August 2020 Issue 433

The Latest in Road Running for Race Directors and Industry Professionals

NEWS

Resources and Plans for Re-opening Events Proliferate

Check out Road Race Management's COVID-19 Resources section at http://www.rrm.com/act/resources/covid_resources.asp for the latest list of organizations offering guidance on reopening physical events.

COVID-19 Economic Impacts Reach Deeper into Running Industry

Businesses and events are both feeling the effects of the cancellation of nearly all running events since late March. Long-time running bib number company Rainbow Racing closed its doors on July 31 after 38 years in business. Owner Wally Egger told his customers, "Because our business relies solely on large participation events, we have been greatly impacted by restrictions put in place to combat the COVID pandemic. Unfortunately, we see no end in sight." The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series slashed numerous events for 2021 and eliminated the marathons at a number of the surviving races. The RnR events in Atlantic City, Denver, Philadelphia, and San Francisco have been cancelled for 2021, with no mention of returning in 2022. The New Orleans and Clearwater, FL events are cancelled in 2021 with stated plans to return in 2022. The marathons will be dropped in Seattle and Washington, DC. The 31 events in the series are now split between 17 in the U.S. and 14 abroad. In addition to the 26 employees laid off by the New York Road Runners, the Atlanta Track Club will furlough its entire 26-person staff for the month of December. As reported in the May issue of Road Race Management, the club sustained a loss in conducting the Olympic Marathon Trials, which Executive Director Rich Kenah felt would be recouped by the event's promotion of Atlanta as a running city. However, the cancellations of the club's events since has produced a deficit of $1 million for the year. Meanwhile, the organizers of the 2021 Cross Country Championships, scheduled for March 20, in Bathurst, Australia in New South Wales, recommended that these championships be postponed due to the pandemic. The organization also announced that the 2020 World Half Marathon championships in Gdynia, Poland on October 17 will take place as an elite-only event. The mass participation event planned to accompany the championship will be held virtually.

Pandemic Hits Charity Fundraising Hard

Peer to Peer Fundraising reports that the American Cancer Society forecasts a 55% revenue drop for its Relay for Life series, the March of Dimes saw revenue drop from $48.9 million to $25 million for its March for Babies StepUp, and the Walk MS series produced $25 million versus $40 million before the pandemic. A survey revealed that 75% of organizers replaced an in-person event with a virtual event; 28% created a new virtual event; and only 4% were able to hold a physical event. https://www.peertopeerforum.com/survey-p2p- campaigns-pivot-quickly-to-virtual-but-expect-revenues-to-decline-in-face-of-covid-19/

______August 2020 Page 1 Spartan Race Cancels Remainder of 2020 Events

After holding its Jacksonville, FL event, which attracted 1,000 participants in mid-June, the obstacle racing organization announced that no additional events on its 2020 schedule would be held. The organization said in a release, "As COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the United States and after ongoing discussion with state governments and health experts, we’ve made the necessary decision to cancel all remaining 2020 U.S. Spartan obstacle course races and trail events. It was a difficult decision to make, but we believe it’s better to prioritize safety now so we can rally towards the incredible season we have planned in 2021."

Running USA Survey Shows Impact of COVID-19

The industry trade association seeking to garner support for the Endurance Sports Coalition's lobbying effort for federal support for the industry releases some sobering statistics from its survey, including the following: 92% of all live, in-person events have been canceled, and organizers do not have confidence they will occur this year; 82% of businesses that have received PPP funds have already depleted those monies; 39% of events have furloughed employees; 37% of event businesses have already conducted layoffs; 67% of event businesses may not survive 2020 without additional support.

World Athletics Appoints Head of Grass Roots Programs

Laurent Boquillet will head the organization's initiative "to create a healthier and fitter world," a top priority in the organization's recently-released strategic plan.

______August 2020 Page 2 Virtual Racing's Year in the Sun By Mark Heinicke

Editor's Note: As race directors struggle to find a formula for putting on physical races with more than a few hundred socially distanced participants, Virtual Runs continue to dominate the U.S. road running scene. Building on Jim Gerweck's reporting about Virtual Runs in the May and June issues of RRM Newsletter, Managing Editor Mark Heinicke takes a deeper look into the Virtual Run culture that is now the mainstay of running events.

As the COVID-19 pandemic’s grim reaper took down one traditional road race after another in 2020, yawning voids in the calendar of traditional races have been filled with virtual races of three basic types:

Virtual events substituting for traditional races when the COVID-19 pandemic forced a cancellation. In most cases, a semblance of continuity has been maintained by adding “Virtual” to the traditional race name.

Virtual events originating to fill gaps where minor club events, such as group training lead-ups to bigger traditional events, were knocked off the calendar.

______August 2020 Page 3 Virtual event offerings being expanded by organizations that were already specializing in virtual racing.

Technology explains the growth in virtual racing

The pandemic has given a big boost to the virtual racing trend, but that trend had already been accelerating over the past several years, as virtual races have increasingly become an adjunct to traditional races for organizations answering a growing demand.

The increased demand for virtual racing is often seen as a culture shift, but like most culture shifts, this one is being abetted in large part by technology.

Automated registration and handling of results reported by participants makes the data processing function seamless from end to end. It’s a convenience for the runner, but also to the race organization since it can subcontract much of the work of putting on a virtual race. Most of the physical challenges of putting on a traditional event, such as permitting, supplying tents and porta-potties and signing up volunteers, vanish. The physical part of a virtual race becomes confined to getting swag out the door.

Social media gets the word about your race out to the entire world, and people in the entire world are going to be able to join your race—whether on a floodplain in Bangladesh, a desert in Namibia, or a mountainside in Alaska. Social media and marketing can expand your reach beyond what you may have ever thought possible when you had to get runners to come to you; instead, you can go to them wherever they are. That’s a win-win that can take some of the sting out of having to cancel your traditional race with its fixed location.

