Race Budgetting

Part 1: Creating Your Blueprint for Success 

 

Preparing a race budget is not easy as there are so many different factors to consider and so many variables for which you need to make contingencies. However, according to Race Directors HQ, if you adhere to the basic rules below when preparing your budget, you should be able to produce an accurate estimation of your costs and expenses – and thus be in a better position to make some informed decisions rather than relying on thumb-suck figures.

1. Be Honest with Yourself
In most cases the primary reason most race directors organize an event is to make a profit, or at the very least, to cover costs. This can only happen if you are totally realistic about exactly what the costs will be and calculate these on a “worst-case-scenario” basis. If you are tempted to put too much of a positive spin on your expenses – an understandable mistake because you want your race to work, it is likely to come back to bite you (or your bank balance) later. If you are honest and realistic about your costs now, you won't get an unwanted surprise later.

2. Aim for Transparency
Every single expense needs to be recorded on your budget. It is never wise to leave out the small costs (like safety pins or cable ties) because you think they won’t make a difference. These small expenses add up and eat into your profit.  As an added bonus, if they are in your budget, you are more likely to remember to buy them. So remember, if you have to pay for it, it has to go in the budget.

3. Clarify how you’ll generate income
Be sure that you know how you are going to make money from your event. This might sound obvious, but without a clear pricing strategy, you may quickly lose site of how you are going to make a profit. You need to consider that after you have paid your costs, will you be able to make a profit from the entry fees alone? Or are you willing to break even on the entry fees in the hope of finding a sponsor to subsidise your income? The second option can be risky and it is always better to have a sponsor in place before making this decision. Whatever you decide, make sure you are clear about how you are going to at least cover your costs.

4. Keep your budget up to date
A budget should be a living document. When you first create your budget, you make assumptions about costs that will be incurred. Once you have actualized the costs, you need to update your budget in order to see how they compare with your initial projections. Revisit your budget regularly and make sure you keep on top of your expenses, and that your registration targets are in line with what you projected to make a profit. If it is not going according to plan, you need to rethink your budget and maybe even come up with a new strategy.

Budgeting discipline is crucial if you want to avoid costly mistakes. Whether you are planning your first 5km fun run, or you’re an experienced ultra-marathon race director, abiding by these basic rules and knowing how to write a good race budget is a critical and often neglected element to the success of your event.

In part 2 next month, we will look at how to predict the key race numbers for your budget …

What do you need help with as an event organiser? If there is an area of organising you would like to know more about, send a mail to tim@finishtime.co.za and we will see if we can find some info for you.

Words To Live By ...

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
 

– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

FinishTime moves to WhatsApp

FinishTime has used SMS notifications for many years to pass on information to entrants about an event they have entered: where to register; details about the start; important announcements; and race results. In 2023, FinishTime sent over 616 000 SMSs, and so far in 2024 are on target to send a almost 640 000 SMSs. Each of these were sent as a separate SMS with the inherent costs.

Aiming to always be at the forefront of technology, FinishTime has now integrated with WhatsApp and is introducing a WhatsApp service.

This new and innovative service, that has been introduced by FinishTime to enable race organisers to send out branded messages to entrants, also offers an exciting way of delivering added value to both the sponsors and the event itself.

This is not simply a replacement for SMS messaging, but is rather an interactive platform with many exciting benefits and cost-saving features, including:

• Personalised notifications that can be sent to all entrants with information about the event;
• Personalised notifications which can display the events' and sponsors’ logos and branding;
• Notifications which can include a QR code that can be integrated with the RaceTec Toolkit App. This means the QR code can be scanned and information instantly transferred to the scanner, thus removing the need for time-consuming searches for athlete details via race numbers or names, and so facilitating a super-quick registration process and hando over of race packs, goodie bags and other giveaways;
• Interactive buttons which can be added, so recipients can get specific information about where to collect race packs, start times and locations and gate fees;
• Whatsapp's much higher delivery rate compared to SMS, and its confirmed read rate of between 80 to 85%;
• FinishTime receiving live feedback as the Whatsapp messages move through the system and seeing whether messages are delivered in real time.

The FinishTime WhatsApp service is an exciting and effective interactive platform to communicate key race information and results to all entrants.

"You need to move your event!"

We are told the customer is always right? Well, in the world where race entrants are your customers, this is maybe not always be the case ...

As event organisers, we get to see some pretty special requests and "suggestions" that are sometimes simply outrageous.

My best was an entrant who was incensed that on a very cold race day we did not have tea and coffee at all the water tables – it was a mountain bike race and the water tables are about 20 minutes drive from the nearest plug point on properties with a very strict no-fire policy. Possible, but logistically a bit difficult.

But, I think this pales into insignificance when compared to the request to the London Marathon a few years ago. Completely serious, a competitor had the following conversation with a volunteer a couple of weeks before the event.

For context, the London Marathon has more than 50 000 competitors and takes place in one of the world's biggest and busiest cities, so just imagine the logistics and authorisations needed for any changes!

Race entrant: “Hello. I’ll be going into London to run the marathon, but the hotel I like to stay in whenever I go down to London has booked out my favourite room.”

Volunteer: “Okay?”

Entrant: “Well, I need to stay in my favourite room. I can’t stay anywhere else. But they do have the room available the day before.”

Volunteer: “Is there a specific request you have for me, sir?”

Entrant: “Well, isn’t it obvious? Can you bring the marathon forward a day?”

Volunteer: “Pardon?”

Entrant: “Bring the marathon forward a day. It would be very convenient for me!”

Volunteer: “You’re asking me to change the date of the whole marathon because your favourite hotel room is already booked?”

Entrant: “Yes, I can see that you wouldn’t be able to do that.”

Surprisingly, that was not the end of the conversation – the entrant was still a step or two away from reality and added: “Could you get your manager to do it?”

According to my source, the volunteer politely ended the call and did not escalate the query to his manager!
 

Do you have an unusual, wild, whacky or funny story about event organising? If so, send it to tim@finishtime.co.za (max 300 words please).