From a marketing perspective, location is important when deciding where to hold your event. Your location alone can be one of the major draws, especially if your chosen area already has a track record for tourism. On a realistic note, however, not every event can - or needs to align itself with a tourist destination. Let's back up a bit first and look at some of the core motivations for putting on a race because this will add some insight on where to locate your race.
The Passionate Runner
It's not unusual to hear a runner speak of the deep-seated passion and commitment that he/she has developed for running. This passion usually includes a favourite route that is run on a regular basis or a new one that they think is spectacular and would make for a great race. Most runners in this category say they want to give back to his/her community and/or simply showcase and share with other runners what they think will make a great course.
The Fundraiser
I believe there are two subcategories here. The first, which also ties into the above motivator is the passionate runner that also wants to engage in a fundraiser (for whatever reason).
The second motivator is for a charitable or non-profit organization to use a running race as a means of raising money.
The Business Man/Woman
This last category of motivation is the individual or corporation that produces a race or race series for business development. This category most likely has some overlap with the others, but the primary motivation is to develop a business.
Profit as a Key Goal
Regardless of the motivation to produce a running race, one of the key goals has to be to turn a profit. Where these profits are allocated is a separate issue. Again, if you return to my blog post on Permits and Policing and Insurance, you'll get the idea that some big costs are involved in putting on a race. These highlight only a couple of the costs involved in race production. Two other key costs are marketing and staffing to attract runners and actually produce the event. These latter costs cannot be ignored or downplayed in an industry that is very crowded and competitive and shows no signs of slowing down.
Combining Motivations and Profit
What I've highlighted so far are the need to run a profitable event and several motivations behind producing a race. The Passionate Runner might already have a location in mind. The Fundraiser/Business Producers are most likely seeking a location for a race. With a very crowded market (i.e. North America is inundated with race choices) race location is going to be one of the key factors setting one race apart from another. Whether you plan to draw runners from your own city/town or make it a destination race, location is going to be a key part of your marketing strategy.
Quick Market Analysis
Have I mentioned that the North American race scene is fairly swamped? Given the crowded race scene, this means you are going to have to be fairly competitive to attract an audience to your particular event. Before I consider producing a new race, the very first task I set about doing is a quick online analysis of what races are running and when in my general geographic location. Unless I have the backing of a big sponsor, I want to make sure I have an audience to draw upon. A quick Google search with the keywords "list running races" will land you on any number of race listing websites. What I look for are:
- Any races that are already using my desired geographic location and their dates
- The number of small races (5k, 10k, 10mile) within ~50km of my prospective location
- The number of larger races (by distance and number of racers) within ~100km of my prospective location
If a race is already using my prospective location, I look at how big it is; if there is an opportunity for a partnership; how long they've been producing their event and; the date of their race. If there are ONLY small races in my area with limited attendance (e.g. 250 runners and less) I ask myself why. Is there an insufficient audience to draw from? Or has someone just not dedicated the resources yet to create a bigger event? I want to know the number of larger races in my prospective area as I don't want to even try and compete against them (that would be certain death!) and I want to know if they have an expo I can attend to market my race (or a finish line where I can hand postcards out). Marketing tied to larger races will also help guide me in setting a race date. Remember, this is a fairly quick analysis. Don't be discouraged by the sheer number of races you'll find. This just means that your location and your entire marketing plan are going to have to be very strong to be competitive. The only "red flag" piece of advice I would give is to caution you about going forward with a race if your market to draw upon is fairly small - i.e. There are not any big races that offer marketing opportunities. If all races within a 50km radius are small (5k, 10k, 10mile and less than 250 runners from year to year) then your race is most likely going to be small as well. The reality is that the conglomeration of races in your area are small because there is a limited audience to draw upon.
Route and Venue
Assuming that you've done your quick analysis of the market and determined that there is an audience to draw upon, now it's time to pick your actual route and venue. When you scout potential routes for your race course, you will need to scout venues at the same time. I always say that you have to have a fabulous course and a fabulous venue. If you can tie into an existing tourist market, fantastic! Don't forget though, your route and venue will most likely come at a higher cost in a tourist locale. Here are a couple of things to consider in choosing the right venue:
- Your venue must be large enough to hold your registration and/or race kit pickup
- You might have to consider keeping your volunteers warm and runners dry, depending on the time of year your race is held
- Your venue may need to be large enough to hold everyone at the start line
- Your venue may need to be large enough to process runners through the finish line and/or hold your post-race events (e.g. awards, food tents, families/friends that want to greet their runner at the finish, beer tent, bands)
- If your start line is part of your venue you will need a sufficient number of porta potties for your runners pre-race
- Sometimes, a stellar venue can be part of your race's appeal and marketing strategy
A few things to consider in scouting a route for your race:
- Your route needs to meet the level of ease/difficulty for your target market (e.g. Beginners=Flat Course, Fewer twists/turns; More Experienced=More Challenging Course)
- Minimize the impact on residences/businesses
- Vistas=More appeal for runners and marketable angles
- Are there any landmarks on your course that can be part of your race's appeal and marketing strategy?
- Running surface needs to be appropriate for your target market (Beginner/Intermediate needs smoother surfaces like a paved road)
- Is the first 500+ metres wide enough for your expected numbers and/or will you need to stagger start times to help spread runners out?
- Cost of policing associated with your route choices
Process to Choosing the Running Route
The process to choosing and confirming a route will differ slightly given the three different motivations I have identified above for producing a running race. If you are wanting to produce a race solely for the purposes of fundraising or a business, I highly advise you work with a runner to identify potential routes. Here's what I usually do to turn a route into a race course:
- Brainstorm locations that might work as a race route
- Google the location to get an idea of the size and potential venues associated with the route
- Check online and/or call to see who owns the properties involved and to get an idea of their rental costs and date availability
- Go to the location and do an initial scout to see the venue and run/walk/drive the potential route
- If the venue and race route are deemed suitable, go back several times to do rough measurements of venue layout and route distance. At this time I also consider route alternatives knowing that the police and/or landowners probably have some insight into land usage I haven't thought of.
- Begin the process of obtaining Permits and Police Permission for my route and/or venue
- Revisit the course many times to make sure you are on top of any changes and begin the process of taking an accurate measurement (Note: If you want your course to be certified as a Boston Qualifier, in Ontario go to the Athletics Canada website to find contacts for measurement. This cost is upwards of $2,000. Otherwise, Google "race course measurement standards" to download the pdf on proper course measurement. You will want to incorporate methods such as measuring the "shortest route around corners" to gain an accurate measurement. One word of advice for road or trail measurement is to do an "official measurement" several times as even a Garmin is not 100% accurate!)
- Begin to write a marketing plan that paints a picture of my course and venue, their highlights and why I think my event will "rock!"
My next post will be about marketing strategies. Location is, however, a huge part of your marketing strategy given the competitive nature of the racing industry.
Questions about Location?
diane [at] dirtyrunnerproductions [dot] com
I will post relevant questions here with my response for all to see
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