CATCHING UP – PART 2 – FOUNDING OUR NEW BUSINESS:

So back about February 2011, Mark and I were asked to direct the ALARC Legends 2011 race that would take place in June of 2011.   Being part of the ALARC group we knew the race had a lot of potential and had seen a huge decline in participation over the past few years.   Having little idea of how to direct a race, we took on the challenge and managed to double the participation from 60-some people in 2010 to over 120 in 2011.   Only one minor hiccup with the Minnesota Department of Health in that the pancake batter was too warm and we had to scramble the crew to mix up an entirely new batch.  Lesson learned! J
 

It was shortly after the race was over that Mark and I looked at each other and knew we had stumbled upon something.    We really enjoyed race directing and felt we could make a business out of it.  And so…UpTempo Race Management was born.

 

“Our Passion for Racing, Working for You” – that’s our tagline and we feel it’s very important as we are not just in the business of putting on races but we are also out there running races and understand what is important to runners. 
 

We’ve helped a number of race directors put on their events and successfully managed our own production “Fast and the Furry” which raised $10,000 for Home for Life Animal Sanctuary.   2012 will benefit The Pet Project MN and Gentle Touch Animal Sanctuary and will once again be hosted on Harriet Island in St. Paul.  The business hasn’t gotten to a point where either one of us can quit or full time jobs but the hope is it will come in the near future.   2011/2012 we worked with Race Against the Odds, Shrapnel Happens, Forest Lake Calorie Burner, ALARC Legends, Ki Chi Saga Days, State of MN Run at Work Day, Jon Francis Foundation (brand new very successful half marathon and 8k), North Point Mpls Fit for Fun, Shrapnel Happens 2012 and the new Races for ACES. 
 

I could go into novels about each one of those events but I’ll leave that out for now as my hopes and dreams include blogging about each one as they pass going forward.
 

Fortunately we have seen much success in our first year and a half or so but unfortunately some days it has sucked the life right out of us.  Both keeping our full time jobs during the day and then having to spend most evenings working on the business leaves little time for ourselves or any training.  We haven’t done a triathlon in two summers now and barely keep up our run training.  It was a lot more fun to train when you weren’t trying to cram it in during the evening after working and also before work.   The hopes is someday sooner than later I can spend at least part time on the business which should give us back more time in the evenings.
 

PS – AND if one business wasn’t enough on the side of a full time job…..we also launched RaceGuide365.com with Jeff, the owner of ZapEvent, and hope to morph it into a useful race calendar site for both participants and race directors throughout the Midwest.   Getting a really slow, awkward start but we’re pressing on.