Event Information

2:00pm ET/11:00am PT

Discover how to unlock insights from your race data using Google AI Studio and additional AI tools. We’ll demonstrate real-world examples of analyzing participant trends, pricing performance, and marketing results with AI-powered tools—no advanced coding required.

This Webinar will Cover:

• How to export data from your race for analysis
• Understanding how your data compares to national data
• Google AI Studio and other tools for AI analysis
• Recommended analyses
• Pitfalls to avoid

View Slides

Summary of Webinar 

What You’ll Learn

• How to export and prepare race data from RunSignup reports for AI analysis

• How to use AI for data cleaning, merging, and visualizing multi-year trends

• Examples of using Google AI Studio (Gemini 2.5 Pro) and Julius AI to interpret race data

• Practical applications for AI in marketing, pricing, and race operations

Key Concepts

AI as a Partner

• AI is a collaborative tool, not a replacement.

• It helps identify trends, fill data gaps, and visualize information—but humans must interpret results.

• Use AI for time-saving analyses, not for sensitive or high-stakes financial calculations.

Where AI Helps Most

• Cleaning and merging multi-year data

• Identifying trends and anomalies

• Visualizing participation demographics

• Comparing your race to national trends (via RunSignup’s Race Trends dataset)

• Making data reports easier to share with sponsors or stakeholders

Where to Be Careful

• Verify data accuracy before upload

• Keep prompts specific and clear

• Don’t rely solely on AI for financial or legal reporting

• Different tools have different data strengths (e.g., Gemini > ChatGPT for spreadsheets)

Pulling & Preparing Data from RunSignup

1. Participant Reports – Customize columns via Reports → Participants → Participant Data → Customize View.

   • Include demographics, add-ons, custom questions, and fundraising info.

2. Add-Ons/Giveaways Reports – Track sizes and options sold across years to identify inventory trends.

3. Repeat Participant Report – Analyze loyalty and retention trends.

4. Heat Map Report – Download ZIP codes for location-based marketing.

5. Fundraiser Report – Identify top fundraisers, team performance, and goal success rates.

Export in CSV (for most AI tools) or PDF (for models trained on static documents).

Tip: Some agents (like the RunSignup-trained Race Trends Agent) only accept PDFs.

Using AI Tools

1) RunSignup Trends Agent

• Built from Race Trends Reports (2017–2024).

• Upload your event’s demographics PDF → Get a comparison against national averages.

• Example:

  • AI identifies your event has an older participant base than national trends.

  • Suggests targeting younger runners with social ads and student pricing.

Takeaway: Great for benchmarking your race against U.S. norms.

2) Google AI Studio (Gemini 2.5 Pro)

• Part of the Google Workspace AI Suite; quick for exploratory analysis.

• Works well with registration and add-on data.

• Example: Upload multi-year shirt size data → Ask:

  • “What are average size distributions per year?”

  • “Are shirt sizes trending larger or smaller?”

  • “Based on that, how many shirts should I order this year?”

• AI found trends toward smaller sizes and produced ordering recommendations.

• You can also ask:

  • “Should I add another price increase to maximize revenue?”

  • “Estimate added income if I do so.”

  • → Result: A 4th pricing tier could yield ~$1,400 more in revenue.

Best for: Quick visualizations, order forecasting, and pricing optimization.

3) Julius AI

• Powerful visualization & reporting tool (limited free plan).

• Great for creating graphs and summaries for board meetings or sponsors.

• Example uses:

  • Upload demographic + registration data → visualize when different age groups register.

  • Compare gender-based registration timing (e.g., men register later than women).

  • Analyze loyalty data to show how many participants return each year.

• Interactive “play” mode lets AI suggest its own analyses—useful for discovering unseen patterns.

Best for: Clean visuals, repeat-participant analysis, and presentation-ready summaries.

Practical Applications

Understanding Your Audience

• Identify who registers when: younger runners often register late; older runners earlier.

• Tailor marketing spend accordingly—boost ads closer to race day for younger participants.

• Analyze event type demographics (e.g., 5K = 70% women; Marathon = 65% men).

Improving Operations & Revenue

• Optimize shirt orders: Use historical add-on data + AI size trend prediction.

• Adjust pricing tiers: Add late price bumps to increase revenue with no extra participants.

• Manage volunteer flow: Analyze check-in data to predict peak arrival times.

• Estimate medal counts: Combine CheckIn and giveaway reports to predict no-shows.

Marketing & Sponsorship Insights

• Use heat maps + demographics to target media buys by ZIP code.

• Build visual sponsor reports showing reach, engagement, and participant data.

• Showcase trends like loyalty growth or fundraising success.

Participant Retention

• Use loyalty data to identify 2-year drop-offs; send re-engagement emails or coupons.

• Track what percent of repeat participants join teams or fundraise.

Tool Comparisons

Best Practices Checklist

Before Upload

• Clean and label columns clearly

• Verify consistent field names (e.g., “5K” ≠ “3 Mile”)

• Export in the correct file format (CSV or PDF)

During Analysis

• Use clear, goal-oriented prompts

• Review clarifying questions before proceeding

• Check all outputs for logic and accuracy

After Analysis

• Visualize takeaways in dashboards or reports

• Apply findings to pricing, communication, and sponsor outreach

• Save useful prompts for reuse

Final Takeaways

AI won’t replace your race management expertise—it amplifies it.
Start small: export a few reports, upload them, and ask focused questions like “How can I improve registration timing?” or “What shirt sizes are trending?”

When combined with your knowledge, AI becomes a strategic partner—turning your race data into insights that save time, grow participation, and boost revenue.