With runners from Ethiopia to Kenya and Texas to Utah, the Shelter Island 10K welcomes competitors from across the globe. What better way to reach them than via the World Wide Web?
And so the 10K shines on a snazzy new Web site, www.shelterislandrun.com. It was launched on March 14 thanks to the efforts of Run President Cliff Clark and Mike Goodsell, Web designer from Hamptons Online.
While the site itself entices visitors with its bold, colorful photos of summer scenes, its evolution tracks back to a snowy day last winter. "The day we had that brutal snow storm, Cliff was here all day, six to eight hours," Mike said, explaining that Cliff had come to Hampton Online's Southampton office several times to work with Mike on developing the best site possible. "By the time we were done, the weather turned and Cliff helped me clear the snow off my car — my hands were frozen."
Using last year's 10K journal as a guide, Cliff and Mike developed an attractive, easy to use Web site. The home page banner, a photo of sailboats skimming along a treed shore with the South Ferry's 10K logo art in the corner, is pure Shelter Island. Menu options running down the left of the page use just enough animation to entertain the user without slowing him down by waiting for loading.
"I'm really happy with the way it came out," Mike said, adding that he especially liked the animated runners on the navigation menu, which appears on every page of the site. A tiny racer starts pumping his arms and legs when the cursor highlights an option. He was also proud of the collage he and Cliff designed, a patriotic mix of scenes from start to finish line with individual and group runners, wheelchair competitors and the American flag. "We got a robust site because of Cliff's enthusiasm," Mike stated.
From registration information to FAQs, the site covers the bases. Users jump to other sites to register online or to view race results; a PDF download quickly displays a mail-in application. A concise year-by-year history of the 10K is told through words (by Shelter Island Reporter writer Nicholas Morehead) and pictures of runners, volunteers and the party that always follows. All the information critical to racers is under the "about us" option. Everything from a staging area map to the prize money for each division to the freebies for the runners is described or pictured.
And this Web site will be around for a while. As part of its sponsorship of the run, Hamptons Online agreed to maintain the site for three years, according to Cliff.
"We're not finished with it yet," Cliff said. The page for the fall 5K, a sister race scheduled for October 15, will be completed and the photo gallery will be filled with scenes from this year's and past races. Video clips of this year's race may also be added to the site. Though there is still work to be done, Cliff is pleased with the Web site and the home page's red, white and blue design, saying that the 10K has always displayed patriotic colors, lest we forget "how precious our freedoms are."
"The feedback we're getting from the board, as well as sponsors and several runners, is that they like it," Mr. Clark reported, adding, "We'll be continuing to develop it and open to suggestions from anyone."
