Run For The Hills

…or around the track, or down the scenic path, or along the planned city route. Since the oppressive heat and humidity here in Illinois has finally given way to the cool of fall, I am seeing people outside again resuming their running routines. Lately I seem to be bumping into people who are training for a marathon, half-marathon, just getting into running, recovering from a race of some kind, or thinking about maybe, possibly, starting to train for a 5k next year. I’ve personally never been a fan of running. About 20 years ago for a few months I tried it, but I do enough “running” around during events that when I have a chance to do something outside of work, running some more isn’t high on the list.

The subject of marathons keeps popping up around me as if the universe is listening… I recently had a conversation with another Certified Meeting Professional who wanted to talk shop with someone about a situation she’s navigating. When I asked what her next large event was she said she was working on, you guessed it, a marathon. One, in fact, that required her to walk through a complex permit process to close one of the largest bridges in her state.

This got me thinking about what it takes to pull off a race. I worked on a team that executed a small 5k and 10k walk/run probably 10 years ago, but I did a little additional research since I’m sure some of the particulars have changed since then.

A good place to start when planning a race (we’ll stick with race since a marathon is an extremely larger-scale version of one) is to define the goals and objectives. What do you hope to accomplish? Is the race a fundraiser? Are you raising awareness for a cause? Is it a race on a holiday as a fun activity for the community? The stakeholders should begin with foundational questions that start the planning process for any major event.

Within this initial planning meeting, after purpose, important details that need to be determined include budget, potential locations, dates and times, who is the target audience, how long the race route will be, if there will be multiple, simultaneous races happening, what type of staffing or volunteer support might be needed, and how the runners’ time will be tracked.

When scouting a location and race route, make sure there is enough space to park both runners and spectators. There also needs to be plenty of room for check-in and bib pick-up, space for the timing crew to set up, room for porta pottie & hand washing stations, and runner water and snack stations. It is even more convenient for everyone if the location has a robust public transportation system. The number of cars to worry about and need for parking decreases if people can access the race by train or bus. Also, find a location that gives the runners a one-of-a-kind experience. This might be in the form of a race through Holland, Michigan during tulip season, through an area with lake views, or something more fun like a mud or color run.

It always helps when you can get buy-in from the city where you want to hold the race. If your race has significance for the city because of the nature of its fundraising or cause, that’s easy. If not, it helps to show city officials what the potential economic impact might be if the predicted number of runners and spectators descend on their town spending money on hotels, restaurants, transportation, conveniences, tourist attractions, and souvenirs. The local Convention and Visitor Bureau (CVB) can help calculate that.

Other major details to keep in mind include:

• Terrain of the race route: condition of roadways, steepness, height above sea level, and more.
• Safety: amount of traffic to reroute, having a well-lit route, ensuring plenty of medical staff and supplies are available, keeping water, broth, and other electrolyte replacements on hand. Ensure all staff, volunteers, safety, and medical personnel know the race route and the emergency routes, location of medical stations, hospitals, urgent care facilities, fire stations, and police stations.
• Participant briefing: make sure runners understand the race route, where replenishment, bathroom, and medical stations are, and if there are any hazards on the route they may encounter. Incorporating crowd control barriers helps to keep spectators out of the way of runners and emergency personnel.
• City/location briefing: send information to the local businesses that may be impacted by the influx of runners and spectators so they can staff up or adjust menus if needed.
• Date: check the local city and school calendars for the city and nearest major cities around the one of the race. Check for any major event that might impact yours whether interfering or drawing people away.
• Permits and licenses: ensure you have confirmed with the city, insurance company, and potentially an attorney that you have the correct permits, protection, or riders for road closures, accidents, or injuries.
• Volunteers: enlist the help of enough people along the race route, at check-in and bib pick-up, replenishment stations, and at the end to hand out medals and goodie bags, etc.
• Swag: think through what the racers will receive for running the race. How many categories of winners will there be? Do you need shirts, medals, other goodies?
• Logistics: consider placement of disposable trash and recycle bins all along the race route. Will you be providing charging stations for mobile devices? If appropriate, hire a hype-man to get the participants riled up and energized before the race.
• Marketing & Advertising: know who you are marketing to and for how long. Partner with a talk show, influencer, or celebrity. Decide on a name, create a great website, and logo.
• Race Timing: be sure to partner with a great, reliable company for chip timing of the runners to accurately and efficiently capture stats.

Talk to someone who has recently planned a race. Find out what they learned from their experience and see if they have any pointers to share. Also, a planner should have a kit on-site with things like safety pins, tissues, towels, sunscreen, Vaseline, dongles, and more.

Have you planned a race? Share something you learned with us here or send me an email!

Like this blog and share it on your social media and with those you know who plan events!

If you work with volunteers, check out my book “Cultivating a Healthy Volunteer Team“ today!