Planning a running event is full of challenges, but overcoming them brings great rewards. We have compiled the top 13 event management challenges.
1. Determining Race Type
The very first challenge event organizers face is determining the event type. Marathon event planning is wildly different from organizing a 5K or an ultra-marathon, and your chosen distance will determine your future steps.
This challenge is mostly an inner struggle. Ask yourself what kind of race you want to host and consider what resources you have. You might find out that you can organize a multi-distance event. Or you will understand that a location or occasion fits a run perfectly.
2. Finding a Location
Building on the first point, finding a suitable location is paramount to your event’s success. Planning a race course is impossible if you do not know where your event will happen. However, you need to consider a few factors: the visual appeal, shade, track type, accessibility, space for amenities, ease of getting permits, and much more. Every event organizer has their priorities when picking a suitable spot.
3. Choosing Event Date
When you organize a running event, think carefully about the date. Are there going to be other events on that day? Are there national or religious holidays? Is it a weekday or a weekend?
Your date mustn’t overlap with anything important—and if it does, it should take advantage of that event, like in the case of holiday fun runs.
4. Postponing the Event
Sometimes, you need to postpone your race: a terrible tornado is sweeping across the countryside, or the local authorities told you to do so, or your event got overshadowed by a bigger one, or the Pope is coming to town, or your favorite pet hamster died, and you are grieving, or… you get the idea. Whatever your reasons, you must clearly communicate this to your runners.
Many will cancel their participation, and you will have to offer concessions to save your reputation and retain runners next year. There are many ways to do so; here are just some ideas:
- Full or partial refund. This sounds dull, but most people will want their money back. Do everything you can to make the refund process as painless as possible. Make it a full refund if you can.
- Discounts for future events. As an organizer, you want to take every opportunity for promotion. Turn your misfortune into an advertisement for your future events.
- Offer swag. Getting a T-shirt is nothing like running a marathon to earn it, but it is at least something. Offer additional merchandise to those willing to stick with their payments to offset their frustration.
- Genuine apology. If you are forced to move your race, you must genuinely apologize to your participants: they carved a massive amount of time for your event, so it is only natural for you to carve a few hours to draft a nice public apology. Actions speak louder than words, however, so do not forget to give something as a token of apology, like something from the things above.
5. Keeping a Tight Budget
Organizing a road race comes with many expenses, and keeping a good account of them is critical to getting to the proverbial finish line. Spend too much, and you will go into the red; spend too little, and you will lose your reputation. Luckily, we know exactly how to track your event’s budget and are glad to share it with you.
6. Getting Permits
You can plan your event all you want. But you cannot start your race all willy-nilly without first approving it with the local authorities (police department, healthcare establishments, fire department, and others). You need to get a set of permits, which is a huge pain in the backside for all event organizers.
The general rule of thumb is to get all your permits before opening registration and promoting your race. So the sooner you start, the sooner you can begin to hype up your event.
Different locations require different kinds of permits. For example, if you are closing down public roads for your event, you will need a permit from your local city council or local government. On the other hand, if you plan to run the event on a trail or a national park, you will probably have to speak with the Department of Parks and Recreation. Moreover, you will likely have to notify the police, fire, and healthcare departments. For an exhaustive list, consult your local officials.
7. Dealing with COVID-19
It has been a while since the initial wave of the pandemic, but there are still many challenges faced by the event industry due to COVID-19. The pandemic became grounds for many new restrictions for all kinds of events, including running, and old ones are getting enforced way more rigorously.
For example, the 2020 Tokyo Marathon was held only for marathon and wheelchair elites. The Great Wall Marathon, the Rome Marathon, the NYC Marathon, and many others were canceled. Others, like the Paris Marathon, the Boston Marathon, and the London Marathon, got rescheduled and then either successfully conducted or canceled at a later date.
One solution is organizing a virtual race. It is not a perfect substitute for attending in person, but it is one of the more ingenious ways to combat the COVID-19 restrictions. There are many success stories, like the UNICEF Croatia Milky Way Virtual Race, the 2020 YWCA Race to End Racism, or The Virtual “Run for Europe” Faster, Further, Stronger Together. They all managed to not only achieve their goals but surpass them by a substantial margin.
