When you want to know what’s happening and trending in the endurance events industry by the numbers, where do you turn to? Well, for me and many people I know, the definitive source of event data for the industry is, and has been for some time, GiveSignup|RunSignup ’s annual RaceTrends report. The report leverages GiveSignup|RunSignup’s extensive registration data from almost 60,000 events to point to trends in event participation, event pricing, participant demographics, marketing effectiveness...
Feb 07, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 24
When you think of race expos, what kind of thing comes to mind? Well, if you’re like me, you’re probably thinking huge pre-race expos like New York or London, where you go to pick up your bib and race packet, and where you get to stroll around hundreds of booths from high-profile running brands showcasing their latest thing. Race expos are actually a lot more common than you think, and, according to my guest today, absolutely every event can and should have one. And why wouldn’t yours? Race expo...
Jan 24, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 23
Public relations (PR) is an integral part of running a successful brand and business. It is the art of communication and storytelling. It’s about appealing to communities and stakeholders, forging relationships with media and playing the marketing long game. Yet, as my guest today - PR pro, Meg Treat , of Treat Public Relations - rushes to acknowledge, it often gets a bit of a bad rap. Well, hopefully we’re going to be challenging those perceptions for you today, with a really insightful take on...
Jan 10, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 22
If you’re listening to this episode as it comes out, it’s the middle of the holiday season and, hopefully, you’re recovering from some excessive meal or other - so, Merry Christmas to you! Today, we have a very special end-of-year episode for you where we’re going to be looking back at a fairly challenging 2021 but also looking ahead to a - hopefully - much brighter, more optimistic 2022. We’re going to be talking about your expectations for the new year, and also touching a bit on the ongoing s...
Dec 27, 2021•50 min•Ep. 21
Sports tourism - you’ve heard the phrase, people traveling to places to participate in sporting - that’s a whole thing these days. And a very fast-growing thing at that. So, how can your race capitalize on this trend and how can you position your event to attract more overseas or out-of-state participants? That’s exactly what we’ll be getting into today with my guest, George Kakourides , Marketing Director for the Logicom Cyprus Marathon . As you’ll hear, George has worked really hard on growing...
Dec 13, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 20
If you have built a business putting on races, chances are you would have thought of maybe selling some or all of those races at some point in the future. You may also have toyed with the idea of buying races from others as a way to grow your event portfolio. Buying and selling races still remains a big mystery for most race directors - even very experienced ones. How do you go about it? How do you find events to buy, if you’re a buyer, and where do you turn to sell your event, if you’re a selle...
Nov 29, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 19
The GiveSignup|RunSignup Symposium series has grown from modest beginnings of just a few dozen people to be the industry conference most race directors and timers will attend during the year. And this January 25-26, the Symposium series returns to Orlando Florida after a two-year hiatus for an awesome two days of education and networking, and all race directors, timers and nonprofit professionals are invited - not just GiveSignup|RunSignup customers. So, it’s great to have with me today, Johanna...
Nov 18, 2021•34 min
If I told you “race marketing”, what kinds of things come to mind? Facebook ads maybe, maybe Google Ads. But what about your race website? Is that optimised for search engines? When people search Google for your race - or, even more importantly, for a race like your race to enter - is your race website the one they find at the top of Google search results? Today we’re going to be talking about SEO - a huge missed opportunity to get more qualified people to discover your race on Google. Why is th...
Nov 15, 2021•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 18
It’s very fashionable these days to hear people speak of “influencers” - people who work with brands to promote their products and services to a niche audience in which they have a strong following. Well, our industry has had that for a while. They’re called race ambassadors and they can be your race’s special influencers, going out into the community and spreading the word for your event in their running club, weekly group run, or the next race or expo they attend. Today I have the pleasure of ...
Nov 01, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 17
Today, we have a bonus episode for you. And it’s all about Tyvek . Yes, that wondrous paper-like, fabric-like material, that is actually neither paper nor fabric, that our industry uses to make race bibs. Well, that wondrous material is now in a bit of a supply freeze. That’s right - the owners and exclusive manufacturers of Tyvek, DuPont, have informed printers that no more printing-grade Tyvek shall be made available until the end of the year, in an effort to divert production to medical-grade...
Oct 29, 2021•32 min
At the tender age of 24, with no prior experience or any interest in running, Matt Trevett decided to take a gamble and launch a new 10K in his hometown of Weybridge in Surrey, UK. Matt promised local business groups and the local council he’ll bring 1,000 people to the race in its first year. As you can imagine, everyone was very supportive of the idea - in between thinking Matt was crazy. Fast-forward a few months, and Matt delivered his 1,000 people inaugural Weybridge 10K , as promised, and ...
Oct 18, 2021•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 16
It’s probably fair to say that when it comes to a race director’s calendar, it doesn’t get much bigger than race day. It’s the day your race comes alive and a day you and your team have been working towards for months. Whether it’s your first race or your hundredth, everyone goes into race day a bit like a standup comedian walking on stage for their first gig - with a mix of excitement and, well, dread is probably a good word for it. A million things are going through your head. Does everyone kn...
Oct 04, 2021•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 15
Ask yourself this: when was the last time you bought something without checking out reviews for it online? Experiences, like races, are no different. When you have a dozen 10Ks to choose from, you’ll want to hear what others have to say about each race before making your decision. And that’s where race reviews come in. Whether they’re hosted on your website or a third-party site, reviews are the mirror of your race to the world. It’s the best social proof you have and the most effective way to c...
Sep 20, 2021•47 min•Ep. 14
Have you ever thought about timing your races yourself? Building your own RFID timing system? Perhaps even building a small race timing business on the side as a way to diversify your income? Well, doing your own race timing is certainly not for everyone. For most race directors, managing their own race timing is the last thing they need on race day. Nevertheless, DIY race timing is exactly the route many race directors choose to go down, either to save money, try their hands at building a race ...
