There was a time when I thought a road race could never be sold. Who would buy it and what exactly would the buyer be buying anyway? Today, however, races are now being bought and sold left and right. Boy, did I miss the bus on that one.
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As event directors, our focus tends to be on making sure our course is an accurate and safe one, that we have plenty of water to distribute, that our race starts on time and that we deliver quick and accurate results…all extremely important aspects of producing a successful event.
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First, Happy New Year to all! For many people, entering the new year is like hitting the reset button. Time to re-evaluate. Time to reflect on the past year and determine your goals for the new year. In other words, it’s that time of year to identify your New Year’s resolutions. It’s human nature for most to proceed in this fashion and I certainly support that. It’s always healthy to have goals and objectives.
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“You actually get paid to direct a road race?” How many times have we all had someone say that to us?! Um, yes, we get paid… well, most of the time.
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Everyone has pet peeves. As race directors, we, too, have pet peeves—a lot of them—that drive us all insane. Knowing that misery loves company sometimes, I’ve listed a few of my race pet peeves, which I know all of you can identify with:
With all due respect to everything involved in creating a new road race, the course and the management of the course is arguably the most important aspect of your event.
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I often get inquiries from various groups about them wanting to put on a new road race. The first question they typically ask me is, “how much does it cost to put on a road race?”
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Every now and then it feels good to be recognized when people know who you are, what you do and what you have done. Then there are times when it might be better not to be recognized at all, or as I like to call it “being incognito."
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Motivation is all around us. But the only way to see it and experience it is to first want to. Motivation is about people inspiring other people.
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Given that I have been running and racing for over 50 years, I certainly have a lot to REFLECT on. Why did I start running and why do I continue doing it?
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When managing our races, we tend to focus a lot on the elite leaders in the race: we make sure they go in the right direction, they follow our lead vehicles, and they're cheered on by thousands of spectators. However, what about the last runner(s)?
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I’ve always said, “if you are not prepared for everything, you are not prepared for anything.” To me, the preparation may not always guarantee success, but without preparation, you will always be guaranteed failure. By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
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I’ve always felt the genius is seeing it in the seed, that is, being able to visualize something before it even ever happens. Many times we even visualize ourselves succeeding at our goal and that usually motivates us even more to drive on and believe we can accomplish anything we set our minds to.
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As weird as it may sound, I’ve always been fascinated when going to other races by what they display for start and finish banners. Some of the things I wonder and think about are:
Race directors can be very particular about “the look” of their race. A lot of money and resources can be allocated to ensuring a professional presentation of the event. Signage, banners, and balloons all are designed and placed with extreme care. This is no more evident than at many of the iconic races throughout the country as they have the budget and time to spend on this important aspect of the event whereas other races aren’t as fortunate and most simply focus on “the basics” and just get the basic job done.
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Many times the biggest challenges in producing a road race have nothing to do with the road race itself. Given the incredible growth in our sport just in the past decade, what seems to be challenging many of us the most is the lack of real estate within which to conduct the event and that starts with enough space just to park all the darn cars coming to the event!
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It was cool before the start of the 13th running of Boston’s Run to Remember—mid-50s and mostly cloudy. In the shade, a light breeze was enough to goosebump naked arms and cause the lightly dressed runner to shiver. A half hour out from the start, the corrals were filling slowly, with most runners opting for the sun-bathed back of the pack, or the comfort of inside the Seaport World Trade Center.
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In March, I provided a number of Road Race Formulas. I’ve decided to add a few more here. As stated the last Road Race Formulas post, I receive a lot of emails from event directors asking me if I have any “magic formulas” when calculating “how much” of a particular product is needed or equipment or having to do with the race budget or administration of the race. I always respond by giving a strong disclaimer that whereas I am happy to offer some advice in this regard, what I am suggesting is not necessarily an industry standard but is just “Dave’s Formula” based on my own personal view of things and my experiences during the past 35 years in the business. In many cases, there is no right or wrong, just personal preferences.
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Running the Boston Marathon? Don't make this common mistake from endurance sports legend, #DMSE Sports founder and the RD himself Dave McGillivray.
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Long-time Boston Marathon race director Dave McGillivray answers questions from our Hylands-Powered team.
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