by Larry EderIt is Wednesday, November 12, 2009, and I am at the Running Event-blogs on this superb event to come, but now, my cranium is full of deep thoughts on the road racing lovefest call Road Race Management Expo and Clinic, which was held last weekend in Florida!
Five Reasons to go to RRM in 2009
1. Meet other race directors and share ideas-–at the end of the season, it is a good time to consider how the year has worked, and what new things to implement for next year. RRM is a place for new ideas.
2. Thought provoking clinics and speakers-Keith Peters was worth the price this year. Former Pr manager at Nike, former race director for the Cascade Run Off, Keith is one of the most thoughtful people in the business. His focus now is the greening of road racing. His ideas on new media were also quite good.
3. Strong Expo-chance to meet, one on one with potential suppliers. Now is the time to renegotiate pricing, look for new vendors and find ways to make your event better for next year. The RRM Expo was just the right size and it gave the Expo exhibiters a chance to meet with the race directors one on one.
4. Hey, it’s Florida in November--the Marriot on North Ocean is amazing. Great boardwalk, and some nice restaurants to sit and chat with your clients.
5. The Keynote speech is always good-this year, Toni Reavis challenged the community to change with a humorous but honest appraisal of our sport and it recent History-we will be reprinting it.
The race director of the year award, sponsored by MarathonFoto and Running Network LLC, was the reason I went down. Seeing the joy in Phil Lockwood’s face on winning his well earned award was worth the trip. Phil Stewart and Jeff Darman have made this event again a must attend event for race directors.
For more information, please check www.rrm.com.
