ThankQ - logging event participants

We have recently installed the ThankQ database and are slowly getting to grips with it.

My request is, can anyone out there provide a tried and tested model for inputting event participants (e.g. marathon runners)?

We need to be able to do the usual stuff, like record and extract individual, specific and global event totals; gift aid and non gift-aided income as well as bulk gift aid; log soft credits, just giving, group, relationships etc

There seems to be more than one way to do this, but they all take up a vast amount of admin time?

Show me a better way!