June, 2005

Hello Race Directors,
We are pleased to be sending you the second edition of the Race Director Newsletter for 2005.

Dave McGillivray (Boston Marathon Race Director and founder of DMSE) has written a second article for us titled "Where Does All The Money Go?".

Where Does All The Money Go?
by Dave McGillivray

Ever wonder exactly where your entry fee goes after you enter a road race? Producing road races has become a significant business that comes with a lot of risk along with a lot of hands in the till. The days of simply throwing down a chalk mark in the road, yelling out “ready, set, go”, letting the 200 or so runners fend for themselves as they weave through traffic jams they actually caused themselves and then finally handing a popsicle stick with a number (place) on it to runners crossing the finish line…are long gone.

Here, however, are the days where producing a road race is more about insurance, liability, medical coverage, media, security, technology, computers, charities, food and entertainment and less about road cones, ribbons and tear off stubs as in the good old days. And, of course, all this “new stuff” just costs more and more and more money. Additionally, where and when the race is held also contributes to the ever-increasing expense of an event. The days where “everyone” involved offered his or her services free of charge are also gone.

For the rest of this article!

Please take our Survey on Race Fees

DMSE Home Page

Here are the results of the first survey on what runners look for in a race.

Tips For Race directors
Courtesy of Running USA

The following articles were written to assist those who through running clubs had at least some familiarity with the process of putting on a road race.
For more information!
RUSA Home page

How to Start a Running Club
Courtesy of Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) Starting a club can be approached in various ways, depending on the degree of interest among the local runners. If there is little activity in your area, interest in group runs might be generated as a preliminary or first step for a club. The easiest way to create interest is to schedule low-key events at the same time and locale, at regular intervals.
For more information!
RRCA Home page

Upcoming Events for Race Directors

• Portland Marathon Event Directors Conference October 6-8, 2005
• Road Race Management Race Director’s Meeting October 20-22, 2005
• USA Track & Field Annual Meeting Novermber 30, 2005
• Running USA 2006 February 6-8, 2006

Race Director's Tips

• Have your event web site working for you all year round - make sure it is updated immediatley after the the current event with things such as results, photos, race reports and next years race date. Even an early bird special registration rate will bring in some early income and possible increase your numbers.
• Never leave an under-construction sign on any parts of your event web site.

Feedback

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Your own mini- website. Build your own web page and registration form in minutes with Cool Running's easy-to-use, automated event builder. Your site gets linked in the event calendar and on our race applications page. Try this affordable service now.

Online race registration. Along with our partners at Active.com, we can help you manage your race registration more easily and more efficiently by moving the process online. Contact us for rates and information.

Custom Web design. Engage our designers to build your page from scratch, tapping our years of experience with effective online event promotion. Contact us for rates and information.

Consulting. Our management team has lots of experience with successful race management. Let us help you navigate everything from scoring to insurance to promotion to merchandise. Contact us for rates and information.

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