Merchants of Dirt

Merchants of Dirt Episode #55 Kyle introduces Event Yak podcast dedicated to talking to event industry veterans who live, eat, and breathe live events. Introducing: Event Yak As Race Promoters and Directors trying to keep your Event Business alive during this unprecedented time, you need to find all the help and ideas you can get! Introducing: Event Yak -- a podcast hosted by my good friend Terri Walters from Moonfish Production. Terri's podcast features interviews from some of the top event industry veterans who live, eat and breathe live events. In this episode, Terri interviews someone who is near and dear to Mr. Murphy's heart -- ME! Learn more about Terri Walters and Event Yak: Moonfish Production Event Yak Podcast Event Yak on Apple Podcasts Event Yak on Google Event Yak on Spotify Get Lost Racing coming to Merchants of Dirt! The Get Lost Racing Podcast, hosted by Kyle M. Bondo, is a podcast about defining off-road racing disciplines! Each episode takes a look into an off-road sport and explains what it is, how it works, and how you can experience it! Over the next week weeks, Merchants of Dirt will include Get Lost Racing (GLR) episodes that explore endurance race disciplines that could be used to create your own virtual race portfolio! Thank You for Listening! Contact Us: MerchantsofDirt AT GMAIL DOT com Episode Show Notes: merchantsofdirt.com Podcast Episodes: merchantsofdirt.libsyn.com Race Promotion Thinking: Reckoner.com Merchants of Dirt is a Gagglepod production. Learn more at gagglepod.com.

Merchants of Dirt Episode #54 Kyle talks about why building a community online with membership content is a better strategy for survival than replacing lost races. Build a Community Don't replace your races with a virtual equivalent. Instead, use this time to finally build your community. Spend time in developing online membership offerings that focus on daily, weekly, or monthly challenge content. A loyal following that is interested in your company month-after-month is far more rewarding than having them come to one race. Ideas for Pre-Built Membership Sites: meetup.com pabbly.com clubmaster.org wildapricot.com memberplanet.com memberspace.com patreon.com facebook.com Additional Reading Article: Virtual races embraced by endurance athletes during coronavirus pandemic Amy Porterfield - All About Membership Sites: Your Top 10 Burning Questions Amy Porterfield - How They Did It: 3 Inspiring Stories of Membership Site Success Amy Hoy - How to find your audience's online watering holes Thank You for Listening! Contact Us: MerchantsofDirt AT GMAIL DOT com Episode Show Notes: merchantsofdirt.com Podcast Episodes: merchantsofdirt.libsyn.com Race Promotion Thinking: Reckoner.com Merchants of Dirt is a Gagglepod production. Learn more at gagglepod.com.

Merchants of Dirt Episode #53 Kyle explores The Lockdown AR-style virtual activity challenge designed by Rootstock Racing and what you can learn from this experimental four-day event. Race Invention is the Mother of Necessity Rootstock Racing, based in Philadelphia, PA, is hosting The Lockdown: an AR-style virtual activity challenge designed to bring what they are calling "a little bit of normalcy" to an Adventure Racer's life between Mon April 13 - Sun May 31, 2020. The idea behind The Lockdown is to have participants complete a personal eight-stage, four-day (96-hour) event within a 21-hour window of activity. The Lockdown stages include: Stage 1: Run/Trek Stage 2: Bushwhack Stage 3: Road Ride Stage 4: Trail Ride Stage 5: Multisport Stage 6: Non-Bike/Run Discipline Stage 7: Strength Building Stage 8: Navigation challenge What's the catch? The Lockdown challenge must be completed by May 31, 2020. This means you can start The Lockdown any time between April 13 to May 28, 2020. But once you start it, you have 96-hours (4-days) to complete all eight stages. Those that sign-up (anywhere in the world - $35) and become official finishers receive a t-shirt in the mail and enter to win prizes. Rules, details, and participant information is sent by email within 24 hours of registration. All proceeds (minus administration costs) go to charity. Learn more on Facebook Event Page or Register now of The Lockdown! NOTE: Kyle M. Bondo, Merchants of Dirt Podcast, or Reckoneer is not connected to this event nor affiliated with Rootstock Racing in any way. I'm just a really big fan and hopefully one of the finishers. As of Tuesday, April 14th, The Lockdown had 147 registrants representing 35 states and 3 countries -- so they are off to a great start! About Rootstock Racing Rootstock Racing, founded by Abby Perkiss and Brent Freedland, is a non-profit organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Rootstock seeks to add adventure into the daily lives of its racers, regardless of age or experience. Serving the greater community of Philadelphia but also reaching well beyond the city limits, Rootstock encourages individuals, friends, and families to explore the natural world around them while also challenging themselves physically and mentally. In addition to fostering sports and adventure, Rootstock Racing seeks to give back to local environmental and conservation efforts while advocating for responsible use of the amazing outdoor spaces participants will visit. Learn more on their Facebook Page or at Rootstockracing.org. Thank You for Listening Email Us: MerchantsofDirt AT GMAIL DOT com All our Show Notes: merchantsofdirt.com All our Episodes: merchantsofdirt.libsyn.com More Race Promotion Thinking: Reckoner.com Merchants of Dirt is a Gagglepod production. Learn more at gagglepod.com.

Merchants of Dirt Episode #52 Kyle explores how a virtual event can be organized and ideas for creating your own membership club to survive the shutdown. Does a Virtual Race in the Woods Make a Sound The pandemic is not going away anytime soon. So what is a racing company to do? Virtual Events! Explore a virtual event being produced by the Central Virginia Orienteering Club (CVOC) and take a deep dive into what it might mean for your business. This includes creating your own online membership club where you can host monthly challenges, provide members with exclusive courses, and work out the details of your tracking and timing issues. Thank You for Listening Email Us: MerchantsofDirt AT GMAIL DOT com All our Show Notes: merchantsofdirt.com All our Episodes: merchantsofdirt.libsyn.com More Race Promotion Thinking: Reckoner.com Merchants of Dirt is a Gagglepod production. Learn more at gagglepod.com.

Merchants of Dirt Episode #51 Kyle challenges race promoters to pivot quickly towards asynchronous competition and virtual events if their business is to survive this pandemic. Keep Racing with Asynchronous Virtual Events The world has been turned on its head with the pandemic of COVID-19. What is a race promoter to do when every event you direct requires people to be in close proximity to each other? The hard truth is that an events business that stops having events is out of business. However, if you pivot RIGHT NOW and incorporate Asynchronous Competition Events and virtual activities into your portfolio, you have a chance to capture an audience that is looking — albeit HUNGRY — for safe and creative ways to exercise in isolation. Thank You for Listening Email Us: MerchantsofDirt AT GMAIL DOT com All our Show Notes: merchantsofdirt.com All our Episodes: merchantsofdirt.libsyn.com More Race Promotion Thinking: Reckoner.com Merchants of Dirt is a Gagglepod production. Learn more at gagglepod.com.

Merchants of Dirt Episode #50 These 50 race direction lessons learned can help you build your roadmap, refine your checklists, or just help you find a place to start. 50 Lessons Learned - The RD Roadmap Welcome to an information-packed 50th episode of Merchants of Dirt and thank you for listening! Listen along as I help you take the mystery out of outdoor race direction with 50 lessons learned from being a race director. After it's all said and done, you'll find out that it's more like 250 lessons learned -- certainly an episode you're going to want to listen to more than once. Follow along with this episode's handy-dandy checklist: 01. Vision 02. Ideas 03. Research 04. Market 05. Mission 06. Principles 07. Budget 08. Business Plan 09. Model 10. Strategies 11. Offerings 12. Organize 13. Branding 14. Planning 15. Risks 16. Rules 17. Venue 18. Schedule 19. Proposal 20. Presentation 21. Permit 22. Build 23. People 24. Marketing 25. Outreach 26. Pre-Registration 27. Timing 28. Courses 29. Promote 30. Sales 31. Trail Work 32. Safety 33. Volunteers 34. Race 35. Direct 36. Setup 37. Registration 38. Starts 39. Monitor 40. Results 41. Podium 42. Clean Up 43. Close Out 44. Analyze 45. Learn 46. Observe 47. Review 48. Revise 49. Measure 50. Decide And Now You Know! 50th Episode Bonus Content Thank you for listening and being a part of the Merchants of Dirt 50th episode! As a special bonus just for listeners, please visit http://reckoneer.com/roadmap and receive a FREE Race Promotion Roadmap. With this roadmap, you can follow along with the episode or plot your own path to race success!  The new roadmap is coming out this Fall, but you can still get a chance to claim the original Race Promotion Roadmap before it becomes a collector's item!   Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

Merchants of Dirt Episode #49 Racing Support Services is an entire industry that exists to make your racing business easier to manage, provide you professional services that you do not have to do yourself, and can free you up to build your business and think up new racing experiences. Racing Support Services Look like a professional without any staff by hiring a crew or renting one for a race day. How do you do that? By outsourcing many of the services and processes you are currently doing yourself. I this weeks episode, I talk about seven (7) industries that you could outsource your business and race direction services to. #1 - Marketing Ad Campaigns Websites Signage #2 - Online registration Web-based payments Extra sales On Day Licenses #3 - Venue Equipment Power and Cables Tents and Tables Start and Finish line arches #4 - Onsite Chip Timing Precision Timing Quick Results Staff Run Finish Line #5 - Onsite Media Photographer Drone Video Video Interviews #6 - Event Data Collection Post Race Surveys Participation Analysis Accounting #7 - Race Management Contract Race Planning Race Day Direction and Orchestration Outsourced Races And Now You Know! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

