Yeah, so Hermes decided to stick with the whole "Run like a god" slogan. I discussed my views on this slogan last year in my review of the 2009 Hermes 10 Miler. I still don't think it's an appropriate catch phrase for the race... especially when it's inked across the back of the race T-shirt. Basically, few participants of this race are "running like gods".
Hermes Racing, the "Run Like a God" slogan, and using an Ionic column as the "1" in the number 10: I thought maybe they've kept with this theme because they don't have anything else to go with. Well I have a solution for them. My alternative will more accurately reflect the Hermes Cleveland 10 Miler demographic and they can even keep the same color scheme. Observe the current logo (left), and my proposed design (right). The new slogan would be: "You're a slow runner".
The concept came to me while I was passing several people during the race who were wearing "Run like a god" T-shirts. I'm certainly not going to the olympics or winning a race anytime soon, and I thought, "these people are NOT running like Gods... in fact, if I'm passing them, they are on the slow side". So I think my new race branding will be highly successful and give participants a more realistic view of our abilities.Moving on, there really isn't much to change from my review of last year's Hermes Cleveland review. The course was identical and I again enjoyed it. It's mostly downhill which is obviously rather appealing. There was once again a moderate level of disorganization, especially during pre-race business. The race was sold out and there were only 2 packet pickups prior to race day held in small venues. Race volunteers told me that lines for packet pickup wound out of the building and didn't settle down for hours. The only obvious difference this year was the weather. Last year it was a beautiful day, but extremely hot. This year it was a little chilly and rained during much of the race. I once again give this race a six, but I guarantee it would move up in rank if officials implemented my ideas of logo and slogan change.
