Tho-Run: Runners can enter a lot of different races when choosing a half or full marathon. The Rock and Roll series is unique with music, support along the course, and a great post race experience. What do you expect runners will enjoy the most during the race?
Alan Culpepper:
Well first and foremost we hope runners have an experience they look back on and say that was a very well run event. Organizers did their best to think through all of the various elements of the race, they didn’t cut any corners. That’s always our goal-put on a world class event. Every time in every city. But as far as how r&R I s unique is the band element and the variety and amount of music and really the cheer out there on the course. We do all lot of sponsor activations out on the course. Our goal is to have as many distractions as possible out there on the course and also to just break the course up. It’s a long way to go whether its 13 or 26 miles.
Tho-Run: When you think about the race cities across the country how was the decision made to come to Denver? And thinking about each of those cities where might you rank Denver over all?
Alan Culpepper:
Yeah I don’t know if I can speak to the ranking, that’s pretty hard to quantify. But yeah, Denver was definitely a market we wanted to come to. its clear Colorado is an endurance minded state and health conscious state. So it just made a lot of sense to have a race here. A world class event that attracts people from all across the country to Colorado, similar to the cycling event that was just completed here. So it is easy to rally to have people come here. This location was on the radar for a long time.
Tho-Run: Speaking of world class, you know about that being a former world class runner. What are some of things that you have encountered between running on the international stage and then organizing a major event such as the Rock and Roll event.
Alan Culpepper:
Well yes, it’s definitely been an interesting transition. But one that I am very pleased with thus far. From a personal perspective its been fun to be on the other side of a running event. The backside as it were to see the inner workings of an event. Its been great and I excited about it. I’ve really enjoyed it. As someone who has participated in events since he was 12 years old, well I can use that experience that insider knowledge and first hand experience to put together something that I know runners will appreciate—and that keeps me engaged in each event. And it has been great working for a company like Competitor. They are progressive, cutting edge. Looking for that next thing to make an event great. Always has the runner experience top of mind. And being good city partner. So for me it’s been great. You know it’s been more rewarding than I expected. I came from an experience where it was extremely gratifying as a runner where I did not deal with a lot failure. I was able to have success, had achievements that I met after applying myself to training. There were a few goals I did not hit but for the most part, I’m happy when I look back at what I accomplished. That is extremely gratifying. To train for something, to apply yourself, and see the goal met and so that was one thing I guess I’ve transitioned away from. Now I have more of a corporate life. I’ve been really pleased that I’ve been able to have a different vision or a high level of satisfaction in doing something I am enjoying right now.
Tho-Run: I ran the half marathon event last year. It was a fantastic experience. I liked the music and especially liked all the cheer squads across the course. Everything was so well organized, there were so many people out there bands, aid stations, post race. It was just great. Highly comparable to the Bolder Boulder which I consider the gold standard. That comes with a lot of work from a lot of people. Talk about the coordination that happens on race day and before to make all of this happen.
It’s a testament to our staff, all of the people we have on-board. Everyone has a commitment to the brand, to the company and to the goal. We don’t want to let out participants down—we want them to have a great running experience. And so that is one benefit of having a larger company. We are more specialized. We are able to hone in and fine tune our specific area. This allows us to work on more events and to prepare week to week. Unlike maybe some of the other individual city events, where maybe they do on or two events a year and have people that work full time at other jobs. So we can work on our specific piece of an event all year long and really get to know what we are doing and doing it well. Its amazing how much you learn from each area as you see what it takes to put on a great race. It just a frenzy at each race. There is so much going on that people don’t ever see. So much communication
