Early Call Time

01/07/2022

After a bit of a hiatus Tony and Eli are back with a bang, with an in-depth interview with one of the most entrepreneurial people in the industry, Ragnar Co-Founder and CEO Tanner Bell! From a project that started while Tanner and his co-founder were undergrads and thought it was just something that would look good on a grad school application, Ragnar has grown into one of the most successful brands in the endurance events industry.

Tanner gives Early Risers a behind the scenes look at all aspects of how he and his team built Ragnar--from how they came up with the name and what it means, to bribing friends and family with iPod Shuffles to staff early events, to how they've scaled and structured their team, and how Tanner stays in touch with the event experience. He also shares a story that makes clear the being on an events team runs in his family's DNA, and teases what the future may hold for Ragnar since their recent acquisition by FitLab.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tanner-bell-ceo-ragnar-general-manager-of-events-fitlab/id1504936576?i=1000568240159

17/06/2021

In this month's interview episode Tony and Eli have on a man who is such a big fan of the podcast that he once sponsored it, Race Roster CEO and General Manager of Asics Running Apps Alex Vander Hoeven.

Alex tells the guys about the early days of Race Roster, and how he and his fellow founders originally intended to start a race, not a technology company. They talk about how Race Roster's purchase by Asics happened at a fortuitous time, as it has allowed Race Roster to invest in its products and people during the pandemic, when not all companies are able to do so.

They then do a deep dive on race tech--Alex tells the guys what Race Roster features are underutilized by races, and also how we're just scratching the surface of what technology can do to make RDs' lives easier and runners' race experiences better. Alex is the closest thing the running industry has to a futurist, so there are some great takeaways in this episode for anyone who wants to know where the industry is headed.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/early-call-time/id1504936576?i=1000525845275

17/04/2021

In April's banter episode, Tony and Eli talk about a "triple crown" of Boston topics: the 70,000-runner virtual Boston Marathon, the additional $25 COVID fee being applied to the Boston Marathon registration fee this year, and, most importantly, and a slick Nike/Boston Red Sox collaboration honoring the Boston Marathon but costing consumers a pretty penny.

The guys close by discussing some big news for Tony, but we're not giving any spoilers about that in the show notes--wanna find out, then you've got to listen!

This was a short episode, so it'll also be a short summary. If you enjoyed this one, please rate and review us on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you don't ever want to miss an episode be sure to subscribe. If you have any questions, comments, guests you would like us to invite, or topics you would be interested in hearing us explore, please send us an email at earlycalltimepod(at)gmail.com.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/early-call-time/id1504936576?i=1000517369404

08/04/2021

In their April interview episode Tony and Eli welcome Chicago Event Management Chief Operating Officer Mike Nishi to the ECT Pod. Mike was the man they had in mind when they created pod, and we can promise this episode lived up to their lofty expectations!

Mike gives the guys a deep history lesson, stretching back to his first childhood experience with the Chicago Marathon (and the nature of that experience will definitely surprise you). He shares how he went from working as a gofer for the Chicago Marathon in its early days, to working for the race full-time, to--along with his business partner Carey Pikowski--forming CEM and growing it into the industry-leading juggernaut that it is today. And along the way he explains the parallel evolution of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, which is a little 46,000-finisher race that you may have heard of.

This episode is full of insight on creating and maintaining a high-performance culture, the value of connecting with people, being an organization that gives back, and industry insight and knowledge of the type that only Mike Nishi can give. If you want to better understand the big picture of what makes one of the premier event production companies in the world tick, this episode is a must-listen.

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you don't ever want to miss an episode be sure to subscribe. If you have any questions, comments, guests you would like us to invite, or topics you would be interested in hearing us explore, please send us an email at [email protected].

Thanks as always for listening, and we'll catch you bright and early on the next episode of Early Call Time!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/01fc7GoqK72vJm4je8VZcn

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18/03/2021

In March's interview episode Tony and Eli welcome Caroline Fitzgerald, Vice President of Partnerships & Runner Experience at P3R and fellow member of the "one marathon club," to the pod. Caroline drops tons of knowledge about how P3R, the organization the guys dubbed "Most Likely to Succeed" back in Season 1, effectively integrates its operations teams with its partnerships and experience team to provide great experiences for their runners. From the Racing Pierogis to Pittsburgh Dad, Caroline shares how she and P3R makes it happen, and also comes dangerously close to breaking news about what P3R has planned in the virtual space for the Expo for the 2021 Dick's Sporting Goods Virtual Pittsburgh Marathon.

