Head Start
Episodes
The Future of Race Experience
23 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to “The Future of Running” podcast on Head Start presented by Brooksee and hosted by Phil Dumontet.In this episode, Phil sits down with Te...
Stewarding the World’s Largest One-Day Fundraiser
19 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to “The Future of Running” podcast on Head Start presented by Brooksee and hosted by Phil Dumontet.In this episode, Phil sits down with Hu...
How Sydney Became a World Marathon Major
13 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to “The Future of Running” podcast on Head Start presented by Brooksee and hosted by Phil Dumontet.In this episode, Phil sits down with Wa...
Building Community, Brand and Fandom
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to “The Future of Running” podcast on Head Start presented by Brooksee and hosted by Phil Dumontet.In this episode, Phil sits down with Sc...
What Might a Marathon in 2100 Look Like?
17 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to “The Future of Running” podcast on Head Start presented by Brooksee and hosted by Phil Dumontet.In this episode, Phil sits down with Bi...
Leading the Future of the Boston Marathon
05 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to "The Future of Running" podcast on Head Start presented by Brooksee and hosted by Phil Dumontet.In this episode, Phil sits down w...
Purpose Is the New Pace
29 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to "The Future of Running" podcast on Head Start presented by Brooksee and hosted by Phil Dumontet.In this episode, Phil sits down w...
Seizing the Third Running Boom
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to "The Future of Running" podcast on Head Start presented by Brooksee and hosted by Phil Dumontet.In this episode, Phil sits down w...
Inside the Future of the World Marathon Majors
29 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to "The Future of Running" podcast on Head Start presented by Brooksee and hosted by Phil Dumontet.In this episode, Phil sits down w...
Race Medals
05 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In 1897, the Boston Athletic Association, then only ten years old, decided to organize the first ever Boston Marathon, thus giving birth to the longes...
Community & Inclusivity at the LA Marathon
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to "The Future of Running" podcast on Head Start presented by Brooksee and hosted by Phil Dumontet.In this episode, Phil sits down w...
Introducing: The Future of Running
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today we have something a little bit different for you: we are announcing the upcoming release of “The Future of Running” mini podcast series, a l...
Race Trends 2024
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
RunSignup’s annual RaceTrends report is the closest thing we get in the endurance events industry to a market-wide survey of what is happening in ev...
Permits
20 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to putting on races, obtaining a permit (or permits, as the case may be) is one of the most fundamental aspects of the race planning pro...
2024 Global Runner Survey
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Running USA’s annual Global Runner Survey has always been an important gauge of runner attitudes and trends for the endurance events industry. And i...
Waivers
17 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A couple of episodes back, we looked at event liability insurance: why it’s important that your race is covered by a robust liability insurance poli...
Course Measurement & Certification
17 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve ever directed even a single race, there’s a good chance you would have received at least one email from a frustrated participant complai...
Race Insurance
10 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If there’s one thing you can’t have enough of as a race director, it’s race insurance. Particularly - knock on wood - when the unexpected happen...
Crisis Communications
22 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When doors start dropping off planes mid-air or your favorite online retailer gets in touch to let you know your personal details may have been compro...
Race Trends 2023
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s that time of the year again. RunSignup’s annual RaceTrends report is out for 2023, and it’s larger and more comprehensive than ever before!...
Instagram & Influencer Marketing
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With more than 2 billion monthly active users (MAUs), Instagram has secured a comfortable lead as the social media platform of choice for the vast maj...
Designing a Race Course
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As a race director, few things in the race planning lifecycle can be as exciting and enjoyable as designing a brand new race course. From picking a st...
Building a Race Series
08 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Building a race from the ground up, as anyone who’s done it will know, is a tough business. But what about planning, coordinating and growing a whol...
Spotlight: Hood to Coast
16 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
First run on a whim in 1982 by Oregon Road Runners Club president Bob Foote with only 8 teams participating in the inaugural race, Hood to Coast has g...
Supporting Female Athletes
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Racing has come a long way since the days when women were being told that running the marathon would cause your uterus to fall out. And with women now...
Spotlight: Boulderthon
23 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Nestled in a valley in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Boulder, CO, is often referred to as the fitness capital of the US. So it was a bit surpr...
The 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing
01 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On April 15, 2013, two homemade bombs planted by brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tarnaev exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. In the d...
Sponsorship Proposals
12 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve done the hard work of prospecting and soliciting sponsors, and got some of your prospects to engage with you, you may be forgiven in think...
Race Merchandise
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Selling merchandise is a great way to increase brand loyalty for participants outside race day, and, of course, a very good way to increase revenue fr...
Race Medical Planning
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From the minute the first participant shows up on race day till the time the last one leaves, responsibility for the wellbeing of everyone on and arou...
The Business of Trail & Ultra Races
29 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve been following our industry updates on race and participation growth, you may have picked up on the fact that trail running, and trail rac...
