A west coast marathon?

2011-11-25 10:42:14 pm

Howdy everyone!

I've done a little searching around the forums, but couldn't find what I was looking for. The Awesome Games Done Quickly marathons (and all of the other charity marathons) have inspired me to want to host one of my own, here in southern California. As you can imagine, I have a lot of questions, but probably won't ask all of the right ones, so any advice you guys may have would be greatly appreciated. I think that would be a good start.

Thanks so much!

Thread title:

sinister1

Edit history:

sinister1: 2011-11-25 10:49:09 pm

2011-11-25 10:48:18 pm

sinister1

so pro u don't even know

Summer Games Done Quick was held in Utah after discussion of a west coast marathon revealed California was not a workable location at the time. You may want to just wait and see what happens with the next summer marathon, but for the time being most people are focused on the quickly approaching AGDQ 2012.

That being said, I was one of the few people advocating for a marathon to be held in CA.

BobbyHomes

2011-11-25 10:53:42 pm

Why wasn't it a workable location?

I definitely don't want to step on any toes or hinder AGDQ 2012, I'd just like to be able to hit the ground running, you know?

ZenicReverie

2011-11-25 11:06:14 pm

Waiting hurts my soul...

It wasn't workable because more people could make the drive/flights to Utah than to California. First thing you need to figure out is a location to accommodate 30 - 40 people for at least 48 hours. The place needs a high speed connection, and close or on site lodging. Beyond that, you need people that are willing to show up and play some games. I think the consensus is that 3 marathons is a pretty good limit, and there's already talk of a European one. If there's another online marathon, then next year is already full up. I for one would appreciate one in Southern California, but don't have the time to set one up.

BobbyHomes

2011-11-25 11:19:35 pm

I'm hoping for an, "if you build it, they will come" moment. That information is a good place to start though. I think doing a SGDQ would be a perfect fit for CA, but we'll see! Thanks for the info so far, and if anyone has more, that would be great too!

It looked like the last AGDQ was in a hotel ballroom, or something, is that correct?

sinister1

2011-11-25 11:26:14 pm

sinister1

so pro u don't even know

It was held at the 4-H center in Chevy Chase, MD. You may want to read through some other threads in this section of the forum for more information regarding past marathons.

ZenicReverie

Edit history:

ZenicReverie: 2011-11-25 11:42:56 pm

2011-11-25 11:42:26 pm

Waiting hurts my soul...

Some things to make sure of when you're looking for a place:

Internet access, no limit, high bandwidth up and down.
Overnight access allowed, people need to come and go from the location at basically any hour.
An alternative is to have a place to sleep at the location.
Easy access to food.

Some ideas I had in the LA area that you may not have considered:

Rent a mansion (probably the best option, although I never did cost it), enough room to host and lodge up to 100 people usually.
Rent a warehouse, most people rent them for raves, problems have been overnight not being allowed, no sleeping, and much too large a space (room for 1000 people seemed like overkill).
Rent office space, couldn't find anywhere that would rent for a week, but I'm sure there are options, and no sleeping over.

Then there's the obvious, hotels, convention centers, community centers.

Aftermath

2011-11-26 06:27:32 am

Quits halfway

Yeah, California has some specific laws when it comes to staying overnight in buildings. It mostly comes down to not being able to.

BobbyHomes

2011-11-26 08:15:29 am

Yeah, I'm leaning towards either having the whole thing in a hotel, or seeing if I can rent some space in an office with the necessary bandwidth, with a cheap hotel near by ... something like that.

mikwuyma

2011-11-26 01:48:06 pm

My feelings on The Demon Rush

I'd like to say one thing about the last Summer Games Done Quick, it wasn't in Utah because it was more convenient for people, it was in Utah because Essentia was gracious enough to host the marathon at her house.

Also, not to squash your plans, but it's very likely that the next one will take place at Essentia's again, because she sounded willing to host again.

ZenicReverie

2011-11-26 01:53:49 pm

Waiting hurts my soul...

True, that definitely sealed the deal. Keeps costs low and a more homey feel to the whole experience.

Heidrage

2011-11-30 12:05:41 pm

Willing to teach you the impossible

Some one remind me to give Essentia a hug when I see her.