Merchants of Dirt Episode #48 If you invest your time in teaching and encouraging women to become better riders today, you can create an environment that promotes women to try racing for the first time and encourages more women to attend your events. #1 — Make your sport more appealing to women This seems like a no-brainer until you sit down to do it. Then you start to struggle with what exactly does “more appealing to women” mean. Does adding something to attract one type of customer to your race ALSO attract another type of customer? Or a better way to think of this is -- if I make these changes, does it actually move the needle in respect to bring more of A to my race? Mountain biker marketing is very male-based in that the edgy, dangerous world of single-track riding is featured at all times. This is not to say that women do not like edgy and dangerous trails, it is to say that not ALL women like it. As a race director, you need to focus on the fun atmosphere that is created during a race as a selling point. #2 — Develop better outreach towards women Women riders are already focused on the fitness part of cycling. Racing is just fitness at a faster pace. Plus it can help some gauge where they are -- their fitness level -- when they compare themselves to other women with comparative fitness levels. Your job to show them that racing is just an extension of that same fitness. This can be done with group rides of the race course or practice clinics where only women get to experience the venue with other women (i.e. No dudes). When you remove the unknown part of a race, it can begin to show the fun side of racing. If you invest your time in teaching and encouraging women to become better riders, your races will become, over time, imbued with the same reputation. Build the future of women racing by giving your time away now. #3 — Ride without cars Tap into the Women Road Biking crowd with what mountain biking offers: NO CARS! Mountain biking can be a lot safer than road biking. You could try to interest women riders by offering a bike-share program that connects your local bike shop with a demo day at your venue. The bike shop wants to sell bikes, and you want more racers. Why don’t you team up with a women-only demo day for women road bikers? Winning over roadies will be a tough sell, but if you can do it without requiring them to buy a bike right away, it could be the introduction they need to switch to mountain biking. Better oxygen from being out in nature away from cars is not a bad selling point either! #4 — Being Outdoors is the new Indoors Speaking of nature, nature is another selling point that can take the edge off of male-dominated race marketing. Getting out in nature on a trail has very powerful imagery. If you connect that to riding with friends, then your race marketing starts to take the shape of social riding with friends for fun and fitness. Lose the gnarl and shred you find in most hardcore racing marketing. Change it out for the social connection of ride groups that explore different locations as a build up to your event. Sometimes, the trees and fresh air can be a stronger selling point then the copywriting on your website. #5 — Produce women-only event A women-only event is just like it sounds — NO DUDES! You can have men promoters and volunteers, but there are no men allowed to participate in the actual racing. The goal is to make an event for women that removed the intimidating nature of competition created by some men. Is it not foolproof, but that’s why it’s an experiment. Some women love these kinds of events. Surprisingly, other women hate these kinds of events because they see them as even more competitive then Co-Ed events. Thus, it’s experimental. Your turnout will tell you if it works or not. #6 — Bonus Strategy For those that are not fond of women-only events, you can begin introducing better categories and classes in your existing races. This means less open classes and expanding the range of women race classes. This could include breaking up categories like Single-Speed into both a men’s and women’s class. It could also include adding in the same age categories. Instead of only having a Women’s 35+ class, you would create both a 35+ and a 45+ class. The risk is in dividing your small turnout even further, but marketing is a double-edged sword. By focusing your marketing efforts towards women, using expanded women’s categories and classes as an incentive, you make increase turnout due directly to that expansion. It might not, but the answer cannot be known until you work out the problem. You can make a race day decision to allow classes to become combined if there is no turnout. Or you can just make an overall decision to eat the extra cost of awards and medals for the few women riders that show up, in hopes they will tell their friends. And they tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on! So make it easy to try out racing. Reduce the cost of entry to incentives taking a chance on an experiment. Once they’ve had a taste of racing, then all the worry about what the experience might have been like is washed away. They get to be in the mix, with all the yelling spectators with cowbells as they cross the finish. They get to see that nobody really cares what place you come in. The social environment is why some come to race in the first place -- the race is just the shared experience that connects everyone together. If you build it, will women race? There is a paradox to overcome when developing strategies designed to increase the turnout of women in your races. You cannot expect large numbers of women to turn out to your race if the environment is focused mostly on men. But if you create an environment that promotes a women-friendly environment, you need to tap into your local community and find those women that may want to challenge themselves to a race, but never knew they could or would like it. Only after having women-friendly thinking built-in can you honestly market to them. Do not go into any of these strategies thinking that you can increase your women turnout with half-measures. These are long-term solutions that take multiple seasons before they start to work. And Now You Know! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

Merchants of Dirt Episode #47 The reason bad crews have worse leaders has everything to do with a race director that hires their friends, allows them to say and do anything they want, and approves of their bad behavior by doing nothing to stop them from ruining their business. Observation #1 Problem - Deserted Finish Line Your crew wants to leave early? Tough! All of your crew needs to stay until the end, even if it's all packed up. Because if your crew is not still cheering the last ones to finish, why are they your crew? Solution - If You Stay Your Crew Stays Too  The solution is not to hire any of your friends that do not believe in your racing mission. Crew members that cannot be bothered to stick around until all racers are off the course need to go find other work. And if you as a race director cannot enforce that principle, then you should consider another type of business. Observation #2 Problem - Mocking Last Place Racers The way your crew treats those who are last matters. Doom on the race director that joins in and does not think their last place racers are important. Solution - Fire Your Bad Staff or Close Your Business If your crew is caught mocking the last place racers, they should be fired! If you don't, it will not be long before your reputation makes your racing company a distance memory. Observation #3 Problem - Crew Social Hour while Volunteers Work Is your crew taking a break while your volunteers are still working? Then you don't deserve volunteers. Your crew reflects you, your company, and what you think of racers. Taking a break with your crew while volunteers continue to work speaks volumes about who you are. If you think that's ok behavior, you don't deserve volunteers. Solution - Treat Volunteers With Respect or Don't Have Them Volunteers are special helpers that demand your gratitude and respect. And they are ALWAYS watching you and your staff! If you treat them poorly or allow your staff to treat them poorly, then you shouldn't ever run a race with volunteers. Earn the right to have volunteers help your race by treating them well. And Now You Know! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

Merchants of Dirt Episode #46 Consider how creating spectator friendly events could create new customers while the untapped benefits of having an excited crowd could help your bottom line. Three Formats to Consider This episode of Merchants of Dirt is about spectators. Or more specifically, three types of events that make spectating fun: The Relay The Short Track The Intergalactic Pond Crossing In an age where every dollar counts, race directors owe it to themselves to consider including spectator friendly onto their race calendar. These short courses, quick turnaround times, and spectator friendly formats provide all the ingredients needed for a festival-like atmosphere. Which is exactly what you’re is looking for in your next event. Spectators might only come to your race to cheer their racer, but who knows? It’s possible that the speed of a shorter, easy to follow event might get them to stay to cheer on the other racers too. Additionally, think about all the spectators that DO come to your events. If you could entertain them along with your racers, could you just imagine how much more customer loyalty you could create? Spectators could become that new revenue source that you have been overlooking all this time. Of course, the catch to spectator events is that you will need to be as dedicated to your spectators as you are to your racers. But, if you can provide enjoyment AND entertainment to both groups, you could possibly create a very new and potentially profitable experience that keeps both racers AND spectators coming back again and again. And experience might even make the whole family want to come to your next race too. And Now You Know!   Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

Merchants of Dirt Episode #45 Your accountability to your customers begins when they arrive at your venue, and only ends when you are certain they have left your venue safely. Head Counts Matter This episode of Merchants of Dirt is about race director accountability. More importantly, your accountability when it comes to a simple thing like head counts. And if you’re not sure what a head count is, this is the process of knowing how many racers you have on the course at any given time. Or is it? To get you in the right frame of mind about how important I think headcounts are, I play you a news report from Louise Donnelly of 7 News out of Brisbane, Australia about the disappearance of American's Tom and Eileen Lonergan. These two Americans tourists that were left behind during a diving expedition of Cairns, Australia, over 20 years ago because of a bad headcount. Listen to the full clip here: https://www.facebook.com/7NewsBrisbane/videos/1803272579685586/ Of course, a diving trip is very different to a race. You don’t need to be THAT accountable to your racers, do you? Besides, no one's ever been left behind on one of your courses, right? If you’re like me, that example of a bad headcount should make you take notice. Remember from what we’ve learned about Mr. Murphy over the past 45 episodes? And that is that it’s not IF something will go wrong, but WHEN. Is your accountability an accident waiting to happen? Is your next race going to be THE RACE that leaves two divers behind in shark-infested waters to die horrible deaths? I hope not. So let’s get our understanding of accountability straight. Taking Responsibility Reason #1 -- Your permit and insurance are not for just the course -- it is for the ENTIRE VENUE! Reason #2 -- What your racers do after the race could come back to haunt you. Reason #3 -- What your racers do in the parking lot has a direct impact on how OTHER RACES see you as a race director. Venue Control Strategies Strategy #1 - Full Accounting -- Improve how you count people that come into and out of your venue. Strategy #2 - Quick Identification -- Another strategy is to know who is part of your race and who is not. Strategy #3 - Controlled Environments -- Keep your customers located in only the spaces you want them to be in, and out of the spaces you don’t want them to be in. Why Accountability is Important to your Business You have to know where everyone is at all times -- period. To not know, or to have to guess, leaves you wide open for disaster. So take control of your headcount, make full accountability your number one safety goal. You have all the tools you need to keep an accurate count of everyone involved with your race. And if you don’t you certainly need to improve your accountability process before your next race. If this means adding barriers, choke points, or even wristbands, then do it! Don’t make the only metric you care about be how many people are on the course. You need to know more about your venue then you currently do. Make your head counts always matter. And Now You Know!   Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

