30,000 runners, 4 race directors, 1 common goal

This weekend, race directors from Nova Scotia’s four largest marathons met to discuss strategies on improving East Coast races.

We brainstormed ideas, discussed industry trends, asked each other for advice and gave opinions. Of course, we shared race-day stories and laughed a lot too.

In the photo above, from left to right: myself, Michelle Kempton; Susan Carbyn, race director for the Valley Harvest Marathon; Geri Wallace, director for the Bluenose Marathon; and Terry Curley. He organizes a number of races.

Initially, we planned to meet on Friday night for dinner, expecting it to be an hour or two. Three and a half hours later we realized there was so much to talk about that we’ll need to do this more often.

Even though we often face similar obstacles, it’s amazing to hear how differently each of us approaches organizing our marathons. Road races are a competitive industry, but we aren’t businesses and agreed that our not-for-profit races aren’t in competition with one another. Our top priority is about giving back to our running community, not profit margins. We believe by working collaboratively we’ll make our already-popular races even better. Actually, we’ve come up with a few ideas for this year.

Race directors shoulder a lot of responsibility and it can be a high-pressure job but by surrounding ourselves with like-minded peers makes the load seem lighter. Even this blog post was a collaboration. Thank you Susan, Geri and Terry for helping me sum-up in words how important it is that we work together.