GPS technology enables participants to run just about anywhere they want and still be able to get proof of their achievement. The technology confers multiple advantages, such as convenience, savings in time and money since there is not need for travel and lodging, and the ability to choose a course and weather conditions suitable to one’s own taste and purposes (such as running a fast time). Unfortunately, a major drawback is the notorious tendency of GPS to estimate distances in excess of the actual distance traveled on the ground, as reported in the IEEE Spectrum news and as noted by USATF [https://www.usatf.org/resources/course-certification/certification- procedures/position-on-gps-used-by-runners]. The overestimate may be as much as 400 meters in a marathon—a full one percent. On the other hand, trail races with many twists and turns may lead to an underestimate by as much as 50 percent!

Converting A Traditional to A Virtual Race, the Upside: Brightening the Cancellation Blues

Many race directors of cancelled events have viewed converting a traditional race to a virtual race as a necessary evil in order to cut financial losses and to maintain some semblance of continuity looking ahead to next year—hoping that there will be a race in 2021, and if not 2021 then 2022.

But Virtual Runs appear to be joining the many areas of life and commerce that people are being forced to look at in a different light in the COVID-19 era. Many like what they see, including Michelle Juehring, director of Davenport, Iowa’s Quad-City Times Bix 7 Mile, who held a Virtual Bix 7 in place of the traditional late July event, and found herself turning virtual lemons into virtual lemonade. When asked whether she would put on another virtual race, Juehring responded cheerfully:

"Absolutely! The virtual race allowed the spirit of our race to continue in a safe manner when running together was not possible, #findyourhappypace #runwiththebest. It also allowed many of our race volunteers to do the race for some for the first time. It also created an opportunity for those who don’t like crowds, are body conscious, cannot travel – to do our race. As this is our 46th year, we have volunteers well into their 60’s & 70’s. One woman marked a mile loop around her assisted living housing development. Our oldest participant, 93, walked it in her driveway with her granddaughter. We had participants from 7 countries and all 50 states. Our Facebook Group Page blew up with pictures from around the globe.

Juehring’s comments suggest the potential to encourage an appetite for racing among beginners who may doubt their own ability even to cover the distance, much less compete it. The virtual race gives them a challenge they can take on safely without fear of publicly coming up short. This is especially true of introverts who may gain confidence in their ability and sign up for a traditional race in the future. And with much anecdotal evidence of an increase in the number of new runners in the COVID-19 era, Virtual Runs may offer a less intimidating way for these newbies to participate in the sport.

Converting a Traditional to a Virtual Race, the Downside: Short Notice Short-circuits Creative Opportunities

______August 2020 Page 4 The traditional Bix 7 race was originally scheduled for July 27th, which afforded Michelle Juehring enough lead time to create a new-fangled virtual race, once it became clear in May that COVID-19 was going to trample all over much of the summer schedule.

But the days before and after a virtual event can turn into a massive time and energy sink if the tsunami of a pandemic comes to your doorstep shortly before your traditional race date. That’s especially true when your event includes a marathon, a half marathon, a 10K, a 5K, a marathon relay and a youth run, with a typical annual turnout of 14,000 runners.

Such was the case for race director Jan Seeley, whose Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon was scheduled for April 25th. In March came unmistakable signs that COVID-19 was going to swamp all attempts to conduct a traditional race in April. Seeley’s first official move, on March 12, was to postpone the race with hopes of rescheduling in the fall. By May 14 those hopes had collapsed. Consequently, says Seeley:

On May 14, we announced the cancellation of the traditional event altogether. We offered entrants the option to complete their 2020 race virtually or receive 100% credit for entry into the 2021 or 2022 event. They had until early June to make their choice. Anyone we didn’t hear from defaulted to virtual. We spent many weeks figuring out what was the BEST we could do for our runners, since we weren’t in a position to 100% refund their money. That effort took all the time we had….time we could have spent jazzing up the virtual option, but truly we just figured being able to complete their race on their own and get all their awesome race swag would be enough, given the circumstances.

Virtual runners had until July 15th to turn in their results.

Seeley notes that “the massive effort of unwinding the 2020 race left us with little time to add any special bells or whistles for those who opted to run virtually. If we were putting together a virtual-only event, we would have been much more creative.”

Seeley’s experience sends a message to race directors facing continuing uncertainty going into fall and winter: if you may have to opt for a conversion of your traditional race to a virtual one, there’s no time like the present to plan for it. If you already have experience putting on a virtual race as an adjunct to your traditional one, you have a leg up—but “unwinding” your traditional event could be a bigger-than-expected challenge if you meet a time crunch.

Virtual Racing Runs the Gamut from Nothing Like a Traditional Race to Almost Like a Traditional Race

Virtual races come in as many flavors as ice cream, but boiled down to the basics, we can define a virtual race as meeting two conditions: (1) a participant covers a distance equal to the distance specified by the race organizer, records the time, and reports his/her time to the organizers of the event (the results may or may not be published); and (2) the event is not a competition between two or more runners on the same course at the same time while supervised by a race organization that independently times them and records an order of finish.

There’s a continuum in virtual racing from “run the distance anywhere at any time and report your results on the honor system” —which is about as far from a traditional race as you can get—to the “Anytime 5K,” where the required course is laid out by the organization, runners wear a bib with a chip, and runners get an official time and order of finish just as with a live in-person scoring system. (More on the “Anytime 5K” below.)