Merchants of Dirt Episode #44 Insurance is the minimum financial protection a race director needs to protect themselves, their staff, their volunteers, their business, and their family from other people’s injuries. What is Insurance Insurance is a contract, represented by a policy, in which an individual or entity receives financial protection or reimbursement against losses from an insurance company. Insurance policies are used to hedge against the risk of financial losses, both big and small, that may result from damage to the insured or her property, or from liability for damage or injury caused to a third party. There are a multitude of different types of insurance policies available, but when it comes to outdoor events, there are some specific insurance policies you need to consider: #1 - Protection of you, your staff, and your business: When you start a business, this becomes the first insurance policy you consider outside of yourself or your family. #2 - Protection of volunteers, property, and day-of actions: Event insurance to protect you, your volunteers, your sponsors, and the property owner. #3 - Protection of your customers: Additional insurance that covers the racers if they are injured above and beyond their own coverage. Event Coverage To get a good rate, your insurance agency will require that you show them: Your Liability Waiver Your Risk Management Plan (i.e. Emergency Response Plan) In MOD Episode #28 -- Mr. Murphy Loves Your Cut-and-Paste Waiver I told you why waivers are your first line of defense against personal injury lawsuits. Additionally, in MOD Episode #14 -- Mr. Murphy Just Took Out a Racer I told you why you need to take emergency response planning very seriously when — not if — you need to save a racer’s life.   Business Insurance This is where General Liability Insurance comes in. Every business, even if home-based, needs to have liability insurance. The policy provides both defense and damages if you, your employees or your events (which could be called a product or service) cause or are alleged to have caused Bodily Injury or Property Damage to a third party. This is the insurance that covers what most business owners refer to as “slip-and-fall” lawsuits. When it comes to endurance sports and outdoor events, slip-and-fall is a part of doing business. Not everyone sues if they do happen to hurt themselves. I often find that racers are a more hardy bunch and tend to think of injuries as a badge of honor. But you never know when you are going to get that one person that thinks suing everyone for their own mistakes is perfectly acceptable behavior.   Sanctioning Insurance Sanctioning is a special kind of general liability insurance that covers association events for which a permit has been issued. If you want to be an official event based on the rules and regulations governed by a national organization, then you have to play by their rules. This means an official permit and a requirement to use their general liability insurance to cover your event. Often, the insurance that comes with sanctioning is not super expensive. However, it does require you to abide by their rules in course design, officiating, organization, and administration.   Additional Coverage One of the biggest points of confusion that race directors have with insurance is how their racers will be protected during the race. Most races are what is called “at your own risk” kind of events. This means you -- as a racer -- understand that what you are about to do is dangerous (hopefully detailed in the waiver you have to sign) and that you -- the racer -- are responsible for yourself if you get hurt. Each participant is then expected to have their own insurance coverage that kicks in if they hurt themselves during the race. But the race director can provide additional insurance that covers the racers if they are injured above and beyond their own coverage. This is almost always elective -- the racer has to ask for it and pay for it -- and can be part of your own insurance or the insurance provided through sanctioning. Many national organizations provide general liability coverage for accidental medical coverage as part of their sanctioning package.   Get Covered When you decide to host live events, you invite risk. Mr. Murphy is the master of catching you without any kind of financial protection, and always at the worst time too. Be aware of the different levels of insurance that you will need to navigate before you can safely produce an event. Go talk to an insurance agent. Heck, go talk to six insurance agents. Get a ton of quotes, shop around, and find a policy that works for you. Never, never, never direct an event without insurance -- ever! And Now You Know!   Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

Merchants of Dirt Episode #43 Collegiate sports clubs can give college kids a platform for racing while serving as your personal laboratory for testing your race direction ideas. The Collegiate Club Laboratory College Club Sports are their own animals. They can be hard to form and even harder to control. But once you get one off the ground, they can become your very own race direction laboratory. That is if your experiments don’t try to eat you first. Start a Club #1 - Find a school that doesn’t have a sport you want to direct and talk to them about serving #2 - Fill out an MOU and make being on campus legitimate #3 - Start volunteering and recruiting new riders #4 - Create club officers and have the club become an official USA Cycling Club #5 - Get your riders racing in USA Cycling conference events Build a Reputation #1 - Think about promote local event idea and start planning #2 - Direct your first small event and give the club some money to work with #3 - Pay attention to how other schools produce their events (good and bad) #4 - Get big enough to host one of the USA Cycling events on the conference calendar #5 - Direct an even bigger event and establish the club within the conference Conduct your Experiments Once you have a foot hold, promote your annual event until you can no longer support it. How to know when the experiments have worked: #1 - You learned enough to know race direction is not for you #2 - The club has outgrown your involvement #3 - Your events can stand on their own In the end... you could start a club, end up with a launching an outdoor events business All done for a good cause, in a safe environment, and for a fraction of the cost. And Now You Know!   Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!

Merchants of Dirt Episode #42 There are certain levels of outreach where the marketing of each endeavor depends on how much time you have or what kind of impact you want. Three Kings of Outreach Today I answer listener emails regarding three very unique outreach strategies: Paul wants to know if 4-weeks is enough time to effectively market an event that is experiencing low pre-registration online. Brian was curious about what my platform would have been if I had been elected to the Board of Directors of the Adventure Racing Cooperative. Sam is starting his own trail running event and is interested in how to time his marketing efforts.  And Now You Know! A Gift for You If you found the questions that Paul, Brian, and Sam had sounded a lot to your own situation, here are is a selected list of a few articles that give you additional strategies on each topic: How not to suffer pre-registration woes Principles of a profitable race Put away the shotgun and start messaging with precision How contact lists can impact racer turn out Why blurring the line between sports is good for business Merry Christmas and Happy New Years! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon! Turn Coffee into Outdoor Recreation Ricks Roasters Coffee Company owned by Sean and Keely Ricks is a veteran and family-owned coffee roaster and coffee wholesaler in Fredericksburg, Virginia, that is "all about the bean". Ricks Roasters is passionate about mountain bike racing, veteran-owned businesses, and coffee! Give Ricks Roasters a Try before December 31st, 2018 When you place your first order of Ricks Roasters coffee from ricksroasters.com, use my exclusive Promo Code: Wolf Bouncer -- and receive 13-percent off your first order! Ricks Roasters Coffee Company 1304 Interstate Business Park Fredericksburg, Virginia 22405 (540) 318-6850 Ricks Roasters on Facebookinfo@RicksRoasters.com

Merchants of Dirt Episode #41 Jennifer "Jelly" Crawford from The JellyVision Show walks me through the strategies and struggles of directing a conference from the ground up. Enter the Jellysode Jennifer "Jelly" Crawford from The JellyVision Show is the founder and event director of DC Podfest, a small but scrappy podcasting conference held once a year in Washington, DC. Jennifer started DC Podfest in 2015 with a vision of seeing it as a community for like-minded podcasters to come together and learn from in each other. Now in its third year, DC Podfest has grown its audience to over 130 attendees. But getting to this point was not easy. In this interview, Jennifer lays out seven keys points that all event managers need to consider when building an event: #1 - It has to benefit your community #2 - Be successful enough to pay people #3 - Size matters if you want to make a profit AND deliver value #4 - Sponsorship money will not come until you prove your committed #5 - Building a community takes time #6 - Venues will always change so don't be married to your venue #7 - You cannot start anything without a date and a venue And now you know! Continue Reading: Strategies for picking your race dates Are your competitors fighters or nappers? It's Time to Build Your Outdoor Life Turn Coffee into Outdoor Recreation Ricks Roasters Coffee Company owned by Sean and Keely Ricks is a veteran and family-owned coffee roaster and coffee wholesaler in Fredericksburg, Virginia, that is "all about the bean". Ricks Roasters is passionate about mountain bike racing, veteran-owned businesses, and coffee! Give Ricks Roasters a Try before December 31st, 2018 When you place your first order of Ricks Roasters coffee from ricksroasters.com, use my exclusive Promo Code: Wolf Bouncer -- and receive 13-percent off your first order! Ricks Roasters Coffee Company 1304 Interstate Business Park Fredericksburg, Virginia 22405 (540) 318-6850 Ricks Roasters on Facebookinfo@RicksRoasters.com And Now You Know! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

Merchants of Dirt Episode #40 Don’t be the single point of failure by being the only one with all the gear by building a few gear redundancy strategies into your plans. Single Point of Failure (SPOF) When someone has all the gear — all the tents, tables, and computers — then you have a single point of failure. In systems architecture, a single point of failure (SPOF) is when a part of a system that, if it fails, will stop the entire system from working. You never want a SPOFs in your race plan. Unfortunately, many times (more than we would like to admit) the race director is the only one with all the gear. It is difficult to provide any reliability in your racing business if you control all the keys to the kingdom. Similar to how your business management is hindered when you are both the race director and the racing business owner, gear can quickly become a new SPOF for your race. It may not seem it at first, but as you build your race venue infrastructure plans, each additional item becomes important to your final vision. If those items do not make it to the venue because only one person has it all, then your race will never make it off the ground. This is why your goal needs to be focused on having a way to get everything up-and-running at the venue for when (not if) you can’t make it there. But it takes more than just telling yourself you will do it next year. Next year might be the year something really bad happens. However, if you build in a gear redundancy strategies now, you can help yourself avoid total disaster later. Today, we talk through three (3) ideas on how to do that: #1 -- Distribute your Gear #2 -- Mobile Storage On-Site #3 -- Portable Storage Containers Continued reading: Be a Race Promoter, not a race director Why do race promoters fail? It’s Time to Build Your Outdoor Life Turn Coffee into Outdoor Recreation Ricks Roasters Coffee Company owned by Sean and Keely Ricks is a veteran and family-owned coffee roaster and coffee wholesaler in Fredericksburg, Virginia, that is "all about the bean". Ricks Roasters is passionate about mountain bike racing, veteran-owned businesses, and coffee! Give Ricks Roasters a Try before December 31st, 2018 When you place your first order of Ricks Roasters coffee from ricksroasters.com, use my exclusive Promo Code: Wolf Bouncer -- and receive 13-percent off your first order! Ricks Roasters Coffee Company 1304 Interstate Business Park Fredericksburg, Virginia 22405 (540) 318-6850 Ricks Roasters on Facebookinfo@RicksRoasters.com And Now You Know! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

