RaceWire Thanksgiving…. 40K Runners and Counting!

“It’s the most wonderful timmmeeeee of the year…..”  I’m sure that is what all timers are thinking about tonight, for tomorrow is easily the BIGGEST day in racing of the entire year! You guessed it, Turkey Trots galore, and we’ve got a few. Between all of the events we’re involved with tomorrow, we’re expecting FORTY THOUSAND runners. That’s more than the Boston Marathon! Hard to believe that that is just us… imagine how many people in the States are lacing up and heading out tomorrow.. Click here to read more…

Step One: How are you going to stand out?

It’s no secret: road races are everywhere. And these days… for about every cause? You name it, it exists. Whether it’s a Color Run school fundraiser or a charity event for the most specific and obscure cause, chances are that we’ve seen it.. Click here to read more…

How to Plan your First Race: Step-by-Step Guide 

So, you want to plan a race. Maybe you want to create a fun, fitness based day for your community. Maybe you want to fundraise for a particular cause, or maybe you want to pay tribute to someone who is no longer with us, but all the roads lead to one thing: you need to organize a race, and you (likely!) have no idea how to do it. Click here to read more…

Why customize your online registration page?

I think we’ve probably told you before, that your race is a brand, and with that comes a brand identity. With using RaceWire for your race management, you have multiple places to stamp your brand: bib numbers, tee shirts, and lastly, and perhaps most importantly, your registration page.. Click here to read more…

What is RaceWire Lite?

We’ve definitely mentioned our timing software, RaceWire Lite before, but it is worth revisiting, to give you a little bit better of a picture of how it works and what it is for. It’s something we came up with for races with up to about 200 participants, or races that don’t quite have the budget for chip timing, but want a lot of similar perks. Since it’s inception in spring of 2015, hundreds of races have used it to seamlessly capture results, all while saving hundreds on the timing bill.. Click here to read more…

Bag Drops – Options for Races!

I can’t say we have this whole race thing down to a science, but we’ve been around the block once or twice, and we’ve learned a thing or two. There are so many things that come into play on race day, and where runners can store their things at bag drops is something you might not think of when you’re checking off your to-do list. Click here to read more…

What to do after your event

Months and months (hey, or longer) go into executing a good race, and it’s finally race morning, your event is over with a blink of the eye. It’s easy to get caught up in the festivities and forget that it ain’t over until it’s O-V-E-R. Click here to read more…

How to create better email marketing!

Does anyone remember when email first became a thing, and each time you received one it was a special exciting occasion? Well, those days are long gone, and here to stay are inboxes full of spam getting you to purchase this, or try that, or sign up for this. And believe me, we’re sending them to. But in a world full of junk mail, how do you stand out? Click here to read more…

RaceWire is Expanding!

hat’s right, we’re moving on up (or down?) the east coast. Since 2009, we’ve been able to save thousands of race directors thousands of dollars on their event costs, and we decided to share the love just a little bit more. As of this week, we are launching a brand new office to better service the needs of races in the Tri-State Area. Click here to read more…

Why you should plan a half marathon

Yeah, I know, it’s more work, but could the half marathon be the new 5K? We think so. This data is a wee bit old (isn’t all data?), but in Running USA’s Annual Half Marathon Report (by the way, not so annual since I can’t find the past two years,) 2 million finishers ran in United States half marathons. That’s a lot of runners. Click here to read more…

Why Race Advertising Matters

Did you see that we timed 28 races last weekend? Twenty-eight! Some in New England, some in California and some in the Tri-State area, but still. That’s a lot of races, and we’re just one timing company. Everyone wants to throw a 5K these days. Charity event? Check. Memorial race? You got it. Glow Run? Been there done that. So, how the heck do you get your event to stand out? Race advertising of course! Click here to read more…

Referrals Matter – Win a Free Timed Race!

In this day and age, people have access to everything. Think about it… going out to dinner? Check Yelp. Heading to a new city? Gotta look at Trip Advisor. What I’m getting at here is that the opinion of a real person matters, and in our industry, they’re everything. . Click here to read more…

How to Streamline Packet Pick Up

You designed a killer race website, you’ve hit your participant numbers goal, you’ve booked the bands and ordered the shirts. Now, all you’ve got to do is get through the race, right? Wrong. One last little detail to consider before the gun goes off is how to run a successful packet pick up and race day registration. Click here to read more…

Why a good race website design matters

Appearance isn’t everything, no, but it does matter. Sure, it’s what’s on the inside that counts for a person, but what about for a website? Content, of course, but we’d venture to say, having a good lookin’ website is just as important. Click here to read more…

RaceWire  Goes Green!

