Blogs

Meet Taylor Ritchey - Race Director of the Month

This month we'd like to introduce you to Taylor Ritchey

 
Tell us your story?  Why did you become a race director?
I am so inspired by the work of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the research and support they provide for those living with cystic fibrosis. Through our annual Tower Climb event, we raise significant funds to further the mission of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to cure cystic fibrosis. We have been hosting this event for over 37 years, and we are one of two organizations that are able to utilize the Tower of the Americas for a race. It is so exciting to be part of this exclusive event.

Personal Calendar

Did you know that your Athlete Guild profile comes with a personal calendar?  This calendar is a complete list of events that you have registered for using our registration platform.  This gives you the ability to have an online view of all your upcoming events so that you never forget what you have registered for.  All that you have to do is logon to Athlete Guild using your email profile and then navigate to your account.  Once you are viewing your account, just click on the Events menu of your profile and you can see the calendar.  This calendar has multiple view

Meet Melissa Houser - Race Director of the Month

This month we'd like to introduce you to Melissa Houser

 
Melissa Houser Tell us your story?  Why did you become a race director?
I fell into race directing in 2004. I was interning for a large nonprofit organization in Houston that hosted a yearly Turkey Trot. Part of my job responsibility was to help the the Director of Development with race logistics. I was hired full time by the organization in 2005 and led the org's fundraising efforts...so the Turkey Trot became my largest event to produce. I directed it from

Running on Empty - Exercise as a mood-altering activity

As enthusiasts and active participants in a number of physically demanding sports, we are all aware of the obvious benefits of exercise: weight management, improvement in flexibility, stamina, coordination, and cognition, and as a bulwark against common diseases associated with the modern sedentary lifestyles. You’ve also likely experienced the sheer rush of endorphins that comes after an exhilarating round of exercise.

Where's My Time?!

We've been timing and managing races now for over 12 years and one of the biggest challenges and sources of frustration that we face is the inability to capture your race times 100% of the time.  It's disappointing to us when we discover that we've missed a time and it's certainly disappointing to you.  Most of the time we can recover it and get you into the results but it would be nice if it didn't happen in the first place.  Why do we have the issue?  I hope to help answer that in this short article and maybe we can together improve our results.

Meet Jennifer Crosby - Race Director of the Month

This month we'd like to introduce you to Jennifer Crosby
 
Tell us your story?  Why did you become a race director?
Originally, because my family was running IN races, I signed up to help with the PTA race at my son's school 10 years ago. I was given the opportunity to be in charge and LOVED getting to put all of our favorite things about doing races into it. I have continued because I see the value in regular opportunities for people to join in physical activities for overall community health and wellness.

Race Day Registration

How have you been handling your packet pickup and race day registration?  Are you still doing it the way you have been for the last x number of years?   Many race directors find themselves struggling with this every year trying to find the best and most efficient way to handle packet pickup.  It is a constant exercise in trial and error to see what works best.  Athlete Guild now offers multiple tools to help streamline your operations.  If you like the old way of putting packets together with bags and labels and stuffing all of your material into the bag, then

The Road to Recovery Starts with Proper Nutrition

It can happen to the best of us – through an unforeseen accident, overextension, or lack of proper stretching, we are left injured and temporarily unable to run. One very important step on the road to recovery is to maintain proper nutrition through healthful eating. In fact, we should practice these habits even when we’re healthy, so that our body has a reserve of vitamins and minerals from which to rejuvenate should injury occur.

Your body needs calories in order to heal

Permits/Insurance

If you are planning on hosting an event, there are two items that will be of extreme value to you and that is permits and insurance for the event.  These are items that are usually required by the venue or municipality for your event.  The permit is something that is not usually required unless you are utilizing public roads or other public access.  If your event is entirely on private property, then it would be unusual for it to be needed.  The permit is to let the municipality know what resources are going to be needed for your event.  In addition to traffic contr

Tips to Keep Yourself Motivated to Run

It’s a common misconception that runners LIVE to run. Sure, there are some die-hards among us who live and breathe for the runners’ rush, but thousands of other runners need a little help to get moving — especially in these colder months. This post will outline a few easy (and not-so-easy) pointers to make it less painful to get up and out the door.

1. Prioritize Your Run.