Can't get enough of Caroline? Check her out on her own podcast, The Business Case for Women's Sports.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/early-call-time/id1504936576 =Buzzsprout-8162561

04/03/2021

In this month's banter episode, the guys start by wishing each other a happy podiversary, as it has now been over a year since we recorded the first ECT Pod! A huge thank you to all of our friends, guests, and listeners who have gotten us this far. And if it's okay with y'all, we're still feeling it, so we're just gonna keep on doing this thing.

Tony and Eli check in on their over/under wagers, none of which are resolved yet. But data points are starting to emerge, some of them courtesy of the Atlanta Track Club, who, almost exactly a year after their triumphant Olympic Marathon Trials, returned to large-scale in-person racing with an approximately three-thousand in-person runner Publix Atlanta Marathon Weekend held at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The guys are very interested to see large-scale racing continue to (safely!) ramp up, including soon at the Woodlands Marathon in Tony's home state of Texas as well as Florida's Gate River Run, which is sold out at 8,000 registrants (half its usual capacity) for its upcoming race.

The guys then dive into data, talking about what they learned from Running USA's 2020 Global Running Survey and Run Signup's demographic overview of virtual registrants on their platform. There are great takeaways about DEI and how events need to be willing to lead their consumers in that space (and be willing to leave some behind), as well as insights into who virtual runners really are. The biggest revelation of all, though, comes when Eli realizes that Tony can summarize in fifteen seconds what it takes him five minutes to say.

11/02/2021

A very special Valentine's Day Episode is now LIVE! n this special Valentine's Day (or is it Galentine's Day?) episode the guys hand off the mics to the women who tolerate them, Leslie Wise and Christina Yamanaka, to talk about what life is like when you're married to an RD. They talk about race week traditions, being supportive during busy times, and how at times having an RD for a spouse means you're like ships passing in the night.

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you enjoyed it so much you don't ever want to miss another episode be sure to subscribe. If you have any questions, comments, guests you would like us to invite, or topics you would be interested in hearing us explore, please send us an email at [email protected].

Thanks so much, Leslie and Christina, for showing Early Risers a little bit of the softer side of Tony and Eli (who both want to say that they love you very much), and thanks as always to all of our loyal Early Risers for listening. Time to get some rest, and we'll catch you bright and early on the next episode of Early Call Time!

04/02/2021

First interview of 2021!

In this week's episode the guys have on the one and only David Katz! The founder and owner of Finish Line Road Race Technicians, David is one of the world's foremost experts on the technical side of road racing. He has not just measured marathon courses and served as an official for world-class events such as the Olympic Trials, Olympic Games, and Eliud Kipchoge's Breaking 2, but also helped to create modern road race standards by serving on the original AAU Standards Committee in the early days of our sport and currently upholds those standards by serving as the chairperson of the Road Running Technical Council (among other roles in the sport at both the national and international levels).

There is SO. MUCH. INFO. on this episode it's kind of bonkers. Check out the full show notes and episode!

Link in bio.

13/01/2021

We're back! Tune in tomorrow morning for Episode 1 of Season 2.

26/12/2020

We're taking a holiday break and not releasing any new episodes until January, but to keep you from going through withdrawal, Eli went on the Strength Running podcast with Jason Fitzgerald to talk about how a major marathon comes together. Give it a listen on your podcast platform of choice:

Apple Podcasts: apple.co/3aE4YyA
Spotify: spoti.fi/3heMs0N
Stitcher: https://bit.ly/3pnDCAz

Have a safe and happy new year y'all, and we look forward to getting back on the horse in 2021!

Eli Asch is currently the Race Director for the Twin Cities Marathon. Prior to this role, he directed the California International Marathon (CIM), which hosted two USATF marathon national championships. Under his direction, CIM was the fastest-growing major marathon in America. Eli also served as th...

19/11/2020

New Episode is Live!