We’re always trying to stay ahead of trends, and it that means  we can also save some paper in the making, we’re down! But seriously, check out some of our updates. We think you updates – we think you’ll be please. Click here to read more…

USATF Certification and Sanctioning

A few posts ago we talked about race planning basics, and one topic we touched on was course certification and sanctioning by USA Track and Field (USATF), and we wanted to delve into that a little deeper, explain what it was, and hopefully point to whether it is necessary or not for your race.  Click here to read more…

Combine Timing and Online Registration for Savings!

By combining RaceWire services of timing and online registration (and tons more), you will not only save a tremendous amount of money, but also time, effort and peace of mind. Click here to read more…

The Race Refund – Should You Offer Them?

We’re expecting to ruffle a couple of feathers here, but that’s what we have to do in the name of SCIENCE. Or, maybe not science, but at least in the name of road race education. It’s a million-dollar question that at one point or another, all race directors will need to face: should you offer race refunds?  Click here to read more…

Plana 5K (or any race). The basics.

So, you want to plan a 5K – where to begin? There is a ton of information out there, so we wanted to pull it together and put it in one easy post. This really is just skimming the surface, and we will probably need to go into all these points in further detail down the road, but we wanted to get started. Click here to read more…

Grow your race by marketing!

You’ve designed a beautiful course, booked a great band for the post-race party, and it seems like you’ve got all your ducks in a row… or do you? Now that your race is in tip-top shape, you need to get runners to actually register. In this post, we will go over some tips and tricks to grow your race by marketing through multiple outlets.  Click here to read more…

RaceWire: 2015 in Review

It’s been a great year for us, and a lot of it has to do with the amazing race directors and runners that we work with. We decided to take a walk down memory lane to visit some of our 2015 accomplishments. Click here to read more…

Sell your old race swag to make more money!

It’s safe to say most of us aren’t predicting the perfect quantity of swag to order, and when we over-order, we are left with hundreds (or more!) dollars worth of t-shirts, pint glasses and other race swag. Destined to be locked up in a storage unit or donated, what should you do with old race swag?  Click here to read more…

Improving your Race in the Offseason

We’re pretty sure that you aren’t quite ready to think about your late summer or fall races yet, but you spring time events, you better be getting your ducks in a row now. There’s a lot you can be doing in the “offseason” to improve your race, and we can help you with a lot of it. Click here to read more…

Introducing RaceWire Gift Cards

As we creep into December and through one too many sugar cookies, past the holidays and into the New Year (hello resolutions!), we thought there would be no better way to celebrate than to introduce RaceWire gift cards! Click here to read more…

Get Runners to Register Early through Incentives

Almost every race director has the same worry at some point in time – ‘how many participants will register for my race?’  Until your race is a few years in, it’s impossible to even venture a steady guess of how many participants will register at a given distance from your race, and they will almost ALWAYS register in the week before.  Unless, of course… you give them a reason not to. Click here to read more…

How do I create a Successful Themed Race?

There are races everywhere. Well not really, but road racing is at an all-time high right now. With scores of not only your ‘friendly neighborhood 5Ks, but also trail races and ultra races, how do you make your race stand out? One idea… host a themed race. Click here to read more…

Do You Need Chip Timing?

In recent years and with the evolution of technology, chip timing has become the ‘go-to’ for a race that wants to appear professional and attract more participants, and to an extent this is true. For larger races, races trying to present award money (or serious award prizes), or shorter, faster races, some sort of computerized timing is a given.   But for your neighborhood 5K that attracts 50-100 participants, is it necessary? Click here to read more…

RaceWire’s New Referral Program: More Runners, Less Work

What if we told you that by giving away one free entry, you could acquire double, triple or even more entries paid in full? To us that sounds like a no brainer, plus more money going to the organization or charity that your event supports.  Joining some major brands like Netflix, Uber and even PayPal, RaceWire is the newest kid on the block to add a runner referral program to our repertoire.  Click here to read more…

It’s Not (Just) A Race – Participant retention Through Effective Site Planning

How would you feel as a runner if, when you finished a race, there was nothing at the finish line to greet you?  Pretty let down, right?  Whenever you think of a race finish line photo, you often think of a long corral down a busy street, people cheering and shouting, music playing, entertainment, food, drink, etc. Click here to read more…

Just the facts: Information you should include on your race website, registration page, and flyer

The topic of this week’s blog post is the most important information to include on your race’s website, registration page, and/or flyer.   When you’re trying to catch a participant’s eye, it’s important that they latch onto basic information that they can not only put on their calendar, but also communicate to others…   Click here to read more…

Effectively (and Appropriately) Price your Event

We’ve touched on this before, but it’s worth revisiting. With so much time, money and effort going into your race, how do you price it to make sure it’s worth it (financially) for you? Click here to read more…

Keep your runners coming back… give them FREE race photos!

