Because many of the chapters that follow were written at different times for different purposes, there is some redundancy in the presentation. Because repetition of an idea can be helpful sometimes, I've left all the articles intact. As much as anything they serve as reminders of the myriad number of items that a race director must consider. Not everything will apply to every race. Some approaches may be too rudimentary for your race, others may be more than you want to do at this point in your event's development.

If you are starting from scratch, where do you begin?

• An activity for a club, business, educational organization or social group.
• A community outreach effort.
• A marketing vehicle for the presenting sponsor.
• A promotion of physical fitness. (The Bolder Boulder began as an idea to organize track meets for kids and evolved into a road race with multiple. Awards for participants six years of age and older.)
• A way to draw attention to--and perhaps raise funds for--a charity, project, or non-profit organization.
• A celebration of a special day or event (although this is usually secondary to other goals).
• A way to showcase regional, national, or world-class athletes.

Holiday races such as turkey trots on Thanksgiving and resolution runs on New Year'sEve. (The Bolder Boulder is always run on the Monday celebration of Memorial DayAnd features activities from skydivers carrying American flags to military flyovers that honor those who have given their lives in service of the United States.)

• Training runs of the same or increasing distances leading up to a major local race, often a marathon.
• A race series with points accumulating toward a club or open championship.
• An event that is one of several in a national series such as the Race for the Cure or Avon Running Series.
• An anniversary or "running" of a race. The 100th Boston Marathon is the most prominent example.
• A way to tie in local officials, something like a governor's gallop or a mayor's marathon.
• Promotion of an idea (Run for Soviet Jewry), a product (the Diet Pepsi series) or a service (Race for the Zoo).
• An enhancement to a grand opening or other commercial occasion.
• Celebration of a historic event or person.

You may be able to carry your race theme into the decorations at the finish line (balloons and flags), the food served, the entertainment provided and the celebrities invited to participate. Your theme may carry over into the awards presented and the finishers' results provided. The more cohesive and complementary your approach, the more likely your event will be remembered and run again in subsequent years.

• Sponsorship dollars (and in-kind contributions which, because they replace expenses, can be as beneficial as cash).
• Seed money (proceeds left over from the preceding year's race).
• Donation of services. Like in-kind contributions these can help defray expenses. Examples are groups to organize aid stations, military units, entertainment groups, ambulance/medical coverage, local news anchors or DJs as masters of ceremony, and trash pickup. Although it is rare, some events have received complimentary portable toilets and police protection.
• Club coffers. Running clubs particularly may use membership and other dollars to fund races, accepting a break even or loss from the event as a service to their members and the community.
• Municipal backing or underwriting. (For several years the recreation center at one of Denver's parks provided funding and organizational assistance for a triathlon using the park's pool and roadway.)
• Businesses. Title sponsorship of a race may involve management of the event (the San Francisco Examiner Bay to Breakers) or not (the Quad City Times Bix 7).

More specifically, this means determining who is going to solicit and take care of sponsors, who will work with local authorities, who will design and measure the course, who will design the entry form and race T-shirts, etc. all the way through who will conduct the finish line, clean up afterwards and send out the race results. Whether the particular job involves one person or dozens, it is important to decide in advance just whose job it is.

Generally, at least some promotion and/or advertising is essential. There are lots of potential marketing approaches; some are fairly simple, others require more research, effort and expense:

• Mailing the current year's entry form to the previous year's entrants. (This has been Bolder Boulder's most effective marketing tool for many years.
• Utilizing media sponsors through public service announcements on television and radio to advertisements (often the race entry form) in local newspapers.
• Advertising in national running publications (or at least being mentioned in the race calendar listings).
• Distributing entry forms to as many logical outlets as possible (specialty running stores, athletic clubs, recreation centers, and any other retail locations that will display them).
• Asking local merchants to display a poster announcing the event.
• Seeking news coverage of the event, its invited athletes, course, theme, or other special features or innovations.
• Distributing flyers door-to-door in the areas around the race site. (This is a good idea even if you're just "warning" neighbors about the upcoming event.)
• Seeking endorsements (which in turn create media coverage opportunities) from politicians, members of the media, professional athletes or other local celebrities.
• Mailing entry forms to members of your area's running clubs (some offer this service through their newsletters for a fee) or the entrant lists of other local road races.
• Distributing your entry forms at other races on the calendar within three months of yours.

• What will be fun or fast for the participants?
• What will be feasible for the applicable authorities?

The "when" involves considerations of holidays; timing of other races; permit requirements for parks or roadways; potential conflicts with major sports teams' schedules and their use of city services such as police; availability of volunteer groups; and, of course, weather.