Sep 06, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 13
Making races more sustainable is on more and more race directors’ radar these days - which is awesome. But when it comes to moving from theory to practice, working to affect actual change in your race that has a meaningful impact on your event’s environmental footprint, things sometimes get a little bit confusing. Where do you even start? How do you benchmark where you’re currently at with your event, so you can measure your progress going forward? What things should you focus on? And what does ...
Aug 23, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 12
Have you ever wondered how the choices you make about your race start procedure can affect every aspect of the rest of your race? Even simple things, like choosing a wave start over a rolling start, or changing the order and size of each wave, or the width of your start line, can have a significant impact on your race’s safety, congestion on the course, and even your staffing requirements for aid stations and your race finish area. Today I have the pleasure of having as my guest Marcel Altenburg...
Aug 09, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 11
Selling sponsorships is arguably the biggest chronic challenge race directors face. Many race directors simply don’t like doing it, others don’t know where to start, and perhaps some have even given up after multiple frustrations and disappointments. My guest today, Ben Pickel , is the Director of Sales and Strategy at Life Time Events . Ben has been working for years in the front lines of sponsorship sales, and knows a thing or two about the ups and downs of event sponsorship. His advice? Know ...
Jul 26, 2021•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 10
With races starting to come back, and at least a hint of normalcy slowly returning to the endurance events market, it’s a good time to take stock of where we currently are on the road to recovery. Are more participants signing up for races? Are they signing up later, as some race directors have suggested? Are in-person races making a strong comeback? And what about virtual races which dominated events for most of last year? We’ll be answering these questions and more today with the help of my gu...
Jul 12, 2021•47 min•Ep. 9
Does your race offer a kids run alongside your main events? If not, you could be missing out on a great opportunity to make your race more attractive for families, as well as getting a few more sponsors on board that may not normally take an interest in sponsoring your race. Lucie Murray of specialised kids run production company Run Kids Run has been managing kids runs for some of the largest races on the West Coast, including the LA Marathon, Surf City Marathon and Santa Monica Classic. She is...
Jul 05, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 8
When it comes to waste in the endurance events industry, water bottles are the big plastic elephant in the room. So it’s no surprise that a great deal of effort has recently been going into finding ways to tackle the problem of plastic bottle waste in races. Today, we're talking to Lise Honsinger , CFO & COO of Notpla , a UK-based company pioneering the use of edible packaging. Notpla’s flagship edible sachet, Ooho , has been used in the London Marathon and many other races across the world ...
Jun 28, 2021•48 min•Ep. 7
Having a charity partner is sometimes a bit of an afterthought for many race directors. And yet, there’s so many benefits to getting a charity involved with your event, from increased participation and volunteer recruitment opportunities to even higher likelihood of closing sponsorship agreements. Well, today, I’m talking to industry veteran Susan Hurley , Founder of CharityTeams , about how to approach charities, what to expect out of a charity partnership and how to make the most of this under...
Jun 21, 2021•44 min•Ep. 6
Professional race timing is one of those things everyone’s come to expect when entering a race. And, for more than three decades, RFID has been the undisputed gold standard when it comes to timing races. But, with new technologies coming on to the market, cheaper and more widely available alternatives to RFID timing are fast becoming a reality. Alternatives like Bluetooth, which can be programmed to deliver highly accurate race times at a fraction of the cost of RFID. Does that mean you could so...
Jun 14, 2021•52 min•Ep. 5
On May 22nd, tragedy struck when severe weather hit the Huanghe Shilin Mountain Marathon in China. Caught between checkpoints along the 100km race course, runners found themselves exposed to hail and freezing rain at 3,000ft. When rescue teams finally reached the area, 21 people had died. Today we're talking to Lindley Chambers: race director, first aider and former Chair of the UK Trail Running Association , about what went wrong in that fateful race and how trail race directors (and race direc...
Jun 07, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 4
2021 is shaping up to be a year of two halves for the endurance events industry. The first half, like most of 2020, has been an almost total write-off. The second? That is shaping up to be one of the busiest race seasons ever, with oversaturated race calendars and intense competition among events for participants making their return to racing. So, what should you be doing to promote your race in this market? And what channels and strategies should you focus on to stand out from the competition? ...
May 31, 2021•56 min•Ep. 3
Waste is a big problem in the events industry and endurance events are no exception. And it’s not only about water bottle waste. Sometimes the things we offer our participants, like medals and T-shirts, end up discarded or in a cupboard somewhere never to see the light of day again. Change may be just around the corner though. In today's episode we'll be hearing from Chris Zair on how UK-based Trees not Tees is helping race directors offer participants the option of planting a tree instead of (o...
May 24, 2021•58 min•Ep. 2
To say it's been a challenging year for the endurance events industry would be an understatement. So what can we learn from what we’ve been through to help us improve the way we manage risk in the events industry going forward? That’s what we’ll be exploring in today's episode with the help of our guest, Nathan Nicholas , Managing Partner at specialist insurance broker Nicholas Hill Group . When it comes to 1-in-1,000-type risks in the industry, Nathan has dealt with it all, from severe weather ...
May 17, 2021•53 min•Ep. 1
Welcome to episode zero of Head Start, the podcast for race directors and the business of putting on races. In this first short episode, Panos sets out what you should expect from future Head Start episodes, namely: 1) The best and coolest innovation happening in the mass-participation endurance industry that you may not know about 2) Top tips and actionable advice from industry experts to help you better plan, manage and market your race. Stay tuned and subscribe for the roll-out of our first 6...
Apr 20, 2021•4 min