Usually, a virtual race means a single continuous effort on a single day—although that day can fall within a specified span of dates. However, there are a growing number of events—typically called “Challenges” —where participants are invited to run a cumulative total distance over multiple days within a specified date span. For example, in the “One NY Virtual Challenge,” runners have 108 days to complete either 500K or 1,000K (there’s also a 2,400K team challenge). We include this among our races because the organizers use the words “race” and “competition” to describe the event, even if “race”

______August 2020 Page 5 is not in the event title. Similar hybrid challenge-races are the “One New England Challenge” (94 days), and the “Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee 1000K” (123 days). The virtual Berlin Marathon has created another variation, challenging runners to see how far they can run in 2:01:39, Eluid Kipchoge's course record for the physical Berlin Marathon.

The period of days within which the participant is required to perform the run or walk constitutes a window of time that is very elastic. Some races give competitors just a few days within which to complete the distance, while other events allow participants weeks or, in a few cases, months to run the event and report results. We looked at the time windows for a number of virtual events and found a wide range: In a sample of 68 events, we found a maximum of 217 days (Richmond’s Virtual Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K: March 28- October 31st). If we exclude five outliers that were more than 100 days, the average date span was 20 days. Of these, 34 events were 1 to 10 days (including 15 Rock ’n’ Roll virtual series 3-day weekend events); 21 were 11-31 days; 9 events were 32-94 days.

The most restrictive period in our sample is the single-day Enmotive Virtual Women’s Half Marathon, followed the next day by the single-day Enmotive Virtual 5K and 10K. The organizers are modeling these events on the concept popularized by the Disney "Challenges" by encouraging runners to run two or three virtual runs over the two-day period (and pay separate entry fees for each event or an elevated entry fee for the collection of events). The Enmotive event is two days long and comprises three virtual races: a half marathon on October 17 and a 5K and a 10K on the following day. There’s a Double Challenge to complete both the half marathon and the following day’s 5K or 10K, and a Triple Challenge to complete all three races in two days.

Run Anywhere, Mostly.

The vast majority of virtual races allow participants to run the named distance anywhere they please. The “Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee” does not even require that you do your running within the state of Tennessee. As long as you faithfully keep reporting your runs in daily increments, you could in principle run virtually across Tennessee on a treadmill in an apartment in Mumbai—a tempting opportunity for homesick Tennessee-bred expats. What’s more, you can use Google Street View to take a look at where you are in the interactive on-line map. Where, that is, in the actual state of Tennessee you would be, determined by the distance you have reported. The One NY Virtual Challenge and the One New England Challenge are similarly flexible.

In a middle ground between the “run anywhere” model and the “run here and only here” model is the plan for the Virtual Richmond Marathon, Half Marathon, and Allianz Partners 10K. The nonprofit event organizer Sports Backers has laid out a marked course to run in the city’s Dorey Park, but there’s an out for those who can’t or won’t get to the park: “a virtual option remains in place for participants to take part on a route of their choosing as well.”

To verify the completion of their run, more than half of virtual races use an honor system, and depend on individuals to report their time and distance honestly and accurately, usually on a GPS device or on Strava. The honor system is subject to the drawback that accuracy is not always paired with honesty: even if the runner is honestly reporting their time and distance as they believe them to be, they may have mistakenly mis-measured the course or mistimed their run. Nor, as mentioned above, is GPS foolproof. Some races require the GPS user to overshoot by as much as a full percent of the required distance—say 420 meters in a marathon––to ensure they have completed the full distance.

With the “Anytime 5K,” You Can Forget the Anywhere, the Honor System, and GPS.

In Bedford, New Hampshire, Millennium Running’s headquarters sets the stage for a race that combines a well-marked, locally-permitted course, transponder timing, and a live, web-based leaderboard with one of the most sought-after features of virtual racing: you can run it any time, day or night. Race Results Weekly publisher David Monti quipped “think of it as a self-service road race.” It’s so self-service that participants can buy as many bibs as they like (at $10 each) and enter the race multiple times during the period of May 16th to August 23rd. Thanks to the street location of Millennium Running’s headquarters, the course layout is a simple counterclockwise 2.5K loop that entails only one street crossing, at a T with a stop sign.

The unique characteristics of Millennium Running’s venue make emulating the Anytime 5K in most other locations impracticable, but the popularity of the event (1,486 results in a small rural community) conveys a larger message: structure matters.

Millennium’s founder John Mortimer currently reports rising numbers for in-person races with a time-trial format. That includes Millennium’s eight-week series (the “Exclusive 5K”), with two races each Saturday, hosting up to 100 runners in each race. That series has just concluded, and a similar six-week series (the “Happy Hour Hustle”) is scheduled for the fall.

______August 2020 Page 6 The answer is far off as to where the balance between virtual and traditional racing will be struck in a future when COVID- 19 has been brought under control, but the appeal of structure will play a big part in the revival of traditional events.

Bridging Voids in the Racing Calendar with Virtual Series

The Anytime 5K and Millennium’s series races served to bridge gaps in the calendar where traditional races, club races, and group runs had been postponed or cancelled. J&A Racing in Virginia Beach, which is part of the metro area centered on Hampton Roads, with 1.7 million in population, has also sought to maintain runner engagement with a mix of new virtual races and series. By late spring, J&A Racing had already converted seven of its traditional events to virtual. The company then created two all-new virtual events—a virtual Mother’s Day 5K and a 75.7-mile “challenge” for the month of August. In addition, a series dubbed the “Dog Days of Summer” was created, with a virtual 5K in each of the months of June, July, and August. The “Dog Days” races doubled as a humanitarian benefit, with each dollar of registration going to the Virginia Beach SPCA. To quote the website: “Each month’s race bib and medal will feature a different dog breed that represents one of the dogs of J&A Racing.” (For the curious, the monthly breeds were Retrievers, Bulldogs, and Rescue Dogs.)

