James and Shelly Harris, creators of RaceJoy and long-time RunSignup employees, recently hosted their inaugural race: The Firecracker 5K Festival at Chickasaw Point. With years of race experience from multiple perspectives, this was our first time managing the entire process. As long-time employees at RunSignup, our familiarity with RunSignup’s tools allowed us to bring a big-event experience to our community, utilizing features that most first-time organizers might overlook. We thought we’d share our perspective on putting on a first time race with a focus on sponsorships. As many know, registration revenue tends to just cover the cost of producing the event.