series is just meant to be a fun addition to the season racing adventure.

Q:  How many people do you think will be able to complete all 12 races?

A:  We are not anticipating very many people having the time, energy, or resources to do all 12 races, but we are anticipating at least a couple that will make the commitment.  We are standing by ready to cheer them on!

Q:  Do I have to fill out anything to be entered into the series?

A:  No.  To be a part of the series you need only complete three of the thirteen participating events.  After completing your third race within the series you will automatically be listed within the series rankings, and will start gathering raffle chances for the passport drawing (13 passports will be given out through the random drawing and 12 via rankings performance).

Q: For the top performers, what’s the minimum number of races they need to complete to be ranked.?

A: You must complete a total of three races to be ranked.  If you do more, the rankings will take the sum of your three best performances.

Q: Do I have to keep track of my own points?

A: No.  We have partnered with Athlinks who will keep track of all the individual race points earned and the series rankings which are based on a minimum of three races completed. These points will be posted on the Bakers Dozen website and within your individual results on the Athlinks network.

Q: As a 50 year old woman who is not a particularly fast runner but always gets to the finish line, completing the Bakers Dozen and getting the series points would be my goal. My guess is that I represent 70-90% of the people who will participate in the Baker’s Dozen.  How will we be recognized in the overall rankings?

A: It is difficult for most of the younger generation of athletes or the older generation of athletes to have an impact on the overall series standings. It comes to reason that athletes in their prime rule the overall rankings. But since you will also be ranked within your 5-year age group it will be easy to see how you compare to athletes your own age. And we agree, this is the case for 70-90% of the participants, especially walkers (see related question below).

Q: Is there prize money?

A:  No. This inaugural year does not include prize money.  However, we do have the BD Passport13 that will be awarded to the top overall Male & Female and Masters Male & Female as well as 8 additionally high ranking finishers (see Top Performers under the heading of BAKERS DOZEN SERIES PASSPORT within the series website). This passport, which has an estimated (potential) value of $845.00+ is good for an honorary entry into any of the series races in 2014.  25 BD Passports will be awarded at the end of the series, 12 according to performance and another 13 at random with raffle chances based on the number of races participated in, and bonus points accrued.

Q: How do the point system/rankings work for the walkers?

A:  The walking community, which is getting larger each year, has always had a difficult time relating their performances against one another (i.e. serious race walkers to casual recreational walkers).  There are few events designated as walker only events in which you can more accurately gauge your performance against your peers. Unfortunately it is the same here with the rankings. So you must draw the proverbial line in the sand as to what separates a walking pace from a runner pace. Most might use a 15 minute / mile pace. So, you could go to your age group in which, for example, you place 38th out of 46 participants. If you simply ignore anyone who has a pace per mile of 14:59 or faster you can see that you are #2 out of 10 in your age group. This is by no means an exact measure since it is not known if everyone that participates with a 15 minute / mile pace or slower isn’t mixing a little running in with their walking.

Q: When can I expect to see my series rankings?

A: We are calling it “pre-heating”, but after the first race of the series, which is the Heart Breaker Half on Feburary 9th, all finishing participants will be shown as “pre-heating”.  After the 3rd weekend of series races in April (there will be four races completed at that time), so any athlete that has competed in three races will automatically be shown in the Bakers Dozen Series rankings which will be posted within the BD website.

Q: I read somewhere that there is a Bakers Dozen Series Medal.  How do I get one of those?

A: The Pacific Crest Half-Marathon, along with the bonus points, is offering the Bakers Dozen medal to all finishing participants that have completed at least two series events prior to the Pacific Crest weekend.  Three is the charm (or medal)!

Q: What would be the incentive to go for all the series races?

A: You will get the “Fully Baked” Commemorative Award. After you have finished your sixth event, we start following your progress on facebook/website.  If you complete all events, you will receive the following: 1) Your personal picture with short story/bio in the RCNW Event Guide in January 2014 as well as on the BD website;  2)  You will receive an honorary Bakers Dozen Passport;  3) You will have the right to say you did it, and that you are truly Fully Baked;  4) Other prizes yet to be announced.

Q: Can you explain the bonus points for Pacific Crest?

A: Each year one of the 13 events will be chosen in which all participants who complete the event will receive bonus raffle chances (78 to be exact or a half dozen of a Bakers Dozen worth of chances). But remember, these raffle chances are worthless unless you complete a minimum three races from the series.

Q: Is there a discount if you sign up for multiple races at the same time?

A: No.  We do not have an official series option that will allow for multi-race discounts.  However, there will be the opportunity to receive a 20% discount when signing up for three races within the series at the RaceCenter/Foot Traffic Event Expo being held on Saturday, February 23rd (for details go to the Foot Traffic website: www.foottraffic.us)

FEEL FREE TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR MAKING THIS A VALUED AND EXPERIENCE. 

 

EXAMPLE RANKINGS POINTS CALCULATIONS

Example #1:  Jane Smith, who is 43 years old, is the female masters champion of the Capital City ½ Marathon. Her time is 1:26:20. Amy Nelson, who is 46 years old, has a time of 1:38:12. Jane receives 130 points as she is the female masters champion. Amy receives (1:26:20 / 1:38:12) x 130  =  0.8791 x 130 = 114.29 points.

Example #2:  Frank Parker, who is 31 years old, is the open male champion of the Helvetia ½ Marathon. His time is 1:09:10. John Brotten, who is 38 years old, has a time of 1:09:16. Frank receives 130 points as he is the male open champion. John receives (1:09:10 / 1:09:16) x 130 =  0.9985 x 130 = 129.81 points.

PRO-RATING PARTICIPANT PERFORMANCES WITHIN EACH INDIVIDUAL RACE HAS THE FOLLOWING ADVANTAGES:

  1. It eliminates the natural problems that exist such as some races are run on relatively flat terrain while others have challenging hill climbs or that some races are run at sea level while another is run at higher altitude. These factors become insignificant since your points earned are determined by your performance and the performance of the champion in the same race who is participating under exactly the same conditions. So choosing a flat terrain race nearer to sea level will not necessarily guarantee you more points because you can run faster under those conditions. Why? Everyone else, including the race champion will also run faster under those conditions.
  2. It is difficult for most of the younger generation of athletes or the older generation of athletes to have an impact on the overall series standings. It comes to reason that athletes in their prime rule the overall rankings. But you are also ranked within your 5-year age group. This easily allows you to see how you compare to athletes your own age.
  3. The walking community, which is getting large each year, has always had a difficult time relating their performances against one another. There are few events designated as walker only events in which you can more accurately gauge your performance against your peers. Unfortunately it is the same here with the rankings. So you must draw the proverbial line in the sand as to what separates a walking pace from a runner pace. Most would use a 15 minute / mile pace. So, you could go to your age group which, for example, you place 38th out of 46 participants. If you simply ignore anyone who has a pace per mile of 14:59 or faster you can see that you are #2 out of 10 in your age group. This is by no means an accurate measure since it is not known if everyone that participates with a 15 minute / mile pace or slower isn’t mixing a little running in with their walking.

 



CONTACT INFORMATION

events@aasportsltd.com

AA Sports, Ltd. www.aasportsltd.com