The guys begin November's banter episode discussing Start Line Impact, a grassroots movement spearheaded by friend of the pod and past guest Kirsten Fleming to galvanize the industry's many players to call attention to running events' positive impacts on their community and the challenges they face right now. Discussion of Start Line Impact devolves into Tony deciding he needs to start an industry motorcycle gang called "Herd of Cats" and Eli boning up on the definition of "gantry" before Eli moves on by asking Tony to tell listeners about a project he has been working on: the Tony Banovich Roads, Tracks, and Trails Memorial Run, a virtual race fundraiser for Run Wild Missoula in honor of their recently-deceased and much-beloved Executive Director. (Want to learn more about Tony B? Listen to this episode we shared from our friends at BibRave.) The goal is 1,000 registrants, and you can be one of them by registering here.

Eli then does a "professional podcaster segue" into talking about the Running USA Global Running Survey, the industry's annual census of runners. Tony (a Running USA Board Member!) lets folks know that the survey has expanded its scope this year, including both a version focused on the European market and also a new section on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The guys then discuss a serious DEI topic, Rebuild NYRR, an organization established by current and former New York Road Runners employees looking to force the organization to confront what the group alleges is a culture of bias and racism within NYRR. We can't stress this enough: it's important that the industry take claims like this seriously and tries to live up to its stated ethos of inclusion, and this isn't a problem exclusive to NYRR. The guys recommend listeners check out and join the Running Industry Diversity Coalition, and call on all of us to do the sometimes uncomfortable work needed to move the industry forward to become an inclusive and equitable one.

12/11/2020

New Episode! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/early-call-time/id1504936576 =Buzzsprout-6335344

In this month's interview episode, Tony and Eli talk to Jared Rohatinsky, CEO of Brooksee and and a member of Utah's famous "running Rohatinsky family." Brooksee, best-known for its series of screaming fast Revel races, is also responsible for what the guys think is one of the most exciting running industry innovations to come out during the pandemic: .oyo (as in "On Your Own") racing.

In this interview Jared reveals how OYO was born out of dissatisfaction with existing virtual race options, how its unique set of in-house core competencies allowed Brooksee to realize this concept (a degree from MIT is involved...), the ins and outs of their extensive results verification process, and what's next for OYO (and if you're interested in partnering to bring OYO to your city, you may like what you hear).

Jared also lets us know what wet end-of-race-day tradition he and the rest of the Brooksee crew are looking forward to when traditional in-person racing returns....But until then, if you're looking for the closest thing you can get to an in-person race experience, you should check out OYO!

29/10/2020

🎃Goooood morning Early Risers🎃

Happy almost Halloween. The only thing spookier than the ghouls and ghosts that will make their way around the house this weekend is this guests' list of titles. That's right, we have none other than J.T. (Just Truth) Service on this week to talk all this Soul Focus Sports, Run Local, Silverback and more.

The fastest ECT Pod guest yet, with a strong collegiate career at UCSB and a 2008 Olympic Trials marathon qualifier on his athletic CV, JT went to law school with hopes of becoming the Jerry Maguire of endurance and action sports athletes before realizing "that 15% of very little is even less." While that phase of his career may not have been very remunerative, he did gain some great stories involving Dean Karnazes, whom he represented, and nudity in the desert.

But wait, there's more! We also have a very special guest that jumps in to roast JT just as much as he showers him with love.

22/10/2020

This week, we bring you a fantastic re-air "Best Of" compilation episode from the BibRave podcast to celebrate the life of our friend Tony Banovich. We wanted to do something special to honor Tony, and the folks over at BibRave were kind enough to send their episode for us to share with you.

Listen to Tony's insights, background and learn more about one of the cornerstones of the industry that left us with a lot to think of and strive for.

If you haven't already, please check out www.runwildmissoula.com as well as the Missoula Marathon. As we've noted many times in the past, they are both great examples of what races and events can do correctly to connect with the runners they serve.

Thanks again to Tim & Jess for letting us re-publish this great compilation.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/early-call-time/id1504936576 =Buzzsprout-6008959

15/10/2020

New Episode Alert is Live! Link in Bio

This week's episode kicks off with just what you all listen to this podcast for--an extended discussion of the weather! Once the guys get through that scintillating topic, the guys tease some interviews they have coming up (want to know what they are? Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, or--if you're old--Facebook) before Eli brings up something Tony has in the past raked him over the coals for his views about: virtual race results.

