November is always our month to reflect, regroup and appreciate the past race season. We have made it through the big races and we are in full planning for the next year. It is also the anniversary for Rhode Races, and this year, it is our 10th (!!!) anniversary. It is so hard to believe that it has been 10 years, but wow – have we had some experiences along the way.
Mostly I remember sitting in Dunkin Donuts at zero dark thirty while my son was at morning hockey practice, writing business plans, applying for loans, creating websites…. And worrying if we could or should do this. I believed we could create a race company that combined our two strengths – Karen came from a catering background with experience in operations and logistics. I have event management experience and 30 years of running and racing. They don’t give you a race director degree, but we had some knowledge in the field and felt we could make it work. Karen and I both had parents who ran their own businesses so we knew the sacrifices that had to be made as small business owners. Most importantly, we had the same mindset – to make our participants feel like they were guests in our home.
Over the years, we have welcomed nearly 100,000 participants to our race courses. We have grown a new marathon into the largest race in RI with the Newport Rhode Races. We have raised countless funds for non-profits. And we have become the largest endurance event company in Southeast New England. We are so grateful and humbled.
None of this is possible without our traveling circus of event professionals – Spitler Timing, Skip and Maryann Donnelly (Race Announcers) and Scott Mason (Photographer). Our volunteers, however, are often the “face” of the company. We have had so many amazing volunteer groups over the years but a few stand out – Narragansett Youth Running, Cumberland High School, Shane Parker and Jay Spina from Mt. Hope HS, Middletown Baseball and Portsmouth XC. Finally – all of the safety and security personnel and municipalities that keep our races safe and our runners well-cared for. Many of our races span multiple communities, and it takes a great deal of cross-agency communication. We sit in rooms police, fire, EMS, PEMA, RIDOT RI DEM, etc – and they all figure out a way to make it work. We are so grateful for their collaboration.
But mostly it is the runners. From the back of the pack stories, to the emails we receive from runners as to why they are running certain races, to the leaders of the pack, to those familiar Rhode Masters at every event – we love hearing the stories, we love seeing their faces, and we celebrate their accomplishments at every finish line.
Many of these runners have done over 30 races with us over the years! Here is our Top 10 runners:
Mike Proto
Luis Lopez
Nels Johnson
Mark Neale
Randall Schukraft
Gretchen Loebel (who always produces the coolest medal display at the end of the year!)
Melanie Connelly
Kathrine Russell
Kellie Armstrong
John Wiechecki
To those that completed their first full marathon, half, or 5k with us, thank you for letting us be a part of your running journey. To those finish line proposals – WOW – we are so honored to have been a part of your relationship journey. To every runner that has toed the start line with us over the last 10 years – thank you. From the bottom of our hearts.
We are looking forward to celebrating with you all this coming year at our Rhode Races. We hope you will join us at the happiest place on earth – the finish line.