Mastering Social Media
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Over the last decade or so, lots has changed in the social media landscape. Facebook has gone from exciting upstart to the mature granddaddy of social...
Hiccup: Reusable Water Cups
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In a number of our past podcasts, we’ve touched on the issue of race waste - and specifically a particularly significant and persistent part of that...
Spotlight: SBT GRVL
17 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Gravel racing has been one of the fastest growing sectors in mass-participation sports over the last decade or so, particularly in the US, where high-...
Race Photos
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Besides race medals and finisher shirts, the one experience item participants have come to expect from a race, particularly in this digital age, is a ...
Engaging Local Media
20 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If there’s one thing that often sets apart races that go on to do really well from others that struggle to gain traction in their community, it’s ...
Building a Race Budget
06 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Whether you’re putting on races through a for-profit or a nonprofit organization, having a good grasp of your race budget can often make the differe...
Race Trends 2022
20 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When you want to know what’s happening and trending in the endurance events industry by the numbers, where do you turn to? Well, for me and many peo...
Spotlight: HYROX
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It isn’t every day that an entirely new mass participation racing concept emerges that can take the world by storm. But, that’s exactly what’s h...
Scaling Up
23 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When races grow from scratch, particularly as passion projects, there often comes a time where growth grinds to a halt. Participation seems to gradual...
Cracking Gen Z Runners
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In RunSignup’s latest RaceTrends report, registration data showed that less than 13% of race participants in 2021 races fell within the 18-30 age gr...
2022 Podcast Highlights
26 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we are going to be taking a trip down memory lane, looking at some of my favourite podcast highlights from the past year. It’s been an amazin...
Spotlight: Around the Crown 10K
12 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve been following the podcast for a while, you’ll know that what we try to do at Head Start is bring you actionable, expert advice you can ...
[Bonus] Going Solar
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s another bonus episode for you today, and as we were discussing reducing your race’s carbon footprint last week, this week’s episode falls q...
Carbon Neutral Race Production
28 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In a previous episode of the podcast with guest Brian Schmidt of P3R, we saw how it is possible for even a very large race like the Pittsburgh Maratho...
Designing Actionable Race Surveys
14 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Most races only come around once a year. So when you’re working to improve a race for your participants, you’ve got precious few opportunities to ...
Starting Out as a Race Director
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Looking into the business of putting on races from the outside, as a passionate runner and racer, you might be mistaken in thinking that putting on ra...
TikTok Marketing
17 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“A game changer”, “TV on steroids”, “the future of content” and “ridiculously addictive”. That’s just a few ways to describe TikTok,...
Managing Stress
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you have been putting on races for a while, it probably won’t surprise you to hear that organizing events is one of the most stressful jobs out t...
Finding & Approaching Sponsors
19 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Securing sponsorship is undoubtedly one of the toughest jobs on any race director’s plate. And finding and approaching sponsors, in particular, is p...
Getting to Zero Waste
05 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
90% - keep that number in mind - that’s how much of your event waste you should be diverting away from landfill to be able to claim that your even...
2022 Global Runner Survey
22 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In all walks of life, people love to stress the importance of data - knowing the hard facts and using evidence to make better, more informed decisions...
Facebook Ads II: Creatives, Budgeting, Optimization, Retargeting
08 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, if you happened to join us for part one of our two-part Facebook Ads podcast special, we set the scene by looking at Facebook marketing str...
Facebook Ads I: Strategy, Funnels, Campaigns, Targeting
25 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to spending money on marketing races, Facebook Ads remains the most popular choice for race directors and professional race marketers, r...
The Sponsorship Seeker's Mindset
11 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Are you struggling to understand how you should approach and talk to sponsors? Is seeking sponsorship a task you dread or maybe have even given up on?...
iRewind: Personalized Race Videos
27 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Personalized participant video, where a participant receives an edited video of themselves in the race after they cross the finish line (often as soon...
Trademarking Races
13 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever thought about trademarking your race’s name or logo? Trademarking your race and brand could help protect your business against tradema...
Email Marketing
30 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to marketing your race, email marketing is the granddaddy of all marketing channels. Forget TikTok, and Instagram and Facebook Ads, if y...
Market Update: Are We There Yet?
16 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It is May 2022 and whatever hopes and expectations we’ve all had of 2022 at the end of last year have started to materialize - or have they? It’s ...
SMS Marketing
02 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to marketing events, text marketing - or SMS marketing, as it’s often known - is just about as controversial as it gets. Some people h...
Race Announcers!
18 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Does your race employ a race announcer? Chances are probably not. You may think that your race is not big enough to have one or that the money spent o...
[Bonus] The Space Force T-Minus 10-Miler
12 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What do the Marine Corps Marathon, Air Force Marathon and Army Ten Miler all have in common? They are, of course, amazing races put on to celebrate br...
The Council for Responsible Sport
04 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It is by now abundantly clear that some of the ways we have all been used to doing things, including organizing races, are just not sustainable for th...