8. Recruiting Staff and Volunteers
This challenge is twofold. On the one hand, you need to worry about how many people you need. If you hire too many, a crowd of people will be doing nothing and burning a hole in your budget. Hire too few, and you will be stuck doing all the hard work on your own. The LA Marathon 2023 has over 7,200 volunteers with over 24,000 participants, while the Boston Marathon has over 10,000 volunteers and up to 30,000 participants.
It seems that the most prominent races try to have one volunteer for every 3–4 participants, but this is not a golden rule—many successful events go over that or make do with fewer. You will have to run a few events to get a good feel of what you need for your particular race.
On the other hand, you need to know whom to hire and what to offer them in return. You can obviously get volunteers, but you cannot expect them to do everything for free—at the very least, some gratitude and a small pizza party are expected.
9. Securing Sponsorships
Getting sponsors to fund your race is a massive undertaking. So big that it merits its own article. In short, it takes immense effort to get a sponsor, and even more to keep them happy. To make the matter worse, it is usually not enough to get just one sponsor—the bigger your event, the more benefactors you want.
10. Promoting Your Event
Running race marketing is a process with many moving parts: you have your social media, flyers, search engine ads, word of mouth, press releases, and much more to worry about. Inexperienced event organizers will likely drown in all the possibilities. But seasoned planners will tell you that leveraging your marketing strategy is the best way to get more participants for your event.
Luckily, Runzy is a great solution for race directors. You can list your event on our calendar for free. As a result, many avid runners will see it when looking for their next challenge.
11. Securing Supplies, Services, and Merch
The challenge is twofold: you have to get all the necessities (and fit them into your budget) and find trustworthy vendors.
Before starting a race, you have to get a few services in place, as well as get supplies and merch for your event. You will need a metric ton of stuff: from food courts, music, and video footage, to swag for your participants, port-a-potties, and bibs. There is also race timing, awards, traffic cones, and other stuff to worry about, and you’ll need to supply your aid stations and medical areas.
Finding good vendors is another challenge. On the one hand, you can ask major supply chains to assist you, which is a more foolproof way of doing business. However, you will miss out on engaging local businesses, which can be a massive factor.
Local businesses will be more likely to offer good deals if you give them significant representation in your event. However, they might be less experienced, becoming a logistical nightmare.
In the end, it is a gamble either way because even massive chains can grow overconfident and underdeliver. We suggest picking your favorites and making a list of reliable suppliers you would like to work with in the future.
12. Preparing the Race Course
Your race course is your event’s appetizer, entrée, and dessert, so you must ensure it is perfect. You have to mark the directions, guide movement with traffic cones, set up aid stations along the route, and much more.
According to a survey, 25% of runners are unlikely to register for a race without a certified course, and 75% will not return to your event again if the distance is inaccurate.
What is the reason? If your course is not certified, your participants will not be able to use their results to qualify for major races such as the Boston Marathon, the Chicago Marathon, and New York Marathon. Consequently, it is not profitable for them to waste time on a race that will not bring them points in further running activities.
So, if you want to be professional, you need to certify your course to comply with all USATF rules.
13. Going for Round 2
Planning your first event is undoubtedly an undertaking, but continuing it next year can be as much or even more of a challenge. You have more experience and some ground, but you also have higher expectations to meet—both from participants and from yourself.
Improving a race every year is a challenge many organizers embrace, reveling in the sweet taste of victory when they successfully organize yet another running event. Try it yourself; we are confident you will like it.
You will have to ask yourself a lot of important questions about the success of your marketing, the challenges that occurred and were overcome (or not), the choices and decisions made, and their impact on your event. Gather feedback from your runners and stakeholders to help you better understand your shortcomings.
Conclusion
This list is not complete. In fact, it is a challenge on its own to remember all the challenges an event director faces when organizing a race. However, hosting a running event is a gratifying experience, and the challenges you encounter will benefit your skills in the long run.
If you want to know how to host a successful running event, check out our race director checklist, where we detail everything you need to keep in mind for your race.