Race director Jerry Frostick anticipates that J&A will hold two more virtual events in the fall. He added, of the races already held:

We had 1400 registered for the Mother’s Day event. With only 400 people loading their results, we have seen that most are just competing to complete a goal (and they like supporting us and swag). Our Dog Days had 1000 each month (that’s what we capped it at) and 757 Challenge reached its limit of 757 people. We have also been able to raise $2500-$4000 per event for charity. I do not anticipate keeping all of these virtual events once we get back to putting on live events, but I do think we will keep the ones that do not conflict with our other races. . . . Virtual races cannot sustain us indefinitely. They are merely a band-aid to help us survive (and to fulfill sponsor obligations). . . . Amy [Frostick] and I do not get the same satisfaction from putting on virtual events. We will do them for now so we can get back to doing what we love.

A Virtual Race with Prize Money Uses the VDOT O2 Formula to Generate Age-graded Scores

Awarding prize money in a virtual race may sound counterintuitive, but it adds to the appeal if you can swing it, especially if you can broaden the opportunities to win prize money by age grading in a systematic, scientific fashion. In mid-March of this year, Brooklyn Running Company co-founder Matt Rosetti concluded that COVID-19 was going to force the cancellation of the fourth Brooklyn Mile, scheduled for Sunday June 21. During the past four years, the total prize purse had been $5,000. If he were to replace the traditional Brooklyn Mile with a virtual race conducted on race weekend, from June 19 to June 21, could he award prize money?

Rosetti thought so. The solution would depend on first, collecting enough money to produce meaningful prize money, since charging the regular entry fee was out of the question; second, scoring the results; and third, determining a fair way to apportion prize money in such unusual circumstances.

Matt put his head together with his brother Brian, who had already been conducting virtual races via the platform VDOT O2, using a formula developed by veteran coach Jack Daniels to measure running performance. The VDOT O2 system, in combination with GPS measurement and timing, has the capability to generate age-graded scores. As for funds, they decided to charge all runners a modest $15 entry fee, with 20% of the proceeds going into a prize money pool, and the other 80% going to New York City’s COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund. This solution required the volunteers to donate their labor, but that made sense to them in view of the sacrifices being made by countless essential workers in the city of New York.

More on the Rosetti brothers’ solution to the prize money issue can be found in an article by David Monti in LetsRun dated May 19. The Virtual Brooklyn Mile FAQ page spells out the rules for the event in great detail.

Once the virtual dust settled, the total prize money for the race totaled $2,500, half what the prize purse has been for the last four years of in-person racing. Prizes were distributed based on levels achieved through the VDOT O2 platform, with prizes going only to those who achieved a VDOT level of 8 or above. Another option is using Age-graded tables reported on in last month's newsletter. An online calculator appears at http://howardgrubb.co.uk/athletics/mldrroad20.html

Following the Money: Can Virtual Races Pay Off?

Jerry Frostick’s reference to virtual races as “band-aid[s] to help us survive” implies financial jeopardy for organizations

______August 2020 Page 7 that, unlike virtual race specialty houses, are set up to conduct traditional races with all the overhead that entails. For the three-month “Dog Days” 5K series, J&A charged $35 for each month; the Mother’s Day 5K, with a 20-day window, was $29; the fee for the “757 challenge” was $30.

Among 73 races we found specific fees for, the average was $44. But that average was skewed upwards by two outliers: the Kaui Marathon at $220, and the most expensive package for the virtual New York City Marathon at $175. (The 2020 Virtual NYC marathon has four tiers, starting at free and stepped upward to $175 for the most prestigious category. The top two tiers (which have already sold out) offer a guaranteed entry into a future in-person NYC Marathon.) Removing those outliers brought the average down to $40.

This $40 figure happens to exceed by a single dollar RunSignUp’s wildly popular virtual “Gourdy’s Pumpkin Run.” The virtual Pumpkin Run comes in at $39 for a 5K performed sometime in the 83-day window from September 1 to November 22. The runDisney Virtual Series 5K events are pegged at $40, and the $30-$40 range would be typical for many of the events managed by the specialists—but for the fact that most of those organizations make their money not through registration fees, but through selling swag, particularly medals and shirts.

Companies Specializing In Virtual Runs Only

Organizations specializing in virtual races—such as Virtual Running Club and Virtual Strides, six and five years in the business, respectively—have been around the virtual block many times, and they have the medal side of the business down cold. While traditional road races are increasingly pressured by “customers” to come up with fancier medals, these two businesses are virtual miles ahead of them. If you don’t have a beautiful, exciting race course, you can have a beautiful, exciting medal as the main attraction.

In fact, Virtual Running Club (VRC) has no conventional “registration fee” as such—in its place is what VRC Chief Operating Officer Holland Newton calls an “a la carte” menu of swag. There is some variability in price from event to event, but medals are typically $29.95. A medal plus a shirt may run you from $40 to $55, depending on the quality of the shirt (four levels, with “everyday cotton” at the bottom and “premium tech” material at the top). But if you want to go without the medal, the prices for shirts alone drop by roughly $10—i.e. down from $55 to $45 for the most expensive shirt. If the downloadable self-printed bib (as a .pdf) is not tactile enough for you, you can also purchase a “keepsake printed bib” for another $6. The range of choices means that you can “register” for as little as $29.95 (medal only), or as much as $55 (medal plus top of the line shirt) plus $6 for the printed bib = $61. If you forsake the medal and opt for just the least expensive shirt, your “registration” cost could come to as little as $30, i.e. about the same as a medal only.

It is not too surprising, then, that the medals from VRC’s competition, Virtual Strides, typically come in at—wait for it—$29. Shirts—the ones currently available—are another $20. The difference is that with Virtual Strides, there is no no-medal option. You register for $29 ($24 if you are a Virtual Strides club member) and you get a medal. You can add a shirt for $20 for a total of $49.

