Road Race Management Current Issue

In the June 28 , 2024 E-news - Issue # 170

In the June 6, 2024 E-news - Issue # 169

• $10M in prizes for World Athletics Ultimate Championships in 2026
• Gold Crown Initiative at European Championships this weekend
• Runners hit by car in ultra event suffer permanent injuries
• Boston Marathon news: new logo, registration in September, qualifying standards unchanged, $71.9M in charity contributions
• Awesome WR for Beatrice Chebet - watch her run
• Applications for London Marathon approach a million
• Road Race Management Race Directors Meeting coming in December
• Slow running trend surges in UK
• Overdue Olympic medals to be awarded in Paris
• Leonard Korir gets spot on U.S. Olympic Marathon team
• UTMB works to clean up trail running
• Medal shortage in Edinburgh Marathon
• Mike Schmitz joins Ashworth Awards
• LA28 announces new CEO

In the May 17, 2024 E-news - Issue # 168

• Marathons behaving badly: greed, incompetence make messes on two continents
• New president, good news at RRCA annual convention
• Big Sur, Big Damage: highway collapse requires rerouting of marathon.
• Kipchoge attacked on social media: malice with no accountability
• London Marathon seen through a race manager's lens--from inside the race
• Tommy Hughes sets ANOTHER age record
• Marathon winner DQ'ed for rule violation blames race organization for his behavior
• Shutdown of Christie Clinic Illiois Marathon barely averted
• Fan confers prize money on Buzunesh Deba after a 10 year wait
• Under international pressure, WADA calls a board meeting
• GAO finds lax oversight and enforcement of Title IX
• National Women's Law Center opposes ban on transgender women in sport
• Emma Coburn out of Olympic Trials because of ankle injury

In the May 13, 2024 E-news - Issue # 167

• Tygart warns of hit to prestige of Olympics over Chinese drug coverup
• World Athletics' Coe defends $50K for Olympic gold medalists; hypes Netflix video
• IOC's Bach says cost reductions promote high interest in hosting future Olympics
• Beefing up security for Paris 2024; Seine water quality
• See when women's distance events entered the Olympics
• Competition schedule for Paris
• AI to help protect Olympic athletes from online abuse
• Xi Jinping said to back idea of 'Olympics truce'
• French crackdown on Olympics-related fraud
• "Anti-sex beds" for Paris athletes
• Did Nike manuever Brigid Kosgei onto the Kenyan Olympics marathon team?

In the May 3, 2024 E-news - Issue # 166

• New face of Boston Marathon: what's new, what isn't Fresh eyes on Boston from an event manager running in the pack Calls to reunion for participants in 1984 Women's Olympic Marathon Trials WADA defends role in Chinese swimmer doping scandal; IOC President Bach expresses "full confidence;" USADA's latest volley Race participation ratchets upward, year-on-year Kenya, Ethiopia announce marathon teams 19-yr-old sets world road mile record: 3:54.56 Bach critiques World Athletics' Olympic prize money

In the April 26, 2024 E-news - Issue # 165

• First four finishers in Beijing Half Marathon disqualified
• WADA under fire in Chinese doping scandal
• World Athletics $2.4 million Olympics bonanza: $50K per gold medal
• Prize money in World Friendship Games, 776 Invitational
• Elite females surveyed prefer having only biological female division
• London Marathon: Chepchirchir WR, Kenenisa Bekele still at height of sport with masters WMR
• Parker Valby, 10,000m in 30:50.43--second collegiate record this year
• Buzunesh Deba still waiting for $100K prize money owed since 2014
• Lois Craig, Crim race founder, passes at 95
• UK runners ask for Olympics trail race
• Doping violations up in Russia
• Bethany College says no to NAIA rules on transgender
• Man with multiple scleroris runs London Marathon, raises big funds for MS Society

