Go or No Go

One of the hardest decisions that a race director or organizer faces is whether to cancel or postpone a race when conditions warrant it.  It is never an easy decision and certainly one that race directors would prefer not to make.  We have had several events over the years that have had to cancel for one reason or another.  Some have been because a race director got nervous when registrations weren't coming through fast enough and in our estimation, pulled the plug early.  We've had one that used the weather as an excuse to cancel but the truth was that she was g

Race Operations

As a race director and event coordinator, we get the opportunity to work with a lot of different organizations and venues.  Some are incredible to work with while others make you wish you had never started.  I've been dealing with a particular venue in San Antonio lately that has made me really rethink our operations.  They have been so difficult to work with that it makes the effort not even worth the effort.  We do our best to try and make the event as memorable as we possibly can for the participants, but the venue has so many restrictions and requirements that it

Happy Birthday

This month marks a major milestone for Athlete Guild.  We turn 5 years old!  While those of us within the company have been in the business for much longer than that; the company itself is turning 5.  It's an exciting time for us.  It's amazing to look back at the last 5 years and see where we have come from.  It started out as a simple idea to work with a few local charities and provide quality and affordable services, but quickly grew from there.  We're now one of the largest event management and timing companies in the country.  It has been

Promise of a New Year

Now that 2014 is behind us, we like most of you are looking forward to 2015.  For Athlete Guild, it promises to be our best year ever.  The last two years for us has been an incredible growth period.  That has come with a lot of challenges but also a lot of opportunities.  We've had the pleasure of working with so many of you through timing, event managment, or just simply personal involvement in the event.  You see, all of the staff at Athlete Guild are competitors as well so while most of the time we are behind the scenes, many times we are toeing the line as

There's Gold in them hills

I was reading a runner forum recently and came across a post where someone mentioned that putting on a race was easy and lots of money could be made.  His comment was certainly naive because he thought that all you had to do was charge a fee, put some water out and you had a race.  He obviously had never been behind the scenes of a race to see what really takes place.  For me, it was an amusing comment but it was a also a little concerning.  I think there is a perception among the race participants that races are making a killing off of registrations and that all of the

Blame The Timer

In my career as a race timer, I have personally timed over 500 events and our company well over 1000.  I have also talked with timers across the country who do a lot of events.  One thing that I have learned is that regardless of the equipment used or timer, there is not one out that hasn't experienced a bad race.  As a timer, we do everything that we can to make sure that everything runs smoothly.  Unfortunately, sometimes things simply go south and there are problems.  For a timer, there is nothing more frustrating than showing up to an event and having equipm

Chip timing demystified

It has been a busy year for Athlete Guild.  We have timed over 200 events this year and continually get questions all of the time about how things work or in some cases don't.  I thought a brief explanation was in order.  A lot of this is from a blog I wrote over a year ago, but it is still relevant.

Technology and Innovation

As a business owner and innovator, I'm constantly looking for ways to improve our services and provide a better experience for our customers.  As an event management company, our primary customer of course are the non-profits and other organizations that host events.  As an event coordinator, our customers are also those of you who participate in our events.  Technology plays a big role in what we are able to do.

Cool Under Pressure

I just got back from an annual conference for Jaguar timers and can't remember a better and more memorable experience.  It is always great to see and visit other timers from around the world.  It's a time where we learn about new technology and brush up on our techniques.  Jaguar is the product line from Innovative Timing Systems; the company that we buy our hardware and software from for timing races.  In my personal opinion, they are the best in the world and produce great products.  As their name implies, they are incredibly innovative and are always look

Looking Back and Moving Forward

I always look forward to the change of year.  It is a time for reflection as well as looking forward.  2013 for us was an incredible year and we have many of you to thank for that.  Our growth rate for the event management and timing business far surpassed anything that we would have dreamed.  There were many lessons to be learned both good and bad and those will help shape the future of our company.