Merchants of Dirt Episode #39 There are some hidden challenges that hide within the multi-day slogfest that few one-and-done race directors have experienced. Directing a Multi-Day Race The multi-day race is a special kind of challenge that requires more than one plan, better communications, and hopefully a few hours of sleep. In this episode, I’m going to give you the five (5) takeaways I learned after directing a Multi-Day racing event that include: Race Day Plans Change -- Both Days Keeping Everyone in Town Keeping the Venue Alive Volunteer Burnout Race Director Burnout These are the hard lessons learned when the complexity is doubled and the problems that emerge are so unique that you will never see them coming. That is until you are in the middle of the chaos. After doing a dozen of these multi-day races I have a perspective that few single day race directors have the chance to experience. That means that if you’re a one-and-done promoter, or you’re thinking about tackling the multi-day race format, then you need to buckle up buttercup. Because I’m going to pull back the curtain and expose the 5 challenges you will certainly discover when you decide the commit to this type of slogfest. A slogfest that does not end when the first day’s sun goes down. Race Day Plans Change -- Both Days! Key takeaways: Some things you planned do not work on race day (impractical) Other things sound like a great idea but then turn out to be silly (overkill) Too much turnout of certain categories (or a lack of turnout) can change your plans Continued reading: Race Promotion Roadmap Principles of a profitable race Keeping Everyone in Town Key takeaways: Not everyone is going to stay the entire time Communications need to be clear each day Understand that people may have traveled a long way to race Delays, cancellations, and mistakes are compounded Continued reading: Put away the shotgun and start messaging with precision The 5 productivity tools every race promoter needs to use Keeping the Venue Alive Key takeaways: The venue is vulnerable during the time between each day Running out of supplies on Day 2+ Having to recheck everything again Weather double-jeopardy Continued reading: Oh, No! Where’s Kyle? He has all the gear! Check your venue before race day, or else 7 venue areas that ever race needs Volunteer Burnout Key takeaways: Volunteers for Day 1 are much easier to lock down than Day 2 Too much effort in getting volunteers to come on Day 1 Scramble to find volunteers for Day 2 Racers are smart Areas that I thought would be a problem turned out to not be a problem Continued reading: How to recruit enough volunteers before race day The #1 reason volunteers can ruin your race Oh, Captain, my captain of volunteers Race Director Burnout Key takeaways: Two Day events are exhausting Take all the gear with you after the end of race one Bring it all back for race two Single-point of failure for gear and planning Continued reading: It’s Time to Build Your Outdoor Life Be a Race Promoter, not a race director Why do race promoters fail? Turn Coffee into Outdoor Recreation Ricks Roasters Coffee Company owned by Sean and Keely Ricks is a veteran and family-owned coffee roaster and coffee wholesaler in Fredericksburg, Virginia, that is "all about the bean". Ricks Roasters is passionate about mountain bike racing, veteran-owned businesses, and coffee! Give Ricks Roasters a Try before December 31st, 2018 When you place your first order of Ricks Roasters coffee from ricksroasters.com, use my exclusive Promo Code: Wolf Bouncer -- and receive 13-percent off your first order! Ricks Roasters Coffee Company 1304 Interstate Business Park Fredericksburg, Virginia 22405 (540) 318-6850 Ricks Roasters on Facebookinfo@RicksRoasters.com And Now You Know! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

Merchants of Dirt Episode #38 Exploring a new trial on a holiday like Thanksgiving can be very rewarding so long as your plan includes these 7 important tips. Tips for Visiting a New Trail  Do some research Bring the right gear Talk to the locals Plan for disaster Take a moment to enjoy the scenery Expect to get turned around Get back before sunset If you have a plan, exploring a new trail solo can be very rewarding. Happy Thanksgiving! Turn Coffee into Outdoor Recreation Ricks Roasters Coffee Company owned by Sean and Keely Ricks is a veteran and family-owned coffee roaster and coffee wholesaler in Fredericksburg, Virginia, that is "all about the bean". Ricks Roasters is passionate about mountain bike racing, veteran-owned businesses, and coffee! Give Ricks Roasters a Try before December 31st, 2018 When you place your first order of Ricks Roasters coffee from ricksroasters.com, use my exclusive Promo Code: Wolf Bouncer -- and receive 13-percent off your first order! Ricks Roasters Coffee Company 1304 Interstate Business Park Fredericksburg, Virginia 22405 (540) 318-6850 Ricks Roasters on Facebookinfo@RicksRoasters.com And Now You Know! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

Merchants of Dirt Episode #37 Break your race out of obscurity by announcing your event at other events using the roadshow concept to get the word out. Take Your Race Promotion on the Road Did you know your race is a product? Well, it is! Your race is a time sensitive, exclusive product that can only be experienced the one time it is offered. If you miss it, you miss the experience of the product until next year. Maybe there will be another race, but there will never be another race like the one you missed. This is the product created by race promotion. However, when it comes to selling this product, we sell it like we’re trying to give people the secret passcode to our hipster club hidden underneath the bike shop. If people are lucky enough to figure out the code, they manage to get registered. What about those that are not lucky enough to figure out your code? How many of THOSE racers do you fail to reach?  Here's a clue to solve THAT code. On race day, go stand in the parking lot of your venue. Then count the number of parking spaces that are empty just before your first starting gun. Then calculate: Missed Opportunity equals what you need to not go broke over Empty Spaces times 10.  Solve for X. How does it work? First, pick several big races within about a 100-mile radius from your event. Consider events that are similar to your event, but might not be in direct competition (adventure races, orienteering, trail runs, etc.). The idea is to hit enough big races to give your pre-registration a good enough boost. With that list in hand, start to see which races will let you do one or all of the following: Become a sponsor Be a new source for volunteers Be a racer among racers Putting a Roadshow into Practice What if you wanted to promote your upcoming race during a big event? In this example, I talk about the process of reserving and utilizing a vendor space during last year's USA Cycling Mountain Bike Nationals at Snowshoe, West Virginia. Some of the links from my example can be found here: http://www.usacycling.org/2017/mountain-bike-nationals https://s3.amazonaws.com/USACWeb/forms/natchamps/2017/2017MTBUSACyclingVendorApplication.pdf Turn Coffee into Outdoor Recreation Ricks Roasters Coffee Company owned by Sean and Keely Ricks is a veteran and family-owned coffee roaster and coffee wholesaler in Fredericksburg, Virginia, that is "all about the bean". Ricks Roasters is passionate about mountain bike racing, veteran-owned businesses, and coffee! Give Ricks Roasters a Try before December 31st, 2018 When you place your first order of Ricks Roasters coffee from ricksroasters.com, use my exclusive Promo Code: Wolf Bouncer -- and receive 13-percent off your first order! Ricks Roasters Coffee Company 1304 Interstate Business Park Fredericksburg, Virginia 22405 (540) 318-6850 Ricks Roasters on Facebookinfo@RicksRoasters.com And Now You Know! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

