Road Race Management Announces Keynote Speaker for Race Directors' Meeting

Road Race Management, Inc., organizer of the industry’s first national race directors’ meeting, will celebrate the meeting’s 40^th anniversary this year by having Founder, Editor and Publisher Phil Stewart deliver the Keynote address at the MarathonGuide Keynote Dinner.

In a running industry career spanning over 45 years, first as a founding partner of Running Times Magazine in 1977 and the last 40 years as Editor and Publisher of Road Race Management, Phil Stewart has a hard-to-match perspective on the running movement. He will look back at key moments over the decades, the sport’s influencers, the trends, the changes, and what the future may hold.

In addition to the keynote, the RRM Meeting, December 11 – 13 in Hollywood, FL, will include six outstanding sessions over two days featuring industry experts:

• Compensating Staff and Volunteers (Faculty: Sean Ryan)
• Best Practices for Communicating with Participants, Volunteers and Sponsors (Faculty: Andrea Dowdy)
• Timing Anatomy (Faculty: Ryan Morris)
• Event Anatomy – Quad-City Times Bix 7 (Faculty: Michelle Juehring)
• Event Planning Before and After (Faculty: Dave McGillivray)
• Event Timelines and Scheduling  (Faculty: Laurel Park)

Two prestigious running industry awards will be awarded at the meeting. The annual MarathonFoto/Road Race Management Race Director of the Year Award (Presented by MYLAPS Sports Technology) will be presented at the MarathonGuide.com/Publix Gasparilla Distance Classic Welcome Reception on December 11. The MarathonFoto/Road Race Management Lifetime Achievement Award will be announced at the Keynote Dinner on December 12.

Exhibitors at the meeting will include companies offering awards, competitor numbers, signs, banners, registration and timing services, apps, web services, apparel, social media services, and event photography, along with representatives of running organizations and more.

Thousands of race officials, corporate sponsors, marketing executives, sports organization representatives (RRCA, USATF, RUSA, PRRO) and others involved in organized running events have attended this annual fall gathering since its inception in 1983.

Jeff Darman, Meeting Coordinator, said, “The meeting venue across from the beach at the Hollywood Beach Marriott, just 6 miles from the Ft Lauderdale/Hollywood airport, offers a tranquil environment for event directors not only to stay abreast of cutting-edge topics facing the sport, but also to unwind and network in a relaxed atmosphere. Many race committees reward committee members or staff with a trip to this meeting, finding it a great way to offer a special thank you and educational opportunity while rejuvenating key workers for next year’s event, and running next to the beach is an added plus.”

The Road Race Management meeting is sponsored by Ashworth Awards, Gatorade Endurance, Hightech Signs, Leslie Jordan, Inc., MarathonFoto, MarathonGuide.com, Marathon Printing, MYLAPS Sports Technology, National Event Services, Publix Gasparilla Distance Classic and Race Roster.

Road Race Management is a member-based organization that, in addition to conducting its annual Race Directors’ Meeting, publishes a trade newsletter and Organizing Running Events, a complete manual covering running event organization, along with other race director and industry resources in print and on the web.