With both of these organizations, things for sale don’t stop with medals and shirts that match the theme of the particular race you sign up for. They have shops where you can buy medals, shirts and other paraphernalia associated with themes of past as well as present races. Virtual Running Club also sells fleece blankets; Virtual Strides sells jewelry.

Because of all the virtual races they have conducted, there are a lot of themes. Themes are as integral to their brands as the physical characteristics of traditional races—roads, buildings, statues, parks, bridges, banners, stages, tents, music, etc.—are to their brands. Novel themes generate enthusiasm: a few of the Virtual Running Club themes are emblematic, such as the Moon Landing Virtual Race and The Great National Park Relay. Since VRC’s parent company is Vacation Races, their themes have been biased toward the outdoors and national parks, but they have recently taken on celebrations of historical events, such as the Ratification Race commemorating the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote.

______August 2020 Page 8 The strong social responsibility aspect of most of Virtual Strides themes reflects the philosophy of the organization. While it is a business and not a charity, Virtual Strides partners with a different charity each month, and the theme represents the charity. For example, “The Dragonfly Virtual Run” set for September of this year with a 5K, a 10K, and a half marathon, benefits the Dragonfly Foundation, which helps families affected by pediatric cancer. “The Black Lives Matter Virtual Run held this August benefits the United Negro College Fund.

The Virtual Running Club contributes a “portion of each registration to causes we feel make the world a better place,” (charities include the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the National Park Foundation), but Virtual Strides founder Mark Petrillo has gone a bit further, making a definite commitment to make a minimum $5 donation for each registration to the associated charity, even if the event loses money.

The Virtual Running Club and Virtual Strides now face rising competition. The New York Road Runners offers virtual races at low cost or for free to their members. Medal Dash, whose name nakedly states the key to the virtual race business model, came on the scene in 2018 and claims to be the fastest growing virtual run company.

Then there’s the elephant in the virtual running room, the newborn Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running Club, with its VR series, now up to 16 events, engaging tens of thousands of runners worldwide. If you want to talk about medals, consider the medals for VR 17, which comprises both a 6K and a 10K. For each, $24.90 gets you a medal and a face mask. But if you take on both races you can get a VR17 REMIX bundle containing a 6K medal, a 10K medal, a face mask, and a special “remix” medal to boot, all for $49.90— and the $59.90 REMIX FINISHER PREMIUM BUNDLE includes a visor.

That’s not all. Go to the virtual Rock ‘n’ Roll online store, and you will find a virtual run finisher jacket— men’s and women’s—for $120, among other apparel such as hats and hoodies all geared to the virtual run market.

Virtual Running Club’s Holland Newton recently commented that what was once a “cute little niche” has become more accepted among racers, a shift that began in March as traditional mass participation racing collapsed. Newton said, “Virtual races will never replace a traditional race with the butterflies and excitement, but there is a place for them. Generally our participants are those that are looking to get into racing and for whatever reason don’t have access or are uncomfortable doing an in-person race, or those that use our events to train for a bigger in-person event down the road, or they just love the swag (or a combination of all three). Those reasons continue to be our core, but now we have others who wouldn’t have considered a virtual race six months ago giving it a try.”

Holland said that the impact of the pandemic on participation in Virtual Running Club has still to be assessed. So far it appears that the numbers will be up 20% on the year. It is notable that while registrations averaged 2,000 per race “pre- COVID,” their largest event ever came this year in their “Stay Home” race—21,000 registered for the August event. If that’s any sign of a continuing trend, the uptick should rise well above 20%.

Can virtual races pay off? Probably for now, if you know what you’re doing. Existing organizations like Virtual Running Club and Virtual Strides with substantial experience under their belts should thrive, unless crushed by the Rock ‘n’ Roll VR Series behemoth. But once COVID-19 is brought under control—which may not happen for another year in the U.S.— whoever has suddenly bet big on conducting virtual races could be in for a shock.

Mark Heinicke is the Managing Editor of Road Race Management.

______August 2020 Page 9 RACE DIRECTORS A Race Director for the Ages

Laddie Lawrence, Longest Serving Race Director in the U.S., Talks About His 55- Year Commitment to the Westport CT Roadrunners Summer Series

By Claudia Piepenburg

The night before their wedding, Laddie Lawrence’s wife-to-be Katie warned him that he’d better not be late to the ceremony because if he was, she wouldn’t be waiting at the altar when he finally arrived. Lawrence made it to the church on time—he and Katie just celebrated wedding anniversary number forty-five—but at 7:00 a.m. on his wedding morning he wasn’t enjoying a pre-ceremony breakfast to calm his nerves—instead he was at the beach nailing up course mile markers for the second race in the Westport Roadrunners Summer Race Series.

“I’m pretty fanatical about my commitment,” Lawrence said, a statement that would surely prompt a bemused “no kidding” reaction from most non-runners, but for folks in Westport, his dedication wasn’t out-of-the-ordinary. By that time Lawrence had been directing the series for ten years; he knew that he’d be able to put up the course markers, start the race promptly at 8:00 a.m., time the one hundred-fifty or so runners and get to the church for the noon ceremony, shaved showered and dressed in something other than running shorts and a T-shirt. “Everyone at the race knew that I was getting married. They weren’t surprised.”

The series has been a labor of love for Lawrence since its inception in 1962, although the first few years he wasn’t the race director; instead he ran in the series of ten races held over ten weeks as a high school student. “The new football coach at the high school wanted to get people fit. So he and a local policeman and the director of the YMCA decided to start a ten-week road race series, from two miles building up to ten.”