In the April 12, 2024 E-news - Issue # 164

• Reunion for 1984 Women's Olympic Marathon Trials participants
• Governor Hochul goes to bat for New York Road Runners
• A litany of troubles for the Paris Olympics
• Records fall at the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile
• Positives decline in drug testing
• NAIA transgender restrictions
• Blowout in the Barkley Marathons
• Posthumous induction of Tarzan Brown into Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame
• Fastest half marathon barefoot on ice and snow
• Fiona O'Keeffe speaks out on environmental issues
• Job opening: Special Events Coordinator for Army Ten-Miler

In the March 22, 2024 E-news - Issue # 163

• Cherry Blossom 10 Mile honors "Stumpy"--a tree that embodies tenacity and resilience--with thousands of t-shirts and medals
• Multiple records set in FURTHER Ultramarathon
• Athlete voices grow louder: not enough money in track and field
• LA mayor gets Olympics "reality check" from Paris mayor
• Dave McGillivray's five Olympic Marathon Trials in management hat
• The TEN: 12 athletes qualify for Olympics 10,000m in one day
• Rise in registration prices, 2019-2023
• Livestream of Western States coming
• 12-yr-old girl runs 2:58
• NYRR sues NYCRUNS over naming Brooklyn Half

In the February 16, 2024 E-news - Issue # 160

• Rest in peace: Kelvin Kiptum dead at 24
• Rest in peace: Henry Rono dead at 72
• Olympic Marathon Trials Retrospective (Orlando's downtown setting; pre-race press conference; media tent; women's start; scenes on course)
• Men's and women's Trials awards
• The business of the Olympic Trials
• Mon Dieu! Sensational Paris Olympic medals
• Travis Tygart calls for independent agency to combat crime in sport other than drug offenses
• Hong Kong Marathon cash performance incentives for sub-3:00 (men) and sub-3:30 (women) residents
• 2025 World Road Championships in San Diego promise strong economic impact

In the February 10, 2024 E-news

• Olympic Marathon Trials highlights
• Women's race: O'Keeffe's scintillating surprise in debut; Sisson solid in second; Lindwurm cancels "underdog" role
• Men's race: Mantz and Young, one second apart, triumph to no one's surprise; half a minute back, Korir and Kibet duel for third
• Trials telecast gets an A
• Shameless bandit throws shade at race organization
• Miami Marathon medals with spikes and spin hazard confiscated by TSA
• Mountain, Ultra, and Trail domestic and international championships schedule
• Tickets to Paris Olympics opening ceremony halved; security concerns voiced
• RUN THE BLOCK initiative by Running Industry Diversity Coalition
• Bob Beamon's Olympic gold fetches $441K at Christie's
• Alan Jones Timer of the Year award goes to Adam Shelton of Start 2 Finish

In the January 25, 2024 E-news

• Contest for city permit in Malibu Triathlon undercuts advantage of race ownership
• Gar Williams, running club pioneer, dies at 90
• School principal's cheating attempt foiled by her own Garmin postings
• WADA's lax oversight of Spain's anti-doping failures
• Doping updates: Russia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and more
• Rest in peace Darryl Beardall after 300,000 running miles
• Agnes Ngetich smashes world 10K record by 28 seconds; exciting video
• Check out bios of Olympic Trials competitors
• Free tickets to Boston Run Show end Jan. 26
• RunSignup Year in Review - mostly good news!
• Top 100 U.S races of 2023
• Xiamen Marathon DQs smoker for 'uncivilized behavior'
• Maximalist running shoes present unexpected risks
• Chinese worker reinstated by judge after being fired for slow 5K
• Paper company in China doles out bonuses to running employees

In the January 11, 2024 E-news

• • Revision to Olympic Marathon Trials selection process
  • More on disqualification of runner from Olympic Trials in Philadelphia Marathon
  • Runner with elbow fractured by official car during race continues to finish at Fukuoka Marathon
  • 12-event elite race series in UK
  • Beatrice Chebet rounds out super 2023 season with 5K world record
  • Arrest of suspected killers of Benjamin Kiplagat
  • Founder of Twin Cities Running Club David Coyne dies unexpectedly
  • Pillar of Baltimore area running community Dave Cooley passes at 91
  • Transgender athletes face new barriers in Olympics
  • Free tickets to Boston Run Show