InsipidMuckyWater

Edit history:

InsipidMuckyWater: 2011-12-05 10:11:03 pm

InsipidMuckyWater: 2011-12-05 10:06:55 pm

InsipidMuckyWater: 2011-12-05 10:06:25 pm

2011-12-05 10:05:04 pm

Visit my profile to see my runs!

Quote from mikwuyma:

I'd like to say one thing about the last Summer Games Done Quick, it wasn't in Utah because it was more convenient for people, it was in Utah because Essentia was gracious enough to host the marathon at her house.

Also, not to squash your plans, but it's very likely that the next one will take place at Essentia's again, because she sounded willing to host again.

Lol not to be a nitpicky nelly, but if BobbyHomes is willing to host one in SoCal, then there'd be just as much justification for having it here. Unless of course, you go by convenience for people ... in which case your post is circular. (just pokin' fun)

I'm another person that would love a SoCal marathon ... if for no other reason than because this time when I wreck, I could probably walk to wherever it is. *Go me* On the other hand, I don't really care where it is on the west coast. I'm not trying to start a debate. If it's already settled that it will be in Utah, great. If it's not settled yet, then I'm up for discussion of other places. Too bad Las Vegas or San Francisco haven't been suggested in awhile by anyone ... they'd make for a nice compromise location between Utah and SoCal. Quick, somebody uproot their entire life so they can move to one of these places and host a marathon.

Anywaaaaay. I digress. Yeah, this is probably a bad time to try and get support for your idea Bobby, but keep the thread going anyway because these things tend to build up for like 9 months ahead of time, if not longer. It won't hurt anyone. Smiley

While Essentia is awesome (probably the real reason mike said that), and while she apparently offered first, there's never anything wrong with polite discussion mixed with enthusiasm. Let us know if you find any place worth looking into in SoCal.

[quote="mikwuyma"]I'd like to say one thing about the last Summer Games Done Quick, it wasn't in Utah because it was more convenient for people, it was in Utah because Essentia was gracious enough to host the marathon at her house.

Also, not to squash your plans, but it's very likely that the next one will take place at Essentia's again, because she sounded willing to host again.[/quote]

Lol not to be a nitpicky nelly, but if BobbyHomes is willing to host one in SoCal, then there'd be just as much justification for having it here.  Unless of course, you go by convenience for people ... in which case your post is circular.    (just pokin' fun)
 
I'm another person that would love a SoCal marathon ... if for no other reason than because this time when I wreck, I could probably walk to wherever it is.  *Go me*  On the other hand, I don't really care where it is on the west coast.  I'm not trying to start a debate.  If it's already settled that it will be in Utah, great.  If it's not settled yet, then I'm up for discussion of other places.  Too bad Las Vegas or San Francisco haven't been suggested in awhile by anyone ... they'd make for a nice compromise location between Utah and SoCal.  Quick, somebody uproot their entire life so they can move to one of these places and host a marathon.

Anywaaaaay.  I digress.  Yeah, this is probably a bad time to try and get support for your idea Bobby, but keep the thread going anyway because these things tend to build up for like 9 months ahead of time, if not longer.  It won't hurt anyone.  :) While Essentia is awesome (probably the real reason mike said that), and while she apparently offered first, there's never anything wrong with polite discussion mixed with enthusiasm. Let us know if you find any place worth looking into in SoCal.

Essentia

2011-12-06 01:17:26 pm

Everything's better with Magitek

I'm happy to host another marathon at my house, but if some other place is more convenient, I say go for it.

UraniumAnchor

Edit history:

UraniumAnchor: 2011-12-06 01:43:45 pm

2011-12-06 01:39:26 pm

Not a walrus

For what it's worth Utah is far easier for me to get to than SoCal, for a variety of reasons. I would be far less likely to attend one in SoCal.

puwexil

2011-12-06 01:48:04 pm

Professional Second Banana

Costs of running a marathon in SoCal would probably be considerably higher too - any reduced travel costs for people to fly there would be more than eaten up by having to pay to rent a suitable venue.

ZenicReverie

2011-12-06 06:35:48 pm

Waiting hurts my soul...

The number of people attending will also impact the location. I'm sure a house would get very cramped if the summer marathon gets the kind of numbers AGDQ is getting.