Colorado Springs, we miss you already! From July 8 – 10, 2024, event executives across the globe came together for The Business of Running Events, presented by ASICS and World Athletics. This conference was the very first-of-its-kind, where business tips on research, sponsorship, innovation, and communication took centre stage.
We asked attendees: How satisfied were you with the event?
Here’s what they said.
Well worth the time/travel
“The intimate nature and the quality of the presentations made it well worth the time/travel. We went deep on sales & communication psychology, community building, consumer research, and influences from the greater sporting world. 10/10 would recommend a future version.”
– J.T. Service, CEO Soul Focus Sports
Best content
“Truly, best content and most notes I’ve taken at a conference.”
– David Wolfe, Sponsorship Manager, Track Shack Events
Benefitted from all of the sessions
“The conference was well run, topical and frankly, I benefitted from all of the sessions. In my 33 years as a race director, this conference by far, outshined the others in our industry.”
– Anonymous
5 key take aways from the sessions
There was plenty of valuable information to walk away with from The Business of Running Events, but if you could only know five things, here’s what attendees noted as their top take aways:
1. The number one determining success factor of any organization is effective communication
In addition to making us all think “an orange Kangaroo from Denver,” Jeff Bloomfield gave a very compelling talk on the science behind world class communicators. Jeff noted the importance of communicating the right information, delivering it in the right way, and in the right order, by doing exactly that in his talk. He also called attention to the value of storytelling, proving “a fact is twenty-two times more likely to be remembered if it is anchored in a narrative”, as quoted by Dr. Jerome Bruner, Cognitive Psychologist.
2. Research is the Heart and Soul of Innovation
Knowing your audience is integral to your business and research can help events drive effective decisions. Nikkia Reveillac showed us the more you know about your audience, the better you can drive engagement with the right people. When promoting your event, it’s important to be clear and accessible, making it easy for anyone to feel comfortable in their understanding of your event and become motivated to give it a try.
3. Core functions drive board work
Kimberley Sherwood highlighted the importance of these core functions: Shaping strategic direction, ensuring you have the right resources, and monitoring & improving performance. Fulfilling these core functions ensures effective governance, risk management, and sustainable growth for the organization.
4. Make way for the AI wave
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is coming into our space, and it’s moving quickly. Personalized training plans, AI guidance, expo experiences, and more are candidates for impact in the near future. Presenters Cade Netscher & Jorge Maravillan said: “The future is systems that understand you better. How will you shape those future systems?”
5. There’s opportunity for business growth based on current age group attendance stats
Our CEO, Alex Vander Hoeven, took us through the current race trends, and attendees walked away with a few confirmations — what they’re seeing at their own events aligns with the rest of the industry, there is opportunity to build off the latest momentum on attendees under 29, and there is opportunity to bring back those who are no longer showing up.
That being said, there was so much more to take away from this conference. In case you missed it, or didn’t get enough jotted down, we’ve got you covered!
Who attended the Business of Running Events conference?
Business leaders travelled to Colorado Springs to dive deep into The Business of Running Events. The feedback was extremely positive and overall, these business leaders felt the content was highly relevant to their role.
Job titles of various attendees:
The Business of Running Events will return in 2025.
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