In the December 29, 2023 E-news

• Race organizers jailed in China for ultramarathon tragedy in 2021
• Nike and Alberto Salazar settle in Mary Cain's lawsuit
• In Valencia Marathon, woman finishes in 2:25:47 while temporarily blinded; men's winner scores another sub-2:02
• Optimism marks RRM's Race Director Compensation Survey
• Gar Williams, John Bysiewicz honored at Road Race Management Race Directors' Meeting
• Michael Clemons named Running USA Director of Operations
• Lance Armstrong explains his success in passing hundreds of blood tests
• Courtney Dauwalter's tremendous triple
• Nike tightens corporate belt to the tune of $2 billion in three years

In December 2023 Newsletter, Issue No. 467

In November 2023 Newsletter, Issue No. 466

• Olympic Trials Start Time Moved to 10:00 a.m.
  Statistics from 2016 Olympic Trials in Los Angeles
  Mary Cain, Nike and Alberto Salazar Settle
  USATF to Examine Championships Programs
  USATF Shows $6.72 Million Loss on 2022 Form 990
• Organizations: Here Comes World Athletics:
  The World Governing Body Has Been Slowly But Steadily Increasing Its Influence over Elite Competition in U.S. Prize Money Road Races
  
• Events: Duo Participation and Scoring 
• Events: New York City Marathon Notes
• Bus Nearly Collides with Runners at Abbott 5K
• Business Page & Mileposts: Nike Sues; Saucony's Blues; Strava's Views; India's Doping Problems

In the November 29, 2023 E-news

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  • Last chance to complete Race Director Compensation Survey - deadline is December 1!
  • Coach hands runner water bottle at aid station; runner loses acceptance of Olympic Marathon Trials qualifying time.
  • Rogue motorist in Indianapolis hits runner on marathon course
  • Western States 100 winner mugged in South Africa while training for Cape Town race
  • Crackdown by Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya on "numerous" Kenyan athletes
  • Elite non-binary runners seek separate cash prize pool in Philadelphia Marathon
  • Running historian Mike Fanelli passes at age 67
  • 400,000 new tickets to Paris Olympics (30,000 in track and field)
  • Cheri Blauwet elected new Chair of B.A.A. Board of Directors
  • Two more ultra records
  • Tax forms show money is tight at USATF
  • Russians out of Olympics until 2028, per Russia Olympic Committee Director

In the November 17, 2023 E-news

• • Race director compensation survey - take by December 1
  • Olympic Trials Marathon start time reaches compromise after athletes flex their muscle
  • Near-collision between bus, motorbikes, and runners in USATF 5K Championships
  • Five more years for Max Siegel at USATF
  • New global trail running series rivals UTMB
  • 400 marathons, 44 years daily run streak for Canadian
  • Governors push NCAA to change transgender policies
  • 2024 Olympics squeeze Tour de France finale out of Paris

In the October 19, 2023 E-news

• Twin Cities Marathon: cancellation and financial squeeze
• Sensational Chicago Marathon: WR and more
• Chicago disqualifies hundreds
• Strict Boston cutoff disappoints 11,000 applicants
• Jay Holder named Executive Director of Running USA
• British marathon canceled mid-race, leaves 1,000 stranded
• Nominations for Alan Jones Timer of the Year award
• Philadelphia Marathon expands inclusivity
• USADA grants non-binary runner use of testosterone

Road Race Management Newsletter, September 2023 Issue No. 464

• News:
• Leadership Turn-over Continues at Running USA
  Jim Estes Sues USATF
  Tigist Assefa’s 2:11:53 Berlin Marathon Time Sparks Praise and Questions
  Double World Record Comes Up Short
• Legal:
  A Closer Look at Waivers
• Events:
  Recognizing and Rewarding Streakers
  by Claudia Piepenburg
  
• Events:
  Recognizing and Rewarding Streakers
  by Claudia Piepenburg
• Business Page & Mileposts:
  Adidas Adios Lightens Up; Adios to GPS Among the Young; Yeats Misquoted