Merchants of Dirt Episode #36 When you compare your local races to championship races you learn that it's the same plan, course design, and processes, only on a bigger scale. Merchants of Dirt Podcast Turns One! Merchants of Dirt Podcast released Episode #1 on On October 13th, 2016. It all started after I built Reckoneer.com into a strong blog about off-road race direction and event management. I was looking for another way to share my race building tips without having to always point people to my articles. That's when I discovered podcast production and that I could create content that people could listen to while out on the trail. Merchants of Dirt has now grown into 30+ episodes, expanding all my Reckoneer.com articles into something far more impactful. It even led to my spin-off podcast Get Lost Racing and the development of my first race building tools: The Go-Loop Process and the Race Promotion Roadmap. In just one year I have learned how to use this podcasting medium to make a difference that has directly helped race directors build better races. Which is a very cool feeling! So, in honor of my 1st podcast anniversary, I want to thank everyone that has subscribed to this podcast, shared this podcast with a friend, given me feedback, and kept me motivated to continue this show. I look forward to continuing the Merchants of Dirt Podcast for another 30 episodes! Everything’s Bigger in Montana When you compare your local race to a championship race you would be surprised. Surprised to learn that it's the same plan, same course design, and same process... only bigger! Sure it's a massive undertaking. Sure it’s full of hundreds of racers. And of course, you’re going to need more staff, more parking, and possibly a bigger boat. But that has everything to do with scale. Your Small Race IS a Big Race only smaller Building a big race is no different than building a small race. It's just like a small event... only bigger! #1 -- Same planning process: You still need a good venue, permission to use it via a permit, insurance to protect the race director and the racers, marketing to get racers to come, and officials to make it all legitimate. #2 -- Same course design process: You still need to define the course, fix the trail to make it work, figure out the best way to make it safe, mark the course to make it make sense, and clean it all up when the race is done. #3 -- Same race day direction and execution process: You still need to get everyone registered, get them to the starting line, keep them safe during the race, find a way to know who won, give everyone results, and have a podium of the top winners. Paying it Back When you get to that special time of year, you have to think about paying it back to those that have made my year great. I have three groups I want to acknowledge for 2017: #1 -- Bikenetic Shout-Out Bikenetic Full Service Bicycle Shop owned by Jan Feuchtner [Foo-Kit-Ner] and Helen Huley is a small, family-owned shop in Falls Church, Virginia. Jan and Helen are bike enthusiasts and have a love for all things bike, centering their bicycle shop around the Kona, Jamis, Bianchi, Salsa, Raleigh, and Surly brands. What did Bikenetic do? Bikenetic is serious about supporting local biking. Not only did Bikenetic provide the support to help me launch the George Mason University Cycling Club in 2014, but when my Wolf Bouncer mountain bike race was having trouble finding podium prizes, Jan and Helen stepped in to save the day with all sorts of products for race winners. Every time I have asked for help, Bikenetic has been there. Actions speak louder than words, and if the actions of Jan and Helen should tell you just what kind of service you will get at Bikenetic. It is worth the trip to Bikenetic Bikenetic Full Service Bicycle Shop 201 W. Jefferson St. Falls Church, VA 22046 Contact them at (703) 534-7433, on Facebook, or info@bikenetic.com #2 -- Will Nichols Shout-Out Will Niccolls is the host of the Angry Mountain Biker Show podcast, PMBIA (Professional Mountain Bike Instructor Association) Certified Level 1 mountain bike instructor, Wilderness First Aid Certified, Adventure and wildlife photographer, Podcaster, mountain biker, rock climber, lover of chips and salsa. So when it comes to mountain biking, Will knows what he's talking about. Learn more about Will Will was kind enough to come out to my Wolf Bouncer mountain bike race in September and take some fantastic action photos of the riders. You can find Will's podcast on Apple Podcasts, on Facebook, or see his camera work at Will Niccolls Photography #3 -- Ricks Roasters Shout-Out Ricks Roasters Coffee Company owned by Sean and Keely Ricks is a veteran and family-owned coffee roaster and coffee wholesaler in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Sean and Keely Ricks are passionate about coffee and went into business with the belief that is it IS "all about the bean". Give Ricks Roasters a Try When you place your first order of Ricks Roasters coffee from ricksroasters.com, use my exclusive Promo Code: Wolf Bouncer -- and receive 13-percent off (First order only). Ricks Roasters is Good Coffee: Ricks Roasters Coffee Company 1304 Interstate Business Park Fredericksburg, Virginia 22405 Contact them at (540) 318-6850, on Facebook, or info@RicksRoasters.com And Now You Know! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!

Merchants of Dirt Episode #35 Learn how to prepare yourself for the possibility that one or all of the four horsemen of race planning will show up and wreck your race. The Four Horsemen of the Race Planning Apocalypse Competition - You have to protect your top dates and locations Permission - You have to be actively engaged in your venues if you want park approval Registration - You have to keep feeding your customers your marketing right up until race day Cancellation - You have to accept that you have no control over the weather The Horseman of Competition Competition - Races on your same day. You have to protect your top dates and locations by being Hard to Kill. Here are some key strategies for surviving the Horseman of Competition: Plan in way in advance Target your ideal venues long before you season is over Get your permits in early -- get your "No's" early Schedule your park manager meetings early Learn your competitor's schedules Focus on the parks you NEED Have a backup for those you can change Learn more at Reckoneer.com - Article: Strategies for Picking Your Race Dates The Horseman of Permission Permission - Permit to use of trails. You have to be actively engaged in your venues if you want park approval by Always Being Present. Here are some key strategies for surviving the Horseman of Permission: Park Departments are very "risk averse" Know what park management think in "years" not "months" Reach for everything you can get by asking for your wish list The first reaction will be "No" GO talk with the park manager Find out real reasons Talk to them about why you want to do your course that way Earn favor with trail days Accept the possible and compromise Plan for Next Year, accept your fate for This Year Learn more at Reckoneer.com - Article: Get your next race permit approved The Horseman of Registration Registration - Getting people paying early. You have to keep feeding your customers your marketing right up until race day by Always Be Selling. Here are some key strategies for surviving the Horseman of Registration: Have a plan for making Good (and Frequent) Impressions Repetition is required to accomplish conversion Sales are three things: persistence, persistence, and persistence Have something to sell Have multiple channels to sell it on Open Pre-Registration early Update your website early Share on Social Media every - 4 to 8 weeks before your race Share with your email list as certain times (don't spam) Learn more at Adventure Race Hub - Article: Marketing for Adventure Races Learn more at Reckoneer.com - Article: How not to suffer pre-registration woes Learn more at Reckoneer.com - Article: Put away the shotgun and start messaging with precision The Horseman of Cancellation Cancellation - Nature impacting your day. You have to accept that you have no control over the weather and need to Roll with the Punches. Here are some key strategies for Surviving the Horseman of Cancellation: Have a plan Know your seasons Have a policy in place for canceling, refunds, and rain dates Have rain dates Have contingency plans (backup course designs) Be flexible and accept that some race courses will be just ok There is always next year to do awesome Learn more at Reckoneer.com - Article: Check your venue before race day, or else Learn more at Reckoneer.com - Article: How to bounce back when everything goes wrong And Now You Know! What Do You Think? I want to know what you think about my podcast! Please leave me feedback by doing the following: Go to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast iTunes page. Click View in iTunes under the show artwork. Submit a review and give it a 5-star rating! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout.

Merchants of Dirt Episode #34 You will never effectively adapt your races to unforeseen problems if you don't have any measures or metrics to base decisions on. I explore the process of deciding how to break up a race day category that had too many racers, and the advantages having (and not having) data gave me. The Decision Metric Do you have a system for collecting data about your races? Do you look at the numbers, analyze your situation, and make sure everything is going as planned? If you’ve promoted more than one race, you have plenty of data at your fingertips. But if you never sit down and turn that data into information, you may not be seeing trends that make that data useful. Worse yet, you may miss opportunities that good data analysis will give you too. In this episode, I’m going to show you why measures and metrics are important, how you can turn your data into useful information, and they how to use that information to make data driven decisions that matter when they need to matter! Or you could keep doing what you’ve always done and use your gut feelings to base all your decision on. That’s never let you down, right? What Do You Think? I want to know what you think about my podcast! Please leave me feedback by doing the following: Go to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast iTunes page. Click View in iTunes under the show artwork. Submit a review and give it a 5-star rating! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout.

Merchants of Dirt Episode #33 You need to be on your toes when it comes to combating those wannabe activists and trail extremists who are out to sabotage your race. In this episode, I teach you what you can learn about your own race day preparation process with a real-world example of a Mr. Murphy and his race day sabotage antics. The Wheel of Woe Wheel of Misfortune (aka The Wheel of Woe) is a mythical device where every time you spin it, it lands on something bad. Then Mr. Murphy does that bad thing to you! Hence the WOE part as in Woe is me! Fortunately, I’ve been around a dozen spins of the wheel of woe, and know most of Mr. Murphy’s tricks and this episode I am going to teach you what to do to survive when Mr. Murphy makes you spin the wheel of woe. Don’t think it can happen to you? Think again. Chances are if you’ve been around any kind of race promotion for at least one minute you’ve already meet your own Mr. Murphy. Mr. Murphy is not only that force of nature -- or divine intervention -- that causes whatever can go wrong to go wrong, at the worst possible time, and in the worst possible sequence. Unfortunately, the metaphor of Mr. Murphy can possess people too. Saboteurs, race haters, trail activists, nature purists -- they have all sorts of names -- but what they all have in common is they HATE off-road racing. If you haven’t had the privilege of meeting your own Mr. Murphy, buckle up because they are EVERYWHERE! And it’s only a matter of time before you get your opportunity to enjoy your turn at the Wheel of Woe. Fear not! Today is a good day for learning how to deal and even beat back the Mr. Murphys' that torment race promoters everywhere. What Do You Think? I want to know what you think about my podcast! Please leave me feedback by doing the following: Go to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast iTunes page. Click View in iTunes under the show artwork. Submit a review and give it a 5-star rating! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout.

Merchants of Dirt Episode #32 Do know what kind of thinking goes into deciding when to call the race due to rain? Join me as I continue my Inside the Race Director's Studio series with Part 2, and take you behind the scenes of the third mountain bike race in my four-race series. Behind the Scenes It might be hard to believe that the Washington DC Metro area has any quiet parks, however, Wakefield Park is one of those hidden destinations that only the locals know about. It is a must for anyone looking to mountain bike here, and if you're lucky, you can plan your recreation vacation just in time to race there too! Every Summer, the Potomac Velo Club turns four Wednesday afternoons in a row into a backyard bike fest that can only have one name: Wednesdays at Wakefield! Now in its 15th year, Wednesdays at Wakefield is one of the few mid-week mountain bike races in the country. The series just completed race #3, but not without its challenges. Mainly the arrive of rain right in the middle of the race. Learn what goes into the decision to continue the race or stop it before things get out-of-hand. Are you ready to go back inside the Race Director's Studio? And now you know. What Do You Think? I want to know what you think about my podcast! Please leave me feedback by doing the following: Go to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast iTunes page. Click View in iTunes under the show artwork. Submit a review and give it a 5-star rating! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout.

