Chuck Spear, Registration Director and Volunteer Coordinator for RunVermont, helps organize four races per year. The most notable of these races is the Vermont City Marathon, which happens to be the largest marathon relay in the country. Over 1,500 relay participants and nearly 3,000 individuals run the marathon every year.
Below are a few key takeaways from Chuck’s video. You can view the full interview on the RunSignup YouTube channel.
Q: Tell us a little more about your marathon relay.
A: The Vermont City Marathon is the largest marathon relay in the country, with anywhere between 1,500-2,000 participants. The race runs through the city of Burlington several times and is a very spectator friendly event. We first introduced the relay in 1989 so people who aren’t serious distance runners could participate. It’s very popular for families.
Q: Why do you use RunSignup as your race registration platform
A: We look at our participants as customers and RunSignup’s philosophy really aligns with that of RunVermont. When looking at RunSignup, they were the clear winner. It’s been a really enjoyable experience in this past year. I like how every couple days I’m learning something new as new features are added or updated for a better user experience. The customer service team is just outstanding. They respond to me within an hour.
Q: What is your favorite RunSignup feature?
A: I really like the dashboard because of RaceInsights. This is the stuff that I would typically do in excel but RunSignup really drills down and gets the information that you need. Seeing repeat participants is really nice too. There’s a little box you can click to view former participants that have not signed up yet and that gives you a great list of people to reach out to.
Q: How have you been able to utilize the race transfer features that RunSignup offers?
A: The transfer feature is a great feature because runners can transfer from event to event. We have some races with multiple events so runners can use this feature to transfer to another wave. RunSignup caps this appropriately so I don’t have to worry about it. Runners can also transfer from one race to another that RunVermont holds. One year we had a race on a day that was 15 below zero and a lot of runners didn’t show. Instead of cancelling the race, some runners showed and ran and we were able to provide a transfer coupon so runners who did not show due to the temperature could run another race that we held within that year. It’s nice to be able to say yes to your customers when they are asking for things.
