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DCRR Race Series Rules

The Bunion Derby and Snowball Series races are held annually, spanning the summer and winter months respectively. These races are open to club members and non-members alike, and they are designed not only to provide racing and training opportunities but also to facilitate active membership support of the club’s activities.

DC Road Runners is an all-volunteer organization, and none of the club’s events, including these races, would be possible without the assistance of volunteers.

The race series rules stipulate the expectations for participation—both as a runner and as a volunteer—to be eligible for ranking and for awards.

General Rules

Both the Bunion Derby and the Snowball Series contain a set number of events, each of which may count toward series points. Points are awarded in 5-year age groups, beginning with 14 and under, and ending with 80 and over. The general rules of participation are:

  • Your age on the day of the first series race you run is your age for the entire series.
  • For events with multiple race distances (e.g. The Bread Run 10K and Gingerbread 2-Miler), only the longest race distance at a given event can earn series points.
  • Points are awarded to the top twenty places in each age group in descending increments of 1. For example, the first-place runner in an age group receives 20 points. The second-place runners earns 19 points, and so on.
  • You must be a DC Road Runners Club (DCRR) member on the day of the race to earn points for that race.
  • In the event of a tie, the winner will be determined by victories in head-to-head competition. If there is still a tie, the time difference in those same head-to-head races will determine the winner.
  • You must run three races in separate events to qualify for an award. A runner’s top four races will count in the total scoring for the series.
  • If a race is canceled due to unsafe weather, a runner’s top four of six races will count. If two races are canceled, a runner’s top three of five races will count.
  • If a race cannot be held as originally scheduled due to unsafe weather, a government shutdown, or other factors beyond our control, we will endeavor to reschedule it for an opportune date when the course venue is again available. If possible, rescheduled races will be included in that series’ point competition.
  • You must volunteer at a qualifying event or activity in the corresponding race series in order to be eligible for an award.

Volunteer Requirements

In order to be eligible for an award, runners must volunteer in one of the following roles (additional volunteer support is always welcome):

  1. Race Series Event Support: water stop assistance; race timing; post-race finish support (event scoring, distribution of awards, food preparation); course marshal duties; serving as a race director or assistant race director; and other roles as defined by the race director (in-series credit). Note: You cannot receive volunteer credit for supporting a race that you also run, although you’re still welcome to support and run in the same event.
  2. Support Other Club Races: volunteering at the National Capital 20 Miler or the Alexandria Turkey Trot will count toward volunteer credit for the Bunion Derby and Snowball Series respectively. Additional volunteer opportunities for other races, such as the Marine corps Marathon, where the club is soliciting support will be announced on an as-needed basis. You must volunteer before the event by contacting the race director or DCRR volunteer coordinator to receive an assignment and to ensure that the club has an accurate volunteer count (out-of-series credit).
  3. Training Program Support: volunteer as a pacer for the marathon, half-marathon, 10-miler, 10K, or 5K training programs. Pacers should plan to be present for the majority of Saturday long runs during each training program, and they should be active program participants for the duration of each training cycle (out-of-series credit).
  4. Join the DCRR Board of Directors: serve as a member of the board in the year of the series that you are running (out-of-series credit).
  5. Ad Hoc Volunteer Opportunities: serve in other volunteer roles at the discretion of the DCRR President and the Vice Presidents acting jointly (out-of-series credit).

By rough estimate, the functions in 1 through 5 involve well over 100 separate volunteer opportunities, which should be ample for people to choose from without bunching too many volunteers for a single event.

If volunteer bunching occurs, priority will be given to those who volunteered first for the event, and others will be suggested to volunteer at a different event.

Age Group Award Eligibility

To be eligible for an end-of-series award, a runner must satisfy the following three criteria:

  1. be a DC Road Runners member
  2. perform at least one volunteer role in the allotted time for the series
  3. accrue enough points to place in the top three runners who have satisfied conditions 1 and 2

If a top-3 point getter in an age group has not satisfied the volunteer requirement or maintained a DCRR membership, the award will move down in the standings until three eligible runners have been found.

If an age group does not have three qualified runners, then awards will only be given for the number that are qualified. 

Race Series Shirt Eligibility

To be eligible to receive a commemorative race series shirt, a runner must satisfy all of the following criteria:

  1. be a DCRR member in good standing
  2. perform at least one in-series volunteer role
  3. perform at least one out-of-series volunteer role
  4. run in four Snowball Series races

Snowball Series Jacket Eligibility

To be eligible for a series jacket, a runner must satisfy all of the following criteria:

  1. be a DCRR member in good standing
  2. perform one in-series volunteer role
  3. perform at least one out-of-series volunteer role
  4. run in six Snowball Series races