Merchants of Dirt Episode #31 Putting one race together is a challenge, but imagine putting four races together over a four-week stretch? Join me for the first in a two-part series called Inside the Race Director's Studio, where I take you behind the scenes of four race mountain bike racing series. The Moving Parts of Race Day Logistics I just directed a local mountain bike race that took place in a quiet little park just off the Washington DC Beltway. It might be hard to believe that the Washington DC Metro area has any quiet parks, however, Wakefield Park is one of those hidden destinations that only the locals know about. It is a must for anyone looking to mountain bike here, and if you're lucky, you can plan your recreation vacation just in time to race there too! Every Summer, the Potomac Velo Club turns four Wednesday afternoons in a row into a backyard bike fest that can only have one name: Wednesdays at Wakefield! Now in its 15th year, Wednesdays at Wakefield is one of the few mid-week mountain bike races in the country. In this episode, I am going to take you behind the scenes of the first race in the 4 race series and give you some insight into what goes into directing a race like this. Are you ready to go back inside the Race Director's Studio? And now you know. What Do You Think? I want to know what you think about my podcast! Please leave me feedback by doing the following: Go to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast iTunes page. Click View in iTunes under the show artwork. Submit a review and give it a 5-star rating! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout.

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #30, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider's guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode, I illustrate how to turn a No into Yes and get into places you’ve never raced before by using an approach that will help you form better relationships with your local trail steward organizations. An Example of a Beautiful Partnership I explore an interesting example found in a recent article in Dirt Rag Mountain Bike Magazine of how to form a relationship with trail stewards The article titled ACCESS: Tomorrow Sometimes Comes - Flood Becomes the Catalyst for a Beautiful Partnership by Ben Davis (DirtRag Issue #199, Pages 54-58, July 1, 2017) talks about how a 2013 flood helped change mountain biking in Golden, Colorado forever. By understanding his story, you not only see how he helped transform the perception of mountain bikers in Golden, but how you too can use this approach to: Build better relationships with trail stewards by being the first to volunteer Take on a servant-first/benefits-second attitude when it comes to your view of trail maintenance Partner with other trail users (e.g. equestrian groups, hiking clubs) can be mutually beneficial Understand why you need to be the one to set the example Call to ActionThank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter or by Email. I have a few things I want you to do right now: Action #1 -- Get my Monthly Newsletter Go to Reckoneer.com/Join and provide your email, and I will send you exclusive content ever month before anyone else. Action #2 -- Subscribe to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast By subscribing to my podcast you make sure you never miss an episode and provide me the confidence to keep going! Action #3 -- Feedback I want to know what you think about the podcast! If you would like to leave some feedback (and hopefully a 5-star rating on iTunes) please do the following: 1. Go to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast iTunes page. 2. Click View in iTunes under the show artwork. 3. Submit a review and give it a 5-star rating! Join the Conversation on FacebookIf there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Merchants of Dirt Race Promoters Group. Get Lost Racing PodcastIntroducing my new podcast Get Lost Racing (GLR), hosted by me, will help you master the endurance sports that make up off-road racing by teaching you what they are, how they work, and what makes them great -- one discipline at a time! Please check it out at getlostracing.com. About the Merchants of Dirt PodcastThe Merchants of Dirt Podcast, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo, is a show dedicated to helping you build better off-road races and give you the sports management skills needed to promote successful mountain biking, trail running, orienteering, adventure racing, and endurance events. As part of the Reckoneer Media Network, Merchants of Dirt Podcast joins the Get Lost Racing Podcast in supporting Reckoneer’s education mission to teach race promoters how to build a successful race promotion business. Each episode provides subscribers with an insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering and useful race promotion education from the point-of-view of Kyle’s 20+ years of experience in the off-road racing industry. Sponsor Spotlight - Reckoneer.comReckoneer.com is your #1 resource for the race promoter who didn't major in business. The result is over 100 free lessons, strategies, and tools that give you a better way to build off-road and endurance races. Enjoy the best lessons learned in event design, race management, and race promotion that will help you grow your racing business, or give you a place to START on the path to becoming successful off-road race promoter! Build better races with Reckoneer.com today Thank You for ListeningNow go build better races!

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #29, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode, learn how race promoters use the Always Be Racing (ABR) growth model to maintain their sales volume enough to make racing a full-time gig. Always Be Racing Building volume has everything to do with the number of races you host in a season. Consider it your racing portfolio and it is an essential part of a new approach I want to teach you today called ABR -- a simple term that means “Always Be Racing”. Call to ActionThank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter or by Email. I have a few things I want you to do right now: Action #1 -- Get my Monthly Newsletter Go to Reckoneer.com/Join and provide your email, and I will send you exclusive content ever month before anyone else. Action #2 -- Subscribe to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast By subscribing to my podcast you make sure you never miss an episode and provide me the confidence to keep going! Action #3 -- Feedback I want to know what you think about the podcast! If you would like to leave some feedback (and hopefully a 5-star rating on iTunes) please do the following: 1. Go to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast iTunes page. 2. Click View in iTunes under the show artwork. 3. Submit a review and give it a 5-star rating! Join the Conversation on FacebookIf there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Merchants of Dirt Race Promoters Group. Get Lost Racing PodcastIntroducing my new podcast Get Lost Racing (GLR), hosted by me, will help you master the endurance sports that make up off-road racing by teaching you what they are, how they work, and what makes them great -- one discipline at a time! Please check it out at getlostracing.com. About the Merchants of Dirt PodcastThe Merchants of Dirt Podcast, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo, is a show dedicated to helping you build better off-road races and give you the sports management skills needed to promote successful mountain biking, trail running, orienteering, adventure racing, and endurance events. As part of the Reckoneer Media Network, Merchants of Dirt Podcast joins the Get Lost Racing Podcast in supporting Reckoneer’s education mission to teach race promoters how to build a successful race promotion business. Each episode provides subscribers with an insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering and useful race promotion education from the point-of-view of Kyle’s 20+ years of experience in the off-road racing industry. Sponsor Spotlight - Reckoneer.comReckoneer.com is your #1 resource for the race promoter who didn't major in business. The result is over 100 free lessons, strategies, and tools that give you a better way to build off-road and endurance races. Enjoy the best lessons learned in event design, race management, and race promotion that will help you grow your racing business, or give you a place to START on the path to becoming successful off-road race promoter! Build better races with Reckoneer.com today Thank You for ListeningNow go build better races!

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #28, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. In this episode, you learn why waivers your first line of defense against personal injury lawsuits and remind you that it is your duty as a race promoter to avoid being negligent. Having a Solid Liability Waiver is VitalAll off-road sports are inherently dangerous and involve clear risks, but so is not having a well-written liability waiver. Not only are waivers your first line of defense against personal injury lawsuits, but they remind you that, as a race promoter, it is your duty to avoid being negligent. By making your racer’s sign a liability waiver, you require them to read and acknowledge that they assume the risk of injury that could result from a race. However, it also reminds you that a waiver only covers you to a point. You should probably know the answer to this question long before you ever hold your first race. Sponsor Spotlight - Reckoneer.comReckoneer.com is your #1 resource for the race promoter who didn't major in business. The result is over 100 free lessons, strategies, and tools that give you a better way to build off-road and endurance races. Enjoy the best lessons learned in event design, race management, and race promotion that will help you grow your racing business, or give you a place to START on the path to becoming successful off-road race promoter! Build better races with Reckoneer.com today Steps to a Good WaiverWhen you’re ready to start changing, start applying the techniques of: #1 — Don’t make it up yourself In classic liability waiver cases, a racer injured while participating in your off-road race will have a questionable liability claim due to their signing of a liability waiver. That is if your liability waiver is valid and enforceable. Don’t try to save a few bucks and leave yourself unprotected by trying to create a weak liability waiver yourself. #2 — Don’t race without knowing your State’s law Liability waivers in most States are a mixed bag of legal issues when it comes to enforcing them outright. In simple terms, a liability waiver does three things for both you and your racers: It informs them that off-road racing is inherently dangerous and involve clear risks It limits their right to sue you in the event of injury It provides an assumption of risk defense that can be utilized by you in the event of a legal claim #3 — Don’t be surprised when you get sued Unfortunately, being sued is a part of being in the race promotion business. We all know that injuries are going to happen, and most are going to be self-inflicted. But regardless of the liability waiver, an injured racer’s signed, a few will still try to come after you for damages. The study cited by Stites & Harbison stated that of the over four million extreme sports injuries reported between From 2000 to 2011. many of them showed that exculpatory clauses (e.g. liability waivers) were found to valid and enforceable under common law principles. When the exculpatory clauses (e.g. liability waivers) violated public policy or the damage was the result of willful or wanton conduct on the part of the defendant, they were found to be not valid and unenforceable. In other words, when the injury is a result of the race promoter’s gross negligence or deliberate misconduct, the liability waiver did not provide any legal protection. Call to ActionThank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter or by Email. I have a few things I want you to do right now: Action #1 -- Get my Monthly Newsletter Go to Reckoneer.com/Join and provide your email, and I will send you exclusive content ever month before anyone else. Action #2 -- Subscribe to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast By subscribing to my podcast you make sure you never miss an episode and provide me the confidence to keep going! Action #3 -- Feedback I want to know what you think about the podcast! If you would like to leave some feedback (and hopefully a 5-star rating on iTunes) please do the following: 1. Go to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast iTunes page. 2. Click View in iTunes under the show artwork. 3. Submit a review and give it a 5-star rating! Join the Conversation on FacebookIf there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Merchants of Dirt Race Promoters Group. Get Lost Racing PodcastIntroducing my new podcast Get Lost Racing (GLR), hosted by me, will help you master the endurance sports that make up off-road racing by teaching you what they are, how they work, and what makes them great -- one discipline at a time! Please check it out at getlostracing.com. About the Merchants of Dirt PodcastThe Merchants of Dirt Podcast, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo, is a show dedicated to helping you build better off-road races and give you the sports management skills needed to promote successful mountain biking, trail running, orienteering, adventure racing, and endurance events. As part of the Reckoneer Media Network, Merchants of Dirt Podcast joins the Get Lost Racing Podcast in supporting Reckoneer’s education mission to teach race promoters how to build a successful race promotion business. Each episode provides subscribers with an insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering and useful race promotion education from the point-of-view of Kyle’s 20+ years of experience in the off-road racing industry. Thank You for ListeningNow go build better races!