If you are in the race business, you know the importance of a happy runner. Happy runners mean return business, and word of mouth referrals to their happy running friends. Bottom line: keep your runners happy. And guess what? RaceWire can help you do that.  Click here to read more…

Turn a “maybe” into a “definitley” with our new Cart Abandonment Tool

Ever been browsing the internet when you notice the shoes you were just about to buy, but left in your shopping cart, are suddenly in every single advertisement you see online? That’s called retargeting, and according to Business Insider, approximately $4 trillion worth of that merchandise will be abandoned in online shopping carts in 2015. The good news is, 63% of that is potentially recoverable, and with our new Cart Abandonment Tool, we will help you turn those “maybes” into “definitelys,” and  putting more of your money where it belongs: to the organization or charity your event supports. Click here to read more…

What is a processing fee anyway?

If you’ve ever paid for something online (admit it, you bought T-Swift tickets before), you know that there is almost always a service fee tacked on to the end of your transaction. It is, unfortunately, a necessary evil. Well, RaceWire is no different. We try and provide the best customer service out there, and with it does come a (small) price. To be exact, it is 5% of your registration fee + $1.75, meaning a $20 race will cost $22.75 and a $30 race will cost $33.25. Click here to read more…

What’s your No-Show Rate?

Someone once said, “Distance makes the heart grow fonder,” or was it absence? Maybe a little bit of both. But could that be true for race distances? You probably know that it’s highly unlikely that 100% of your registrants will show up on race day, but how can you plan to accommodate for these numbers. Many of you order swag, food and drinks that go to waste after your event. We decided we needed to determine just how much no-shows we really have. Click here to read more…

Save thousands and grow your race for free!

As Madonna would probably say now, we are living in a digital world, and we are all digital girls (and boys). But really. As a race director, you want instant and inexpensive access to your runners and/or potential runners, and the best way to do that is through their inbox. These email services can cost thousands of dollars a year, but with RaceWire, you’ll now have the same premium features at your fingertips for FREE. Click here to read more…

New Fundraising Page Design

On a side note, we also gussied up our fundraising platform. Did you know we even had one? Well, we do! And the best part? It works. This year, Calle’s Miracle Run raised more than $4,000 just by adding a fundraising link to their registration page. In a few simple clicks, registrants can sign up to fundraise for your event, share their page with family and friends and watch the money roll in! Click here to read more…

New Volunteer Management Platform

We’ve been working hard to get a new volunteer management platform up and running. Races are built by our volunteers, so we wanted to give you an easy way to manage them! Click here to read more…

We made registering for your race even easier!

We found that 101” of snow was a perfect opportunity to hole up in February and totally relaunch our website. Alright, it was actually months in the making but we are finally done, and couldn’t be more excited to share it with you. There are plenty of things to go over, but we will take it one step at a time.   Click here to read more…

Where are your runners coming from?

As you can imagine, we have seen our fair share of races over the years. Some draw runners from far across state borders and others just from the neighborhood school district. We told you in December some good ways to incentivize runners to sign up for your race, but now you should know who you need to be marketing to. First, we should tell you about geotargeting. Geotargeting refers to the practice of delivering different content to website users based on their geographic location. Click here to read more…

Increase Registrants with the Proper Incentives

You are a runner, or at least, you probably have been before. Now, you are calling the shots of your own events, and that’s pretty cool. Runners are a strange breed. I can say that because I am one. They are always thinking about the following things: what they are going to eat next, what color will their next pair of shoes be, do they really need anti-chafe tubes, and finally, what is the next race they are going to sign up for. We all know runners are chasing (figuratively and literally) their next high, but here at RaceWire, we wanted to know when they were most apt to actually sign up. Window shopping isn’t going to help. Click here to read more…

Are You Catering To Your Biggest Customer? (Hint: Women)

It’s safe to say we’ve come a long way since Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to (legitimately, with a number) run the Boston Marathon. While endurance running historically has been a man’s sport, we have seen a huge surge of women lacing up and hitting the pavement. Click here to read more…

Are you pricing your event right?

Let’s be honest here. Maybe you are planning your 25th annual race, or maybe you’re a first time 5K director. You’ve probably got tons of questions, but time and time again here at the office, we often get confronted with the same one. “How much should my race cost?” Click here to read more…

Mt. SAC XC Invitational used RFID & RaceWire to time 27K Athletes

Would you believe that it wasn’t until this year that the largest invitational cross country race in the world switched over to electronic timing? It’s true. Steeped in tradition, the Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational, held at the Mt. San Antonio College campus in Walnut, Calif., had used various forms of manual timing in the 65 previous years of the race. In October 2013, however, race director Doug Todd decided it was time for a major change. With more than 800 teams, 25,000 runners, 149 races and eight different courses, the transition to radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip technology was long overdue. Click here to read more…