http://www.racedirector.org/blog/ Making race running event directors better. Gulo Blog http://www.gulosolutions.com en-us Association of Running Event Directors Copyright 2010 http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/11/talking-back.html#1000076 http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/11/talking-back.html#1000076 Charities need to readjust their expectations. Races cannot meet the fund-raising ratios of other types of events. One charity expects EVERY event it holds to bring in $6 for every $1 spent. In races, the reverse is far more likely - at best. A typical urban race with 500 people, for example, may bring in $10-12,000 in registration fees. The cost of the race will be $20-25,000. Organizers will need cash sponsorship and discounted or donated services just to break even. The race may generate a lot of publicity, but not much money. Organizers will have to attract enough runners to make the event viable enough to gain support from other audiences. The final result will be nowhere near that 6-1 ratio. 2010-11-25 11:33:16 David M. Patt, http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/11/talking-back.html#postcomments http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/11/talking-back.html#1000075 http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/11/talking-back.html#1000075 It seems that the '5K Charity Race' is its own entity - separate from 'event races' designed for runners. At what point do 5K Charity Races become profitable enough to be worth the effort? In my opinion, registration proceeds can cover the hard costs (t-shirts, police, site, etc.) but you need a significant mass of volunteers to do the marketing. Once you start using money to market the race, you will barely break even in most cases. 2010-11-24 13:36:27 Mike Collins http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/11/talking-back.html#postcomments http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/07/why-people-run-and-race.html#1000073 http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/07/why-people-run-and-race.html#1000073 Yes, there are more 5k races than any other distance but the report found that 'core runners'' favorite distance is the half-marathon. Dates and times for races vary by local custom. Young singles like Saturday races so they can party that night and sleep in Sunday morning. Churchgoers prefer Saturdays. Municipal governments prefer Sunday races so Saturday business traffic is not disrupted (except for communities where Sunday church is part of the culture for most people). Those who work on Saturdays prefer running or volunteering on Sundays. Start times should be as early as possible (see today's blog post). People will travel farther for longer distance races, race distances that are less available, and race locations that offer non-racing, entertainment venues. There is no magical distance. 2010-07-15 17:53:58 David M. Patt, http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/07/why-people-run-and-race.html#postcomments http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/07/why-people-run-and-race.html#1000072 http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/07/why-people-run-and-race.html#1000072 Are there any additional statistics that could be pulled out of the top 4 responses? Are there preferred dates/times for serious or casual runnerwalkers. Is there a magical distances from an event where an event is considered too far to travel to? What is the most popular race distance (I'd assume 5K)? What constitues fun? I bring these questions up as they are important for events trying to understand their market and how to best reach out to further grow the event. 2010-07-15 15:56:33 Andy Edgar http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/07/why-people-run-and-race.html#postcomments http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/05/online-trap.html#1000071 http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/05/online-trap.html#1000071 Thanks for the comment, Kent. We think races benefit from paying the online fee themselves. It makes it easier to get entries and runners don't feel trapped, tricked, or soaked for extra money. (We pay the fee for members who join online). 2010-06-03 11:35:29 David M. Patt, http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/05/online-trap.html#postcomments http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/05/online-trap.html#1000070 http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/05/online-trap.html#1000070 I can not believe how many races are charging the processing fee for online registration. How about the trend to make you search for the price? AND THEN tack on the processing fee! Please keep evangelizing this. 2010-05-25 16:45:21 Kent http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/05/online-trap.html#postcomments http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/03/exploiting-race-closings.html#1000069 http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/03/exploiting-race-closings.html#1000069 Thanks, Pat. Our tech guy is checking into it. 2010-03-29 12:51:20 David M. Patt, http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/03/exploiting-race-closings.html#postcomments http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/03/exploiting-race-closings.html#1000068 http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/03/exploiting-race-closings.html#1000068 did you know that google reader can't feed your blog posts to readers? 2010-03-26 20:28:12 Pat Monahan http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2010/03/exploiting-race-closings.html#postcomments http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2009/11/water-bottles-instead-of-cups.html#1000067 http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2009/11/water-bottles-instead-of-cups.html#1000067 David, I think trailrunners use hydration devices in races more than roadruners for these reasons: Trail races can have just as many aid stations as road races, but trail races usually have terrain and elevation issues that road races don't...so it takes longer to get between aid stations. Trailrunners are also used to training in conditions away from civilization, so they tend to be more self-sufficient. (There aren't Starbucks and 7-11s in the woods). Ben 2010-01-10 16:04:16 Ben http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2009/11/water-bottles-instead-of-cups.html#postcomments http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2009/12/course-error-costly.html#1000066 http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2009/12/course-error-costly.html#1000066 The lead motorcycle in the Tucson Marathon took the leader the wrong way on Dec. 13th. He was dq'd too. I wonder if he got the prize money? By the time I went by that corner, there was a volunteer making sure we all went the long way. 2009-12-18 17:36:00 Pat Monahan http://www.racedirector.org/blog/2009/12/course-error-costly.html#postcomments