______August 2020 Page 10 However, except for the final ten-mile race, which has been the Connecticut state ten-mile championship for the past couple of years, none of the other races are exact distances. The three is 3.8 miles, the five 5.85, the six measures out to almost seven at 6.85 miles. “The reason for the oddball distances is because all of the courses were measured using the police car’s odometer,” Lawrence explained. “Except for the ten-miler, we never accurately measured the other courses because people want to be able to compare their times over the years, over the same distance.”

Lawrence was co-director for two years while he was in college. He graduated with a degree in physical education, started teaching at the high school (he retired seven years ago but still coaches and cross-country) and took on the job of race director as something to do in the summer. Although he’s seen many changes in the running world over the past five decades, particularly regarding technology, he’s adamant in his dedication to maintaining the series’ uniqueness—a throwback to simpler times.

“We do try to make changes that keep up with technology,” Lawrence said, but followed that up by explaining that he hasn’t switched to computerized timing (except for the ten mile race) because “the runners want the socialization that goes along with turning in their tongue depressor, hanging around after the race to see if they won anything in the raffle.” Yes, except for the final race, all the other races are timed via a stopwatch and numbered tongue depressors, which Lawrence says he carefully disinfects and puts back in order after each event. “It isn’t just me alone at the finish line anymore though, calling out the times. There are six people now for the ten-mile race, and we do have a display clock.

The social aspect of what happens once they’ve crossed the finish line is one of the things that brings runners back year after year. “Everyone loves the camaraderie of the raffle after they’ve raced. We’ve raffled off lots of interesting things over the years. Vintage T-shirts are quite popular. One year a woman in town decided that all of the runners should get flowers. A guy gave us Yankee tickets once but they were the only donation we couldn’t get rid of. No one wanted them.”

Like most of his peers who’ve been in the business for a long time, Lawrence has seen participation in the events decline a little over the years as other races have emerged on the scene. “At one time there were no other races within a fifty-mile radius. Now runners have lots of races to choose from every weekend.” Despite the competition, each race manages to draw over 100 runners, with the most participants in the ten-miler.

Demographics in the Westport Series tend to mirror those around the country, with most participants being in the 30-50 year age groups, although the trend toward more women competing, which has been the norm in most if not the majority of races over the past decade, doesn’t hold true in Westport. As far as age groups go, Lawrence explained that if a runner’s upcoming birthday means he or she will be aging up to a new group, they will often wait to register for the entire series until after their birthday. Runners are scored on their finishing times via Grand Prix scoring, a good reason to hold off on registering if there’s a birthday coming up mid-series.

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In fifty-five years, Lawrence has missed only two races: one the day his daughter got married and one that never happened. “Several years ago we had to cancel a race because of thunderstorms. We tried to wait them out but eventually we realized that it would be too dangerous to hold the race.”

There was one other race that might have been cancelled, but Mother Nature cooperated. “We call it the Great Hurricane race,” said Lawrence with a chuckle. “It happened fifty years ago. A hurricane blew in on Friday. Lots and lots of heavy rain and many trees came down. I woke up at 4:00 a.m and it was still windy and rainy. But when I got up at 7:00 the sun was out and there was no more wind, so I went down to the beach to mark out the 6.85-mile course. There were downed ______August 2020 Page 12 power lines and trees all around, so we had to take detours, but the race went on just like always.”

Over the years many well-known people in the running world have come to Westport to run, among them Jim Fixx, Amby Burfoot, Peter Gambaccini, and Creigh Kelley. “We get runners from all fifty states and from all over the world,” Lawrence said. “We’ve had runners come from as far away as China, Singapore and Norway. A runner from Germany who held the record for the four by one- mile indoor relay ran here. There’s always a lot of really good local high school and collegiate racers who show up during the summer. You never know who you’re going to get.”

Lawrence has cancelled only one race in fifty-five years, and he isn’t about to let COVID-19 destroy that remarkable achievement. “We’ve had to go virtual,” he explained. “It has hurt our numbers; so far we’ve had only about one-third of the registrants we’d normally have.” (Note: registrations fees are $40 for the entire virtual race series, and $10 per race.) “I’ve gone out and marked the start and finish lines of the first couple of races, and small groups have been gathering at what would be the race start time and they’re racing each other.” Runners have from Monday through Saturday to run the race distance for that week, and then submit their time to the website. Like all virtual races, runners run the equivalent distance no matter where they might be. “The series is going on like usual, but no records will be set this summer.”

At the end of the interview Lawrence said that he wants everyone to know that he just inherited the race series. “I want you to tell people about the guys who put it all together,” he said, as his voice cracked and Katie could be heard in the background murmuring, “You’re tearing up now.”

There was a brief silence and then Lawrence said: “The guys who started it were Chuck Smith, he was the assistant football coach, and the policeman’s name was Howard Burling, and Matt Johnson was the YMCA director. Those guys deserve all the credit.”

Lawrence possesses all the qualities of the ideal race director: love of the sport, dedication and commitment, plus a big dose of humility—easy to see why he’s been at it for five decades.

Claudia Piepenburg qualified for the 1988 Olympic Team Trials, was the 20th women finisher in the 1987 Boston Marathon, and the winner of the 1986 Virginia Beach Marathon. She is a freelance writer for running and non-running related publications and has written one novel and eight short stories.

______August 2020 Page 13 TIPS & TRICKS The "Ops" Manual

By Dave McGillivray

Editor's Note: With staging physical races nearly completely on hold due to COVID-19, race directors may find themselves with idle hours on their hands. This downtime provides a unique opportunity for you to create an Operations Manual for your events. To assist in that effort, Road Race Management is reprinting a column by Dave McGillivray from the April, 2011 issue of the newsletter about how to do so.

