Inside the Hearts and Minds of Race Directors in 2020

Who, among us in the running event world, could have possibly seen this coming?

Surely not the runners who await excitedly each year for signup day. Nor the vendors who rely on group participation events to survive. Not the die-hard, annual age-group winners who are prepared to protect their standings. Especially not the planners, the race directors who are relied upon to make magic happen and just keep things going.

Race directors notoriously face tough challenges.

Some race directors are used to dealing with severe weather systems, others with low turnout. Some RDs are faced with many unknowns while planning each event: how many shirts to order, how to get volunteers to show up, or how to replace a lost sponsor, just to name a few.

Those are the types of challenges RDs have come to expect and can deal with head on without making too many tough decisions while doing so. It’s just part of the job. The running event world was working just fine, thank you very much.

Then came 2020.

The last six months have brought some very difficult decision-making moments to every race director in the U.S. who had an event planned this year. Do I cancel my event? Do I postpone? Do I offer full refunds or credit for future races? If I postpone, when will gatherings be safe? Should I convert my race to a virtual platform? How do I do that? Do I still order swag for a virtual event?

How do I to keep my event alive and runners tuned in?

Volunteers hand out medals at the end of a 5k race.

Seasoned planners never had to consider these things before the advent of COVID-19, and the options for planning a race have never really been so slim. HOWEVER, these are race directors and runners we are talking about, and these types don’t back down too quickly from a good challenge. Nor do they quit looking for solutions.

Many of the RDs we work with each day have found solutions that worked for them and their individual event circumstances. Each of these race directors continued to stay in touch with their runners and their sponsors and were able to put together unique virtual race platforms, race challenges, and/or training challenges.

Keeping the race mission and message front and center.

Each of these new event types were tailored by each race director to meet the unique needs of their runners’ and to match the themes to which their runners have grown accustom. Race directors learned that they could completely change plans for their events but keep their messaging and their mission alive. They also learned to keep their swag game in top form, so that runners could still have the thrill of earning a tangible award and bragging rights in physical form.

Use medal design to keep runners tuned in to your race.

At Running Awards & Apparel, now and long before the days of COVID-19, we’ve provided medals and apparel regularly to successful, virtual race companies. These virtual race directors know their medals need to be big and bold and need to stand apart from those earned at standard events. These RDs also know those medals need to be peddled long before signups or virtual races end, as that is what helps keep runners tuned in and excited to participate. Using art graphics of a medal design comes in handy for just that.

Runners across the U.S. are starting to find their groove with virtual races, or with socially distanced events. They are participating at higher rates than when the pandemic first hit our event world. That’s what runners do, they adapt and find a way to accomplish what they set out to do. Just like race directors.

If you are still looking for ways to accomplish your event, let us know how we can help! We are here for you, for your event and for your runners all the way.