In the September 8, 2023 E-news

• 3-minute survey on non-binary participation
• Mexico Marathon marred by cheating - but how much?
• Calgary Marathon founder dies in car crash
• Seb Coe, high on Budapest, charts World Athletics future
• Road Race Management Race Directors Meeting 3 months away
• Nuguse upsets world 1500m champion Josh Kerr by a whisker
• Pre-race party supplants Expo in Chicago heliport
• 2025 World Road Running Championships go to San Diego
• Managerial job opening at Cherry Blossom, Inc.
• Navratilova speaks her mind on gender in sport

Road Race Management Newsletter, July 2023 Issue No. 463

• News:
• Successful World Championships Concludes in Budapest
  World Championships Mass 10K Race Shortened
  Positive Drug Test Shows Challenges for Athletes and Event Directors
  U.S. Athletes Push Back on Noon Starting Time for Olympic Marathon Trials
  Word on the Street about the Road Race Management Race Directors’ Meeting
• Events:
  Event Time Limits and Course Closings:
  Adaptation to Slower Runners Is the Norm
• Events:
  Philadelphia Distance Run Makes a Comeback
• Tips & Tricks:
  Dave's Top Ten Race Management Tips with a Month to Go Before Your Race
  
• Commentary:
  The Drug Testing Loophole
  
• Statistics:
  Round-up of Numbers from the Running World
  
• Business Page & Mileposts:
  On on Cloud Nine; Saucony on the Move; Muddy Waters; Wittenberg Heads to Gotham

Road Race Management Newsletter, July 2023 Issue No. 462

• News:
• Banned Runner Shelby Houlihan Sets Beer Mile World Record
  Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) and Kenyan Anti-Doping Agency (ADAK) Ramp Up Testing
  Running USA Elects Officers; Continues Search for Permanent Executive Director
  Early Bird Registration Rates for Road Race Management Race Directors’ Meeting Expire Soon
• Events
  Cracking Down on Non-Drug-Related Cheating in Road Races
  Tips & Tricks:
  It's Not Over Till It's Over
  Weather:
  AJC Peachtree Road Race Shut Down in Late Stages Due to Lightning Alert
  Business Page & Mileposts:
  Nike Wants Back In; UYN and Ratio Look to Get in; Pappas Thrilled

In the July 27, 2023 E-news

• Mark Knutson, Fargo Marathon Director, killed in bicycle accident.
• Flooding forces cancellation of Vermont 100.
• Legendary Ted Corbitt memorialized in 50K race in NYC
• Road Race Management Race Directors' Meeting less than five months away; early bird fees still in effect.
• Two mass races to accompany World Championships in Budapest
• Simulation delivers road races to the world--possibly yours
• More good news in RunSignup's midyear trends update
• Professional trail and ultra runners financial difficulties
• Other news: Kenyan authorities intercept smuggled shipment of performance-enhancing drugs; Semenya vindicated but not returned to competition; IOC says no to Russia and Belarus; big hike in bill for IOC top management; cycling's ban on transgender women.

In the July 6, 2023 E-news

• RRCA recommendations concerning air quality added to Safe Events Guidelines
• Survey on time limits for course closures: many options
• Motorcyclist rams head-on into runner during race
• Race Directors' Meeting set for Dec. 11-13; early bird registration open
• Mt. Washington Road Race the setting for inspiring act of loyalty and friendship in harsh weather conditions
• Leader makes costly mistake in Peachtree's women's division
• Three new studies of diversity within the running industry
• Other news: "Enhanced Games" on collision course with IOC; first completion in five years of 300-km ultra in France; survey on compensation for ultra runners

Road Race Management Newsletter, June 2023 Issue No. 461

In the June 16, 2023 E-news

• Theft and vandalism strike Calgary Marathon
• Results of survey on ordering swag
• Early bird registration opens for RRM Race Directors' meeting
• Technology growing races
• Boulderthon moves start/finish downtown
• Other news: poll on transgender women in sport; case challenging CT rules on transgender participation moves on; bear scare nullified at Whistler Half Marathon; 25 disqualifications from Comrades Marathon