Recruiting & Managing Volunteers
21 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s probably not an overstatement to say that volunteers are the backbone of every successful race. They are the people that make much of race day ...
[Bonus] Fraud at the Portland Marathon
10 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On February 17, former president of the Portland Marathon, Lester Smith, was indicted by a grand jury on charges of wire fraud and tax evasion. In the...
Building Your Brand
07 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What’s in a brand? Is it the sleek logo with the matching color palette and catchy tagline? Is it your organization’s mission statement and your e...
Understanding Marketing Psychology
21 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why do some of your marketing campaigns work and others don’t? Why do you yourself as a consumer respond a lot more favorably to some types of messa...
Race Trends 2021
07 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When you want to know what’s happening and trending in the endurance events industry by the numbers, where do you turn to? Well, for me and many peo...
Race Expos
24 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When you think of race expos, what kind of thing comes to mind? Well, if you’re like me, you’re probably thinking huge pre-race expos like New Yor...
DIY PR & Mastering Earned Media
10 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Public relations (PR) is an integral part of running a successful brand and business. It is the art of communication and storytelling. It’s about ap...
Looking Ahead to 2022
27 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re listening to this episode as it comes out, it’s the middle of the holiday season and, hopefully, you’re recovering from some excessive...
Marketing Your Race Internationally
13 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sports tourism - you’ve heard the phrase, people traveling to places to participate in sporting - that’s a whole thing these days. And a very fast...
Buying and Selling Races
29 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If you have built a business putting on races, chances are you would have thought of maybe selling some or all of those races at some point in the fut...
[Bonus] GiveSignup | RunSignup Winter Symposium
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The GiveSignup|RunSignup Symposium series has grown from modest beginnings of just a few dozen people to be the industry conference most race director...
SEO for Races
15 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If I told you “race marketing”, what kinds of things come to mind? Facebook ads maybe, maybe Google Ads. But what about your race website? Is that...
Running a Race Ambassador Program
01 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It’s very fashionable these days to hear people speak of “influencers” - people who work with brands to promote their products and services to a...
[Bonus] The Big Tyvek Squeeze
29 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we have a bonus episode for you. And it’s all about Tyvek. Yes, that wondrous paper-like, fabric-like material, that is actually neither pape...
Growing a Digital-First Race
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
At the tender age of 24, with no prior experience or any interest in running, Matt Trevett decided to take a gamble and launch a new 10K in his hometo...
Nailing Race Day
04 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It’s probably fair to say that when it comes to a race director’s calendar, it doesn’t get much bigger than race day. It’s the day your race c...
The Power of Race Reviews
20 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ask yourself this: when was the last time you bought something without checking out reviews for it online? Experiences, like races, are no different. ...
Building an RFID Race Timing System
06 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever thought about timing your races yourself? Building your own RFID timing system? Perhaps even building a small race timing business on th...
Improving Race Sustainability
23 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Making races more sustainable is on more and more race directors’ radar these days - which is awesome. But when it comes to moving from theory to pr...
Managing Participant Flows
09 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever wondered how the choices you make about your race start procedure can affect every aspect of the rest of your race? Even simple things, ...
Selling Sponsorships
26 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Selling sponsorships is arguably the biggest chronic challenge race directors face. Many race directors simply don’t like doing it, others don’t k...
Race Trends: Summer 2021
12 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With races starting to come back, and at least a hint of normalcy slowly returning to the endurance events market, it’s a good time to take stock of...
Kids Runs
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Does your race offer a kids run alongside your main events? If not, you could be missing out on a great opportunity to make your race more attractive ...
Ooho: Edible Water Bottles for Races
28 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to waste in the endurance events industry, water bottles are the big plastic elephant in the room. So it’s no surprise that a great de...
Charity Partnerships
21 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Having a charity partner is sometimes a bit of an afterthought for many race directors. And yet, there’s so many benefits to getting a charity invol...
Bluetooth Timing
14 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Professional race timing is one of those things everyone’s come to expect when entering a race. And, for more than three decades, RFID has been the ...
Trail Race Safety
07 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On May 22nd, tragedy struck when severe weather hit the Huanghe Shilin Mountain Marathon in China. Caught between checkpoints along the 100km race cou...
How to Market Your Race in 2021
31 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
2021 is shaping up to be a year of two halves for the endurance events industry. The first half, like most of 2020, has been an almost total write-off...
Trees not Tees: A Green Alternative to Race Swag
24 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Waste is a big problem in the events industry and endurance events are no exception. And it’s not only about water bottle waste. Sometimes the thing...
Race Cancellation Insurance in the Age of Pandemics
17 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
To say it's been a challenging year for the endurance events industry would be an understatement. So what can we learn from what we’ve been thr...
Welcome to Head Start!
20 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to episode zero of Head Start, the podcast for race directors and the business of putting on races. In this first short episode, Panos sets o...