The drive or desire to become a race or event director can come from many different areas. Maybe you have a lack of races in your area, you love problem solving, or you are a trail runner and want to see it from the other side. All of these are admirable reasons to want to take on the “project” that is being a race director. But, with race directing you will face a whole new set of problems that often aren’t visible until you start down the path.

This “RD Education” series on UltraSignup is going to go in depth into the various processes it takes to put on events, manage them effectively, and everything you need to know about how to run a successful race company.

Races, while all different, usually follow the same patterns in the beginning, starting with “why” and “how.” From that point, the tree branches out with various needs that will be unique depending on whose land the race is on, the terrain, the length of race and many other factors. So let’s open the pandoras box of race directing. We’ll start from “I’m thinking of becoming a race director” and progress all the way to share steps and guidance around putting on a championship race, including everything you need to know about drug testing, prize money and beyond.

Anytime I think of an event or a race I think of 3 starting points, no matter what the race is. Those three points are people, permits and parking. The big 3 Ps are usually going to give you a basic idea of what it will take and the major “stopping points” so you have an idea of what to expect before you even start.

People

The #1 Rule in any event is safety for all runners. There is safety mitigation, safety plans and the inherent risks of putting on events. The first question  RDs should ask themselves is “Can I put this on safely?” In our series we will talk about overall event safety, safety plans and how to mitigate risk. 

People are the heart of the sport.

Permits

You are going to have to secure a permit to hold an event on any piece of land that you do not own. It is illegal to hold events on many types of land without permission, and it is irresponsible for race directors to do it without insurance as well. Permitting requirements vary depending on the land agency: BLM land, private land, state parks, national parks and any other agencies you might need will all have different permitting processes. When you are gathering permits you may also need permits from a fire marshal, health/food service and sometimes environmental use permits as well. Start your permit research early. They can take a long time to secure.

Read our article about the passage of the EXPLORE ACT and the positive impact could have for permitting and recreation on public lands.

National Parks are one of the most difficult areas to secure a permit so you typically don’t see large events take place in them.

Parking

At the end of the day, you can only have as many people run as you have available parking. Many times, you have a great race site or venue but there is absolutely no parking. There are many ways to adjust/plan when you have X of amount of spots to park, and it’s important to look at the options out there that can help to increase that number. Often you can use side of the road parking, shuttles from outside the venue, nearby church lots, bus your people in, and many more creative ideas. We will help to explore the importance of finding good options for parking and how to create a great way to move people in/out of the race.

Sometimes parking can extend into an adjacent field, but it’s important to know your options.

About “RD Education”

Race directing is hard work. The job requires a broad set of skills that include everything from inventing wild race concepts to route creation, budget management, event coordination, permits and crowd management to branding and social media. It takes business savvy, time, and dedication. If it’s not one thing, it’s another.

The resources you’ll find here are created by long-time race director Rob Goyen along with input and expertise from across the sport. They are designed to help answer questions and provide a guide to support new and emerging race directors as you find yourself asking, “How do I do that?” Or repeating the age-old phrase, “I didn’t know I needed to…”

What would you like us to cover? Email rob@ultrasignup.com.