Road Race Management Newsletter, May 2023 Issue No. 460

In the May 31, 2023 E-news

• Commentary: New title for Dave McGillivray at the Boston Marathon
• New race memorializes Dick and Rick Hoyt's inspiring legacy
• Kentucky family defies rules at Flying Pig Marathon (again); and other insults to the road racing community
• In bizarre incident, ultrarunner with everything to lose cheats in 50 mile race with no fathomable explanation; GPS helped in the bust
• Olympic innovation: Paris 2024 Marathon for All
• On-site hospital crew, 100-strong, treats victims of heat on Ottawa Race Weekend
• Family of Tarzan Brown, 1936 and 1939 Boston Marathon winner, asks for return of disappeared trophies
• OTHER RUNNING NEWS: coaches charged with murder in heat-related death; WA Championships TV stats show U.S. viewership relatively dismal; Nike facing claims of $530M for unfair labor practices; UTMB commits to new pregnancy policy

In the May 10, 2023 E-news

• Newton police accused of profiling at Boston's Heartbreak Hill
• Boston's medal shortfall
• Flying Pig sets minimum age requirements after blowup over child in 2022
• Record turnout, near WR, age group records, trans controversy at London Marathon
• Donna Foundation gets Jacksonville city to back down on race date
• Landmark victory for USADA
• OTHER: Gambling on Boston Marathon denied; job opening for Executive Director at RUSA; Bix 7, PRRO circuit partnership; backwards marathon in 3:25:24; super shoes pros and cons.

In the April 6, 2023 E-news

• Criminal conduct in Kenyan doping cases
• Creating roadmap to control doping among Kenyan athletes
• World Athletics excludes transgender women who have passed through male puberty from World Rankings competition
• IOC President hits back at countries seeking ban of Russians at Olympics
• Six finishers in 380-mile winter race in Canadian Arctic
• Bank of America partners with Boston Marathon, B.A.A.
• Men's AR set in Cherry Blossom 10 Mile
• Camille Herron sets Women's 48 Hour World Record
• Women's 45-49 age group half marathon AR is also runner's PR
• Brooks to invest $10M in young runners
• Olympic Trials qualifying period for Half Marathons now open (to qualify for Marathon Trials)

In the February 28, 2023 E-news

• Why John Babington was banned by SafeSport
• Climate change may push championship distance races into cooler seasons
• Chinese distance racing comeback
• Social media "influencer" disrupts Austin Marathon
• Same "influencer" wears someone else's bib in Houston Marathon
• Parents sue university after suicide of bullied female runner
• 2022 athlete performance database available
• Tuliamuk nabs 12th national title
• Fastest mile for 16-year-old
• Bombs rock start area of Mount Cameroon Race of Hope
• 10 best U.S. cities for runners
• European Athletics supports earthquake recovery
• Olympic Marathon Trials qualifying window

In the February 16, 2023 E-news

• Atlanta Track Club takes broadcasting reins
• Rock 'n' Roll Running Series turns 25
• American Indoor Records: Kincaid 5000m; Nuguse 3000m
• American Indoor Records: Monson 3000m; Nuguse Mile/1500m
• Olympics Russia problem
• USATF road championships discussion
• Questioning non-binary awards
• Other running news: athlete performance database; 2022's top 100; Athletics Canada Series; World Mountain Running Championships; Xterra World Championships; qualifying for U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials

In the January 17, 2023 E-news

• Trail Racing Takes Off -- Again
  Security Concerns Loom Large in Paris 2024 Planning
  Appeals Court Rejects Lawsuit Challenging Connecticut Policy on Transgender Females Competing in Girls' High School Sports
  Opinion: Court of Appeals Sets a Scientifically Dubious Precedent on Transgender Girls in High School Sport
  Women Athletes Leaving Megabrands
  P3R Launches MOVE Pass to Inspire People to Move All Year Long
  The 2022 Race Results Weekly Athlete Performance Database is now available
  Sisson sizzles to half marathon AR in Houston's Aramco Half M