This time of year, we are wrapping up our race season and we start full scale planning of next year’s races. As we plan forward, we reflect on the past year – we send out surverys, we discuss internally what went right and what we need to change, what vendors are matching our mission and where we need to up our game.
But as we reflect and plan, it reminds us that we are so very thankful for much of the last year – the partners we had in executing the events, the numerous Police/Fire/EMTs that kept everyone safe, the volunteers who stood out for hours in the cold and rain, and mostly – all of the runners who shared their experiences with us. First time marathoners, 50 Staters, older runners who just keep putting in the miles, those who got out and trained in all sorts of weather, giving up time with their family and friends – just everyone. Seeing and hearing your stories is always so humbling.
In 2024, we hosted our largest race yet and set record numbers for participants. As we continue to grow, we know we need to be mindful about that growth, how that affects the runners experience, and the impact that has on our local communities and our environment. Much of our planning for next year involves our sustainability plans and our spectator managment. We know spectators make for a great race experience, so we need to create race-friendly spectator zones to provide safe race experiences for all.
This year, we are most grateful to have Providence back in our race line up and we are working very hard on all the details for what is essentially almost a new race. Again – safety, sustainability and a great runner experience are paramount in our planning. We hope you will consider joining us for this iconic event.
November is also the anniversary of Rhode Races. We did form the company in 2015, but we didn’t host our first race until 2016. So we are already looking at our 10 year anniversary and how we can celebrate that. Stay tuned for more!
It is with this humility that we approach our race plan for 2025. As runners, we know what it takes to train for a race, we know the costs involved – both tanglible and untangible. Our goal is always to provide you with a race that matches what you have put in and more. We analyze every aspect of our event and what incrimental changes we can make to provide a better experience for you.
To that end, we value your input and feedback. We want to know what you thought worked and what didn’t, what changes we can make to provide a better race for you! We have often made changes based on participant responses so please provide us with your thoughts. We do read every response and make changes as we can. Please review our year-end survey and feel free to give us your thoughts and ideas as to what you need to have a great event.
So from the whole Rhode Crew – thank you for joining us in the past, we appreciate you, and we hope you will join us again in 2025
Keep up with the latest from Rhode Races with our newsletter. Sign-up below:
