Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon-Coming August 11

Interview: Race Director Stephan Andrade -Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon

Tho-Run:This is your 4^th year as race director for GTIS. It’s got to be a busy time with race day less than 60 days away but reflect back for a minute on the first four years of the race-what things stand out?  

GTIS-Stephan: The joy of someone finishing the race, the folks that “ran” the race on supplemental oxygen, the grace of Mario setting a state record last year, he moved like no other runner I have ever seen, the way that he ran was magical.

THo-Run: The half marathon distance is gaining in popularity.  But your race adds an interesting twist with the extended downhill. Talk about some of the feedback you get from runners on the course.  

GTIS-Stephan:  They love the rolling down hill not too steep going downhill, only a couple of slight climbs but the fact that we have been doing the same event with only one distance for 34 years in a row, lets everyone know that when they line up in Georgetown that everyone with them is there with the same aspiration to “complete a half” that is special they all put in the training they all know that it is a real race.

Tho-Run: This year marks the 34^th anniversary of GTIS. That’s a lot of tradition. In that time, you have raised more than $1,000,000, including  more than $100,000 last year alone!  Talk about the evolution of your fund raising as part of the event.  

GTIS-Stephan: The event was started by three local runners (a bus driver, a restaurant owner and the local beer distributor) all of them are still involved with the  race. They organized the race in the first running wave (when Frank Shorter won gold) and then thought that it should benefit the local schools.  We have such a great base of runners, volunteers (students and parents) and supportive towns like Georgetown and Idaho Springs, it is a perfect fundraiser because folks come from all over the country, donate money to our local schools by registering for the race and get a world class event at a bargain price (we have some of lowest registration fees for a half in the county let alone Colorado).  What more could you ask for as a Race Director it makes expanding the base easier than most races and it is in a perfect location. 

Tho-Run:There are a ton of logistics involved in a “regular half marathon” with a start finish line at or near the same point on a course. You have additional challenges with transportation as some of your runners stay in Idaho Springs or Georgetown prior to the event, or some drive to the start line. How do you manage the bus transportation on race day—and keep everything running smoothly?  

GTIS-Stephan: They are all volunteers from the school district the costs are not there like a lot of other races.  In fact this a real local event at all levels, we have great logistical support from all parties, permits are smooth and the local residents embrace this event. So we don’t have the same challenges that even a small 5k would have around a park.  What we do need to make sure of is that we have enough toilets, give a-ways at the finish and great weather (we have only had rain in one year out of 33 not bad), and some cold watermelon.