Anyone who knows me knows I like to put EVERYTHING in writing. In our industry, there are so many details and so many moving parts that documentation is critical to success. Sharing of information with your race committee can sometimes make or break your event. The more people involved in the race who know what is going on in your event the better. A race director who holds all the information close to his or her vest is doing a disservice to everyone.

Although it can be a lot of additional work, creating an Operations Manual (aka, the race “Bible”) is a must to ensure that the many details of putting on the race have not been overlooked but are being communicated to everyone who needs to know them.

Why Create an “Ops” Manual?

It engages the entire race committee in putting in writing the important details of their area. If something were to happen to them, at least you have in writing many of the details about their area, and it is proof to you that they are ______August 2020 Page 14 doing their job.

It keeps everyone on a pre-determined timeline in getting things done so that these documents can be included in the manual.

It proves to all involved that all the necessary work was completed.

This is an impressive document to provide to city officials, sponsors and other supporters of the race.

Any and all questions about the race should have the answers in the manual, and users should be able to locate them easily.

It is a great reference and starting point for the next year.

Some “Ops” Manual Tips:

Everyone on your race committee should participate in providing a document for the manual.

Ideally, all documents should be completed within two weeks of the race, and manuals should be printed and distributed within 10 days of the race. However, everyone should be told that things change and things can be added at the last minute, so they should always check and follow up on details.

Create an electronic folder and start saving documents as early in the process as possible. Waiting until the last minute can prove overwhelming.

Designate one person on the committee to be responsible for collecting all the documents, reworking them if needed and eventually assembling the manual.

When completed, you can consider creating a .pdf version of the manual and emailing it out to the committee rather than having the manual copied and distributed to everyone. I’ve done both, but I have found that this is one item that committee members prefer to have printed out and handed to them so they can refer to it easily when things come up.

Frankly, I don’t know how any race can be conducted without an “Ops” Manual. Imagine an NFL team—especially the quarterback—not having a playbook? I can’t imagine too many Super Bowls have been won without one.

______August 2020 Page 15 Dave McGillivray is the race director of the BAA Boston Marathon. In addition he directs or consults on a number of other major events ranging from the TD Beach to Beacon 10K and the New Balance Falmouth Road Race to the 2004 and 2008 Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials. He is the owner of Dave McGillivray Sports Enterprises, a complete event management firm.

______August 2020 Page 16 BUSINESS PAGE

Business Page Mileposts Soul Runners Wearing out Soles; Tracksmith Gets Creative

By Dave Kayser

Shoe Company News

In an online webinar hosted by Brooks Running, CEO Jim Weber reported that Brooks typically sees a 50/50 split between “goal seekers,” or those who want to complete a race or lose weight, and “soul runners,” those who want to use running to reduce stress. Three or four weeks into the coronavirus pandemic, Brooks discovered that the ratio had shifted to about 64/36 in favor of soul running, underlining the importance of stress relief, clearing the mind and getting outside during the ongoing crisis. Brooks thinks these runners will be more dedicated and make running a continuous part of their lives, leading to long-term growth in the sport.

Mizuno has been named a supporting sponsor of the 2020 Honolulu Marathon. The fourth largest marathon in the U.S. is popular with Japanese runners, with about 470,000 runners from that country participating in the event since its inception in 1973. Mizuno is based in Osaka, Japan.

Hoka One One registered a 37.1% sales increase to $109 million during the company’s first quarter ending June 3. Hoka was the only company under parent Deckers’ banner to register an increase.

The Asics Institute of Sport Science has developed the Asics Runners Face Cover that pairs a classy design with innovative air vents that allow runners to breathe comfortably while minimizing the spread of droplets. The $40 mask, available in mid-September, is made of quick-drying, washable fabric and has an adjustable cord to ensure a comfortable fit while minimizing fog build-up when wearing glasses.

Asics Corp. saw second quarter global sales decline 30.4% and 26.5% in North America. E-commerce sales were a different story, as the company recorded a 151% increase in North America and 139% in Europe in that department. Asics expects a slight improvement in the remaining six months of 2020, predicting a 20.6% revenue drop for the entire year.

As expected, adidas’ second quarter sales took a hit, decreasing 34%. Reebok revenues slid even further, falling 42% due to the company’s higher exposure to the hard-hit U.S. market. Online sales provided a stabilizing effect on Reebok’s bottom line, soaring 93% and accounting for ⅓ of its total business.

On debuted its first professional running team, which will be based in Boulder and coached by . The team will have eight members, headed by Joe Klecker, the son of Olympian and ultra runner extrordinaire Barney Klecker. On’s Global Sports Marketing manager Steve DeKoker and Marketing Specialist Andrew Wheating will assist Ritzenhein in managing the team’s operations.

As Nike continues to restructure its operations, the company announced it will not open a production facility for Air soles in Goodyear, Arizona. Nike bought an existing building for $70 million to house the facility and invested millions more in the site before pulling the plug on the project.

Nike has partnered with non-partisan Time to Vote to help promote greater voter participation in the upcoming U.S. elections. The company says “it hopes to encourage all eligible American employees to register to vote and will ensure that they’ll have the access, opportunity and time to cast their ballot.”

Other Running Company News

Nuun has launched Nuun Instant, an innovative product that is a departure from the company’s roster of proactive hydration products. Nuun Instant is designed to relieve dehydration after symptoms become apparent. Based on the Oral ______August 2020 Page 17 Rehydration Solution developed by the World Health Organization to relieve dehydration, Nuun developed its own formula using only clean ingredients. The result is a product that hydrates the body 2-3 times faster than water alone.

Tracksmith is launching a grants program intended to support runners who have creative ambitions outside of the sport. Five projects will be selected “based on their originality, potential to elevate the sport, drive conversation and empower new perspectives.” Concepts can be, but are not limited to, photography, podcasts, music, painting and poetry or fiction. Tracksmith will collaborate with the grant winners to present their work to the running world. Applications can be submitted through September 1 to tracksmith.com/pages/tracksmith-fellowship-program.

