Spring Thaw

Obatron Productions' exercise arm, Obatron Fitness, is proud to introduce a new race option, Spring Thaw. Enter either or both races. Walker and mobility-impaired friendly. Diet sensitive. Virtual. Race indoors or out.

Distances Available

Choose 10K, 10-Mile, or BOTH! 

Where You Can Get Your Miles

Wherever you want! Hit the road, traverse a trail, step up to a treadmill, or make endless loops throughout your home. Just be sure to record each activity so you can submit the time for each one.

When to Race and Entering Results

You can race on any day from 12 a.m. on Friday, April 16, to 11:59 p.m. on the Sunday, April 18.

Results must be submitted by 9 a.m. on the Monday, April 19. Enter your ENTIRE time, including seconds. If you don't enter your race time on time, you won't be in the results for individual races. Simply go to the Results page and click on "Submit Virtual Results" for each race you entered.

What You Get

Individual Races

• A hand-painted, personalized wooden flower medallion for each race completed.
• Non-perishable race food and beverage for each race.
• Spring Thaw Growing Kit: Peat disc growing medium that expands to a self-contained mini-pot shape and a packet of basil, parsley, or chives.
• Earned Extras: Opportunities to earn points that get you more swag and chances to receive premier prizes from Obatron Fitness and any sponsors, predominantly through the Obatron Fitness Facebook Group (Obatron Fitness Conversation Space); See Sponsors Prizes for Earned Extras below for more information.
  • digital scavenger hunt (trivia)
  • image scavenger hunt
  • multiple questions throughout the series
  • pre- and post-race activities
• Virtual bib for each race
• Digital finisher's certificate for each race
• $10 gift card for Road iD (offered at registration; be sure to opt-in)
• RunGoo discount
• Facebook group (racers need not be registered for the whole series) to interact with fellow racers and their supporters as well as participate in challenges, ask questions, and get updates.

Both Races

• Register for both races at the same time and you save $5!
• Your Spring Thaw Growing Kit expands to include additional peat discs and seeds.
• Get 30 points added to your Earned Extras total.

Teams (Groups)

• Discounted registration for groups of 4-7 members ($19) and further discounted registration for groups with 8+ members ($17). Scroll on to see how that works under "Discounts and Referrals" later in this page. Team pricing goes into effect at 7 p.m. on 4/6, after the early bird pricing expires; when you register for more than one race, you're counted as a team member each time by the software, but discounts and and any prizes are based on the real number of individuals registered.
• Team standings
• Your team name on your medallion
• Small prize for team members with the most participation in Earned Extras Points Posts

Prizes for Earned Extras Participants and Racer Raffle

Prizes include skin care items, chocolate treats, stress relief tokens, an entry into Bookin' It - Spring and an entry for training from Obatron Fitness (us!), RunGoo by Foot Kinetics, and other items to be determined. Items are sorted into tiers. The first several tiers guarantee you a specific prize. The final two are for chances to receive the premier prizes (race entry and training, for example).

Swag Details

Wood Medallions: Each race features a hand-painted wooden medallion in the shape of a flower. The 10K and 10-Mile will be different colors. The backs will be personalized with your name and, if submitted on time, your finishing time. If you are part of a team, your team name will be included, too.

Race Food Kit: At registration, you'll have choices about dietary specifications. If you make no choices, we'll default to a traditional, unrestricted diet. If you choose contradictory things (vegan and traditional, for example), we'll default to traditional. You will get at least one item per race. If items don't suit you, consider donating them to a food pantry or blessing box.

Packet Pick-up/Delivery/Shipping: You have three options: pick-up in person, delivery, or shipping.

FREE In-person Packet Pick-up: Racers can meet the race director on Sunday, April 25, at 8:45 a.m. in the Millennium Lodge parking lot of Greece Canal Park at 241 Elmgrove Rd., Rochester, NY 14626. You can have someone else pick up your packet; just let the RD know that's your plan after the race is complete and before that Sunday. A workout on a three-mile route follows at 9 a.m. for anyone who is interested.

$2 Delivery: Available only to addresses within 30 minutes of Greece Canal Park (241 Elmgrove Rd., Rochester, NY 14626). Use Google Maps to determine if you're within the delivery area as that's what the RD will use for her mapping. Delivery will be at the RD's convenience and done all at once on any single day from Monday, April 26-Sunday, May 2. Use this option only if you are comfortable with a bag being left on your doorstep if you are not home.

$3 Shipping: For anyone beyond the delivery zone, uncomfortable with a drop-off without specific time/date, or unable/uninterested in coming to packet pick-up. 

Discount Offers & Referrals

Racing BOTH
Entering both races at once rather than individually at different time gets you a smaller per race entry fee than the sum of individual race fees, a lower RunSignUp fee than the sum of the fees when registering separately, and an extra token of appreciation.

Being Part of a Team
Teams with four or more members get discounted registration. The first three people pay the price in effect for the race (Ex. $200). When the fourth person registers, that person pays the team rate (Ex. $190) and the first three people get a partial refund (Ex. $10). The fifth, sixth, and seventh members pay the same team rate as the fourth person (Ex. $190). However, when an eighth person joins, that person pays a new, lower rate (Ex. $175), triggering a partial refund to the first seven members ($15). In that way, the entire team would have paid the same price per person after all team discounts have been triggered, excluding any coupons or other discounts individual registrants might have had (Ex. $175 instead of $200). There are no further discounts for additional members. 

Being in a Club
If you are a member of any club with a presence on RunSignUp (ex. GRTC, Fleet Feet Race Team, Medved, or Obatron Fitness), you get a discount at checkout for that. If you join a team within this race at registration, you get partial refunds when you get to enough people (detailed earlier in this section).

Referrals
You may earn back some of your registration by having other racers use your personal referral link, generated after you register. See the "Referrals" section for more information.

Caveats
While club and team discounts, coupons, and referrals rebates may be combined, there is a discount floor to ensure we are fiscally responsible with our pricing. For example, if you could get a total of $11 off a race that only costs $16 to begin with, you would pay $10, not $5.

Awards

No formal placement awards are planned for winners, but there will be acknowledgements for Top and Tenacious finishes. However, you are encouraged to enter (down to the second) your time to establish a race history, be able to create a finisher's certificate, and to embrace the fun of it. Besides, you never know what may happen as the event gets underway! (We've been known to surprise people.)

If there are three or more teams formed, there will be a small bonus prize for members of the most active group in the Earned Extras challenges. If there are five or more, there will be acknowledgement of the Top and Tenacious Team finishes. If only one or two teams are formed, there will be no planned prizes.

Sponsors

As our sponsors come on board and provide logos, a full list will be available on our sponsors page. If you know someone who you think would be a good sponsor, let them know to contact the race director at vickey@obatron.com. Sponsors provide discounts, prizes, or both and make their clients aware of the event in exchange for advertising and an optional discount for their clients.

Additional Details

Changes and Updates

I will post additional details as they are finalized. Any changes will be updated here, on the Obatron Fitness Facebook page, in our Facebook group, and communicated through RunSignUp messaging.

Gender Designations

We recognize there are those who would rather not pick male or female when asked to choose. Unfortunately, we've not seen a way to provide other options within that field's parameters. As such, we ask your understanding that we are limited by the nature of registration tools and finite resources rather than disregarding anyone's preferences in how they are addressed or define themselves.