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #27, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. In this episode, you can't fix a race you never start, so stop caring about what other people might think and go define your own race direction style. Negative Thinking Reality Checks Reality Check #1 -- Everyone starts somewhere YOU HAVE VALUE and your race will have value too, but you can’t create value if you never actual build the thing. Reality Check #2 -- Anything worth doing is hard But if it was easy, everyone would be doing it and If you never start, you will never get better. Reality Check #3 -- You can only please half of your customers half of the time The few bad people will never be happy, no matter what you do. So stop letting the possibility of someone having a bad time bother you. Sponsor Spotlight - Reckoneer.comReckoneer.com is your #1 resource for the race promoter who didn't major in business. The result is over 100 free lessons, strategies, and tools that give you a better way to build off-road and endurance races. Enjoy the best lessons learned in event design, race management, and race promotion that will help you grow your racing business, or give you a place to START on the path to becoming successful off-road race promoter! Build better races with Reckoneer.com today Build New Coping SkillsWhen you’re ready to start changing, start applying the techniques of: Coping Skill #1 -- Feedback is a force multiplier Use positive feedback to keep yourself motivated and ignore the negative feedback that is not constructive. Coping Skill #2 -- Don’t be afraid to experiment Experiment, discover new things and always be learning. Coping Skill #3 -- The hard slog is easily overlooked Accept that there are no overnight successes and only compare yourself TO yourself. The key is to take action. Call to ActionThank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter or by Email. I have a few things I want you to do right now: Action #1 -- Get my Monthly Newsletter Go to Reckoneer.com/Join and provide your email, and I will send you exclusive content ever month before anyone else. Action #2 -- Subscribe to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast By subscribing to my podcast you make sure you never miss an episode and provide me the confidence to keep going! Action #3 -- Feedback I want to know what you think about the podcast! If you would like to leave some feedback (and hopefully a 5-star rating on iTunes) please do the following: 1. Go to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast iTunes page. 2. Click View in iTunes under the show artwork. 3. Submit a review and give it a 5-star rating! Join the Conversation on FacebookIf there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Merchants of Dirt Race Promoters Group. Get Lost Racing PodcastIntroducing my new podcast Get Lost Racing (GLR), hosted by me, will help you master the endurance sports that make up off-road racing by teaching you what they are, how they work, and what makes them great -- one discipline at a time! Please check it out at getlostracing.com. About the Merchants of Dirt PodcastThe Merchants of Dirt Podcast, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo, is a show dedicated to helping you build better off-road races and give you the sports management skills needed to promote successful mountain biking, trail running, orienteering, adventure racing, and endurance events. As part of the Reckoneer Media Network, Merchants of Dirt Podcast joins the Get Lost Racing Podcast in supporting Reckoneer’s education mission to teach race promoters how to build a successful race promotion business. Each episode provides subscribers with an insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering and useful race promotion education from the point-of-view of Kyle’s 20+ years of experience in the off-road racing industry. Thank You for ListeningNow go build better races!

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #26, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. In this episode, Cy Sack from adventureracehub.com walks me through the State of Adventure Racing and shows how a little data can go long ways to making big decisions. Interview with Cy SackI had the chance to interview Cy Sack from Adventureracehub.com. Cy gets into the analytics surrounding Adventure Racing and gives us a view into the State of American Adventure Racing that you will not believe. Unique sports analytics and data-driven decision making that only Cy Sack -- Adventure Racing's Big Data Scientist -- can provide! Cy dives deep into where adventure racing is thriving, where it needs help, what AR formats are most popular, why AR statistics are so hard to find, and why he things adventure racing needs to make some changes. Call to ActionThank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter. I have a few things I want you to do right now: Action #1 -- Get my Monthly Newsletter Go to Reckoneer.com/Join and provide your email, and I will send you exclusive content ever month before anyone else. Action #2 -- Subscribe to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast By subscribing to my podcast you make sure you never miss an episode and provide me the confidence to keep going! Action #3 -- Feedback I want to know what you think about the podcast! If you would like to leave some feedback (and hopefully a 5-star rating on iTunes) please do the following: 1. Go to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast iTunes page. 2. Click View in iTunes under the show artwork. 3. Submit a review and give it a 5-star rating! Join the Conversation on FacebookIf there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Merchants of Dirt Race Promoters Group. Get Lost Racing PodcastIntroducing my new podcast Get Lost Racing (GLR), hosted by me, will help you master the endurance sports that make up off-road racing by teaching you what they are, how they work, and what makes them great -- one discipline at a time! Please check it out at getlostracing.com. About the Merchants of Dirt PodcastThe Merchants of Dirt Podcast, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo, is a show dedicated to helping you build better off-road races and give you the sports management skills needed to promote successful mountain biking, trail running, orienteering, adventure racing, and endurance events. As part of the Reckoneer Media Network, Merchants of Dirt Podcast joins the Get Lost Racing Podcast in supporting Reckoneer’s education mission to teach race promoters how to build a successful race promotion business. Each episode provides subscribers with an insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering and useful race promotion education from the point-of-view of Kyle’s 20+ years of experience in the off-road racing industry. Thank You for ListeningNow go build better races!

About the Merchants of Dirt Podcast The Merchants of Dirt Podcast, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo, is a show dedicated to helping you build better off-road races and give you the sports management skills needed to promote successful mountain biking, trail running, orienteering, adventure racing, and endurance events. As part of the Reckoneer Media Network, Merchants of Dirt Podcast joins the Get Lost Racing Podcast in supporting Reckoneer’s education mission to teach race promoters how to build a successful race promotion business. Each episode provides subscribers with an insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering and useful race promotion education from the point-of-view of Kyle’s 20+ years of experience in the off-road racing industry. Show Notes Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #25, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode, I talk about what strategies you can use to improve your next events registration numbers. How to sell out your race How Pre-Registration Works: Getting an event set up on an event registration site gets your event on their front page, in their search engine, and out on the Internet for your racers to hopefully find. This allows you to generate a cash flow long before your event’s race day. The Pre-Registration Sellout Myth: Popular events have created a huge mythos around the success of online pre-registration. This has created a false impression for most new race directors that think that pre-registration is the end all and be all of getting folks to their races. Unfortunately, what registration websites do not provide you with is a guarantee that racers will actually register early. Low Pre-Registration Fallout: Additionally, professional timing companies (especially the ones with those nice radio frequency identification, or RFID, chips) don’t come to races that cannot attract more than 100 pre-registered racers. But to make matters worse, venues like State and Regional parks also have issues with low pre-registration turnouts. Pre-Registration Tactics #1 – Create a Brand Identity: Create an event name that is memorable, not boring. A customer that can remember the name of your event will most likely remember it nine months later when it comes time to sign up and race it again. #2 – Create Collateral: Develop your own trail maps, event flyers, and branded materials that you can give to racers and businesses. Having handouts — both printed and digital — is a quick way to share your event without having to explain it over and over again. #3 – Have a Real Website: A real event website not only states that you are serious about producing your event but also creates a home for building a branded product. #4 – Create Advertisements: Now it’s time to get the word out to your audience and inform everyone that one of your event dates is approaching (within three months). This is when you open your pre-registration site or page on your website, advertise how early registration can save them money, and add any new info (videos, blog posts, sponsors) to your website. #5 – Open Pre-Registration: If you’ve primed the engine of anticipation with your customer base and determined your graduated pricing levels and change dates, you can now finalize and open pre-registration at least two months before your event. Final Thoughts The Early Promoter Catches the Racer. Proper planning and early management of your event are critical to giving you enough time to effectively change tactics if things start to go wrong. Without the luxury of a time cushion, attempting any of these steps within only a few weeks of your race will most likely end in low turnout or worse, having to cancel your event. If you follow the above five tactics as part of your event management process, your pre-registration numbers should improve. And now you know. Coming Up Next In our next episode, I had the chance to interview Cy Sack from Adventureracehub.com. Cy gets into the analytics surrounding Adventure Racing and gives us a view into the State of American Adventure Racing that you will not believe. Unique sports analytics and data-driven decision making that only Cy Sack -- the Adventure Racing Data Scientist -- can provide! You do not want to miss the next Merchants of Dirt Podcast! All that and more on the next Merchants of Dirt Podcast! Call to Action Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter. I have a few things I want you to do right now: Action #1 -- Get my Monthly Newsletter Go to Reckoneer.com/Join and provide your email, and I will send you exclusive content ever month before anyone else. Action #2 -- Subscribe to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast By subscribing to my podcast you make sure you never miss an episode and provide me the confidence to keep going! Action #3 -- Feedback I want to know what you think about the podcast! If you would like to leave some feedback (and hopefully a 5-star rating on iTunes) please do the following: 1. Go to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast iTunes page. 2. Click View in iTunes under the show artwork. 3. Submit a review and give it a 5-star rating! Join the Conversation on Facebook If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Merchants of Dirt Race Promoters Group. Get Lost Racing Podcast Introducing my new podcast Get Lost Racing (GLR), hosted by me, will help you master the endurance sports that make up off-road racing by teaching you what they are, how they work, and what makes them great -- one discipline at a time! Please check it out at getlostracing.com. Thank You for Listening Now go build better races!

