More than a Race DEVELOPING THE RUNNER EXPERIENCE Sarah Ratzlaff, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

More than a Race

DEVELOPING THE RUNNER EXPERIENCE

Sarah Ratzlaff, Chief Inspiration Officer of Fiercely Inspired, LLC ZOOMA Women’s Race Series – Texas, Great Lakes, Cape Cod and Florida

A little bit about me

A brief history of running…

1970s

• Marathoning is seen as unattainable to

most Americans

• 1970 – First NYC Marathon with 127

runners

• 1972 – Frank Shorter wins the Marathon

at the Summer Olympics and ignites the first running boom and 25 million Americans take up running in some form in 70s and 80s

• 1972 – Women first allowed to run in the

Boston Marathon

• 1974 – First Hospital Hill Run with 99

runers

• 1977 – First Chicago Marathon with 4,200

runners

1980s

• 1984 – Women’s Marathon is

introduced to the Olympics and Joan Benoit Samuelson wins the Gold Medal

• 1985 ‐ Joan Benoit Samuelson sets

a women’s world record for the Marathon at the Chicago Marathon and inspires a nation of women

• 1988 – First Team in Training model

begins at NYC Marathon and raises $322K for research

1990s

• Running boom really begins. From

1990 to 2013 the number of US road race finishers grows from 5 million to 19 million

• 25% of the field is women
• 1994 – First Disney Marathon with

7,000 runners

2000

• People begin to understand the importance of

health and wellness and physical activity

• Running became accessible with run/walk

methods and fun runs.

• 2003 – First Nike Women’s Marathon in San

Francisco igniting the women’s running boom

• 2004 – Facebook released
• 2006 – First Goofy’s Challenge (Half + Full)
• 2007 – First iPhone released
• 2009 – First Princess Half Marathon

Today

• By 2011, 54% of the field is women and for many,

running events become less about beating their time and more about the experience and social gathering (The Color Run) while others up the ante with crazy challenges (Tough Mudder, The Spartan Race, Dopey Challenge)

• Social Media rules our world ‐ Facebook, Instagram,

Twitter, YouTube

• 250 million photos a day are uploaded to

Facebook

• YOLO
• FOMO
• Selfies
• 2012 – Growth in International Industry, US running

Industry begins to decline slightly

More than a race…

• Running is attainable by

everyone

• They are a fun way to be

social

• Many are looking for an

experience or challenge

• They are a fun way and a

good reason to travel – “runcations”

Delivering the Basics

Expected Amenities

Shirt Medal Bib/Timed Race Water, Post‐Race food

Race Operations are still the most important part.

Developing the Experience

Ask yourself and your team:

• Who are you?
• What do you do?
• Why do you do it?
• And what are you not?
• What’s your hook, your defining spot
• n the course?
• What will they post in social media?

What will create FOMO for their friends?

Developing the Experience

Ask yourself and your team: Ask yourself and your team:

• Who are you?
• What do you do?
• Why do you do it?
• And what are you not?
• What’s your hook? How

are you creating a new challenge or experience?

• What will they post in

social media? What will create FOMO for their friends?

Know your audience: Know your audience:

• Are they men, women,

kids? What age?

• Are they local or do

they travel?

• What are they looking

for when they come to your race? (Have you surveyed them?)

• Have you developed

the experience that they’re looking for?

Runner Experience: Example Exercise

What is runDisney?

• Run through theme parks
• Flawlessly executed races with great volunteers
• Medals
• Characters and Entertainment
• Celebrate with a Disney vacation

What it’s not:

• Elite runners, inexpensive, Party

What you’ll see in social media:

• Medals, characters, park icons

What is ZOOMA Women’s Race Series?

• Destination races
• Upscale accommodations
• Run by women for women
• Best Post‐Race Party and Swag
• Full weekend of activities (yoga, etc)

What it’s not:

• Pink, boas, tutus, shirtless firefighters

What you’ll see in social media:

• Beaches, friend pics, mimosas

Create an Experience

• Try something new
• Engage local

businesses

• Refresh the branding
• Add contests,

costumes or a theme

Recipe for Success

• Define and stay clear on what your

brand is

• Deliver a well executed race with a

consistent experience

• Create new challenges and

experiences

• Consistently tell the story of the

experience and the hook (website, social media, photography)

Cheers to you! Questions?