The New York Road Runners laid off 11%, or 26, of its employees and furloughed another 28%, or 65 people, as their race program has been decimated by the ongoing pandemic. The group has cancelled more than 20 races this year. Senior leadership team members took a 15% pay cut and CEO Michael Capiraso supported the effort by taking a 20% cut from his $548,000 salary.

Boston Marathon expo organizers Conventures gave a textbook example on how not to handle a cancelled event and at the same time ticked off exhibitors with their high-handed ways when the company announced that no refunds would be given to expo vendors after the marathon was canceled. Following an immediate outcry from the vendors, who had paid thousands of dollars for floor space, and a raft of bad publicity, Conventures reversed its decision to some degree, but the announcement, unlike the well-thought-out and carefully crafted releases consistently put out by marathon organizers, was vague on who exactly would get refunds. One exhibitor quoted in the Boston Globe said he was scheduled to attend 37 expos in 2020 and every one but Conventures offered refunds when the accompanying race was canceled. Susan Harmeling, race director of the Gasparilla Distance Classic, was one of many frustrated exhibitors, saying in the same report that Conventures showed a lack of empathy with their curt responses to vendor questions. The bad publicity obviously had an effect, as the day after that initial vague release, Conventures released another one stating that all vendors would indeed receive refunds.

The Council for Responsible Sport is developing a new Responsible Sport Standard for Organizations and is asking for input from event professionals. The Council is collecting information via a short survey, found at responsiblesport.questionpro.com, which will gather information on what organizers care about most and what they need help with.

Despite USADA clearly stating that CBD products are likely to contain traces of THC, a banned substance that can result in a positive drug test and a suspension, Athlinks members are being offered a 20% discount on cbdMD’s newest product, CBD Gummies with Vitamin C. CbdMD says the gummies are infused with “pure CBD,” but USADA points out that it is nearly impossible to obtain a pure CBD extract. They go on to say in a website statement that CBD products could contain THC and more than 115 other identified cannabinoids, all of which are prohibited in competition and could lead to a positive drug test. More information can be found on USADA’s website.

Faced with holding track meetings with far fewer or no spectators, World Athletics has worked with a team of Australian designers on an integrated hardware and software solution that will create typical crowd sounds heard at track meets at just the right moment. The organization said an extensive database of sounds from various World Athletics Championship and Wanda Diamond League meetings is the backbone of the system.

MILEPOSTS Richmond Gets Real in the Virtual Realm; Mainova Savors Saviours

Like other road races across the country, the November 4 Richmond Marathon will be a virtual event, but unlike most other events, organizers are offering an official course near downtown Richmond in Dorey Park that can be used by participants. The course, most of which is along a 10-12 foot wide multi-use path, will feature mile markers, bottle refill stations and restrooms. The course will be open from 5 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day from November 7 to November 22, and times will be tracked on the RaceJoy app.

As cash-strapped race organizations search for an edge in the VR realm, RAM Races has conjured up the laid-back Scooby-Doo Family and Pet Virtual Run/Walk to attract racers. Between now and November, runners can walk or run either 5K or 10K on a course of their choice, either indoors or out, and perhaps run it with a pet in keeping with the ______August 2020 Page 18 Scooby-Doo theme. All of this fun costs only $40, with Scooby-Doo bandanas and adjustable dog collars extra. Finisher medals will be included in the registration packet, so really lackadaisical runners don’t even have to bother running the virtual race to garner an award.

When the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon canceled their October event, organizers announced entrants could transfer their registration to the 2021, 2022 or 2023 events. Another option offered allowed runners to donate their entry fee and become a “Marathon Saviour.” Besides helping the small event company to survive, the designation includes being named on the race website and given a spot on the “Wall of Honour” at the 2021 race. Donating runners will also be given a “gold start” number for next year’s race, if they care to enter. Even though the organizers are faced with mounting costs this year because of the cancellation, they intend to donate five Euros of each donated entry to the race’s official charity partner.

The newly announced date of October 4 for the 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon means four of the six World Marathon Majors events will be jammed into a six-week period next fall, with Berlin on September 26, followed by London on October 4, Chicago on October 10 and New York on November 7.

FastestKnownTime.com reports that there has been a nearly fourfold increase in submissions for the first half of 2020 compared to last year, a situation brought on by the pandemic. Joe McConaughy ran the grueling 273 mile Vermont Long Trail in just under five days, compared to the usual 20 to 30 days needed by the average hiker. Aaron Zellheofer developed a FKT for running the Central Park loop in New York City during the park’s open hours (6 a.m. to 1 a.m.), and other non-elite runners are sure to follow with their own feats to get a mention on the website. The founders of FKT.com put together a list of 10 premier routes to encourage FKT attempts by elite athletes.

Sandre Moen of Norway surpassed the European record for the one hour track run held by Jos Hermens for over 40 years, but discovered after the race the effort was nullified as a record because he was wearing Nike’s Next% shoes, which have been banned from track competition - but are allowed in road races - by World Athletics.

A federal appeals court has tossed the death sentence of DzhokharTsarnaev, who was convicted for his role in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. The three-judge panel ordered a new penalty-phase trial, finding that the judge who presided over the case did not sufficiently vet jurors for biases. The judges stressed that even if his death penalty is overturned, Tsarnaev will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Dave Kayser worked for the National Park Service for over 30 years before turning his full attention to writing for Road Race Management Newsletter and collecting old running shoes. He started his running career in 1966 and currently trains exclusively on his three bikes.

Road Race Management, Inc. 4963 Elm St., Suite 106 Bethesda, MD 20814 301-320-6865 [email protected] www.rrm.com

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