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #24, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode, Mark Montague and I get into what it takes to put on adventure races. Interview with Mark MontagueAre you ready to take your race promotion skills to the next level? Then let me introduce you today’s guest, Mark Montague. Mark is the Founder and Race Director of Soggy Bottom Boys (SSB) Racing based in Portsmouth, Virginia. There are a lot of reasons to want to pay attention to what Mark and SSB Racing is doing. SSB Racing currently produces three of the toughest Adventure Races in Virginia each year -- with one of them an expedition level race called Storm the Eastern Shore -- an 18- to 24-hour event. That makes SSB Racing only one of two Adventure Racing promoters to do any 24-hour events in Virginia. You can find out all about these epic races over at sbbracing.com. Mark gets into all of this and more! Coming Up NextI’m going to get into strategies you can use to improve your race registration numbers. With a little practice and some discipline, I can show you how to NOT suffer the woes of poor registration turnout. All that and more on the next Merchants of Dirt Podcast! About the Merchants of Dirt PodcastThe Merchants of Dirt Podcast, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo, is a show dedicated to helping you build better off-road races and give you the sports management skills needed to promote successful mountain biking, trail running, orienteering, adventure racing, and endurance events. As part of the Reckoneer Media Network, Merchants of Dirt Podcast joins the Get Lost Racing Podcast in supporting Reckoneer’s education mission to teach race promoters how to build a successful race promotion business. Each episode provides subscribers with an insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering and useful race promotion education from the point-of-view of Kyle’s 20+ years of experience in the off-road racing industry. Call to Action Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter. I have a few things I want you to do right now: Action #1 -- Get my Monthly Newsletter Go to Reckoneer.com/Join and provide your email, and I will send you exclusive content ever month before anyone else. Action #2 -- Subscribe to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast By subscribing to my podcast you make sure you never miss an episode and provide me the confidence to keep going! Action #3 -- Feedback I want to know what you think about the podcast! If you would like to leave some feedback (and hopefully a 5-star rating on iTunes) please do the following: 1. Go to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast iTunes page. 2. Click View in iTunes under the show artwork. 3. Submit a review and give it a 5-star rating! Join the Conversation on FacebookIf there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Merchants of Dirt Race Promoters Group. Get Lost Racing PodcastIntroducing my new podcast Get Lost Racing (GLR), hosted by me, will help you master the endurance sports that make up off-road racing by teaching you what they are, how they work, and what makes them great -- one discipline at a time! Please check it out at getlostracing.com. Thank You for ListeningNow go build better races!

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #23, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode, I talk about what strategies you can use to be more consistent when you communicate with your customers. Have a Question? Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter. I have a few things I want you to do right now: Get my Monthly Newsletter Go to Reckoneer.com/Join and provide your email, and I will send you exclusive content ever month before anyone else. Subscribe to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast By subscribing to my podcast you make sure you never miss an episode and provide me the confidence to keep going! Feedback I want to know what you think about the podcast! If you would like to leave some feedback (and hopefully a 5-star rating on iTunes) please do the following: 1. Go to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast iTunes page. 2. Click View in iTunes under the show artwork. 3. Submit a review and give it a 5-star rating! Join the Conversation on Facebook If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Merchants of Dirt Race Promoters Group.  

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #22, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode, Michelle Faucher and I walk step by step through her latest adventure race launch and we learn how to Brake the Habit. Interview with Michelle Faucher Adventure racing is one of those sports that is really a bunch of sports all wrapped into one big sport. It’s like an off-road triathlon in the woods, but with canoes... and orienteering... and maps... and you get to decide the course. Wow! Adventure racing is really NOT like triathlon at all! So how would you ever go about building one of these races? I get a chance to talk a little Adventure Racing 101 with Michelle Faucher, Founder and Executive Director of Adventure Addicts Racing. There are a lot of reasons to want to pay attention to what Michelle and Adventure Addicts Racing is doing. AAR currently produces not one but four Adventure Races a year -- probably THE toughest formats to build in off-road racing. And if that wasn’t tough enough, they are involved in hosting this year’s XTERRA Charlottesville. Michelle is also the ONLY race promoters in the United States to produce a Women Only Adventure Race -- called The Buff Betty! You can find out all about these epic races over at adventureaddictsracing.com. Michelle gets into all of this and more! Call to Action Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter. I have a few things I want you to do right now: Action #1 -- Get my Monthly Newsletter Go to Reckoneer.com/Join and provide your email, and I will send you exclusive content ever month before anyone else. Action #2 -- Subscribe to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast By subscribing to my podcast you make sure you never miss an episode and provide me the confidence to keep going! Action #3 -- Feedback I want to know what you think about the podcast! If you would like to leave some feedback (and hopefully a 5-star rating on iTunes) please do the following: 1. Go to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast iTunes page. 2. Click View in iTunes under the show artwork. 3. Submit a review and give it a 5-star rating! Join the Conversation on Facebook If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Merchants of Dirt Race Promoters Group.

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #21, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode, I talk about how race day volunteers can be a key element in your race’s success but only if you can recruit, manage, and deal with them in an effective way.

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #20, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode, I talk about why having an accurate timing process starts off being essential to deciding who won or lost your race and ends up helping you pay for future races.

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #19, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode, I talk about how you fix a bad race course with a good design strategy that includes walking the course, testing your design, and getting feedback from real racers.

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #18, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode, I help you explore the beginnings of your location development strategy and the 7 venue areas that reduce customer confusion, control customer flow, and show your customers how organized you really are.

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #17, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode, I teach you how to obtain the legal permission to use the venue by developing a process for getting your permits approved each and every time.

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #16, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode, I’ll introduce you to a few race day risk mitigation strategies that include time padding, pre-race checklists, and why you always walk a venue BEFORE race day.

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #15, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode, I’ll introduce you to risk, risk management, and why you need to create your own risk mitigation strategy BEFORE bad things happen. By learning how to manage what you see as risks to your race promotion business you can start to actively manage risks before they actively manage you!

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #14, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode, we learn why you need to take emergency response planning very seriously. Especially when -- not if -- your efforts will directly contribute to saving a racers life, and why when it comes to Mr. Murphy, 9-1-1 will not cut it!

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #13, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this first episode of 2017, I'm dedicating lucky number episode #13 to my co-host, Mr. Murphy! This will be the first of 4 cautionary tales dedicated to topics Mr. Murphy wants to talk about -- which means the month of January 2017 is focused entirely on the Murphy's Law of Racing, and how we deal with topics like risk management, disaster recovery, and how to bounce back when everything goes wrong! Because when you’re dealing with Mr. Murphy, anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Right? By the way: Mr. Murphy just called... your race was just canceled! Ooohh!

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #12, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this last episode of 2016, we’re going to find out why simply improving the way you treat people, your business will be rewarded with customer attendance, money, and most of all, love! Meanwhile, please enjoy this special New Year's Eve edition of the Merchants of Dirt Podcast with regular theme music replaced by Carol of the Bells Rock by bequadro. This version of Carol of the Bells is an uplifting and upbeat full power arrangement in rock style of the popular Christmas carol composed by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in 1914. The song is based on a Ukrainian folk chant called “Shchedryk”. Enjoy!  

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #11, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode we’re going to talk about race date selection strategies and how your business strategy greatly impacts your race date choices, introduce Cy Sack from Adventure Race Hub in the Coffee’s for Closers segment, and talk about why focusing on newbies, greenhorns, and amateurs is a good way to bring a failing adventure race business back to life. Meanwhile, please enjoy this special Christmas edition of the Merchants of Dirt Podcast with regular theme music replaced by Carol of the Bells Rock by bequadro. This version of Carol of the Bells is an uplifting and upbeat full power arrangement in rock style of the popular Christmas carol composed by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in 1914. The song is based on a Ukrainian folk chant called “Shchedryk”. Enjoy!

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #10, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode, we’re going to talk about why you need to understand the reality of market forces, competition, and customers before you decide to base your whole racing business on another fad. Then we are going to test that what we’ve learned by looking at Snowshoeing and Fat Biking -- two of the latest off-road sports to enter the market -- and see if they have what it takes to be worth your time to promote, or are just more marketing spin.

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #9, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode, we’re going to talk a lot about money, budgets, and getting your race expense under control, I’ll introduce you to racing financials in an attempt to put the fun back into race budget fundamentals, and we’ll learn how to apply the principles of a profitable racing to your budget.

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #8, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode, we’ll hear the interview I gave to Carey Green from Podcastification at DC Podfest last month that goes into why I started the Merchants of Dirt Podcast, how it relates to building your first race, and why building races is essential to the survival of the off-road racing industry. And I will introduce you to the principles of a profitable race where you will begin to understand why having standards will help you make better decisions, make you money, and stay in business longer than five minutes.

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast Episode #7, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode I have a few tips about how making your race name memorable, I’m going to debunk the myths race promoters have about race profits, and we are going to introduce a new segment where we tell you about new sports management technology and tools race promoters can use to for building better races.

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. his is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode, we’re going to get into why developing systems -- that is sets of repeatable processes -- is essential to building successful races, how the techniques of documentation, consensus, and orchestration form the cornerstones of your race promotion business, and how to put those cornerstones into practice by building your first race promotion system -- or what I like to call your ROADMAP.

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. his is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races. In this episode, we’ll talk about the rant I recorded at the DC PodFest this past weekend, I'll tell you about the new Race Promoters Group I started on Facebook, and get into how you should handle the politics that mess with your race promotion business.