The reason Eli brings this up is that since they last recorded, Tony ran his Bank of America Chicago Marathon Virtual Experience Half Marathon, and his different forms of technology (his Garmin watch and his Strava account) recorded different times with a two-minute discrepancy! The guys discuss all the different ways that a virtual race time can be recorded differently (moving time versus total time, to an exact point or to a distance on a tracker), and then get a little metaphysical in discussing whether and how we can really know what time anyone ran in a virtual race and even if we can say they ran a specific time what that means.

The guys then talk about the re-emergence of regional-level marathon events with the Prairie Fire Half Marathon taking place in Wichita, Kansas this past Sunday, and the BCS Marathon, Mississippi Blues Marathon, and Louisiana Marathon all on the docket in the coming months. Tony says that what he's going to be looking for to judge whether these are safe and successful events isn't anything in the event's plan--we all know what that needs to look like--but what the runners do at the event, and whether they read and then follow new rules that are in place to keep participants, staff, volunteers, and events' host communities safe.

As always, there's this and so much more.

02/10/2020

As the calendar turns to October, the month of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, the ECT Pod has on David Waskowski, Director of Participant Services for Chicago Event Management, organizers of the Chicago Marathon. Before you read any more of the summary of what was truly an interesting and insightful interview, please listen to the ECT Pod jingle(!) that our talented guest wrote for and shared with us after recording!

David is a lifelong runner, and the guys wax nostalgic with him about running cross country before this industry veteran walks us through his career path at CEM, the early days of which included a job Tony can commiserate with him about: flyering the Chicago Marathon course. David shares the most Chicago story ever from his days doing race operations--getting approval to place a tent outside a union hall where whoever answered the phone didn't have any time for nonsense. He explains his transition from the race operations side to the experience side, and along the way tells us about the biggest changes he has seen in the industry over his decade-and-a-half of varied experience at an industry leading event management company.

The interview then veers into the esoteric, as Tony and Eli ask their guest of many talents about his much-ballyhooed musical gifts, comedy chops, and whether he has any other super powers that they should know about (he demurs). As inevitably happens when anyone learns that someone plays the banjo, a long digression into David's banjo-pickin' ways occurs. Wazko also shares some insight into the musical breakthrough he has made due to the regular deep practice the pandemic has created space for for him, which is something we all can and should learn from.

There have been some interesting projects going on at CEM recently, and David shares his perspective on a couple big ones: the inaugural Bank of America Chicago 13.1, a major event that planned to bring racing to a new part of Chicago that was planned for this past June but ultimately was canceled due to the pandemic. And the aforementioned Bank of America Chicago Marathon Virtual Experience, which takes a different tactic than many virtual races by opening up new virtual distances to all comers but limiting access to its longest event--the virtual marathon--to only existing registrants.

David, a loyal Early Riser, is prepared for the final question and tells us about his end-of-day on-site ritual of cheering in final finishers (and becoming an unofficial photographer) and then, after taking advantage of the running water at the after-party before ghosting, settling in with some fellow Cheesehead buddies to watch a Packers game.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/early-call-time/id1504936576 =Buzzsprout-5687344

01/10/2020

Big news Early Risers--the pod now has a jingle! Thanks to David Waskowski of Chicago Event Management for writing it for us. And for being a great and erudite guest on an interview episode that will be dropping soon... very soon.

http://bit.ly/WaskoJingle

17/09/2020

In this week's episode, the guys finish their draft, each drafting three things that they most look forward to for the industry when in-person events return. Before drafting, though, they talk about the Virtual Boston Marathon and whether running a virtual race "counts" (the verdict: it clearly does!), give a tip of the cap to past guest Tom Bedford for holding a successful 3500-person in-person edition of the findarace.com Findarace.com Kew Gardens 10K over two days, and then--in a bit of a callback to last episode's interview--talk about Eli's self-deprecation, the Dunning Kruger Effect, and the source of their powers (such as they are). (Warning: Eli drops an f-bomb or two in this segment.)

The draft is a fun one, leading to discussions of topics as far ranging as city permitting agencies' outdated tech, runner resilience and the monster we've created in doing so much to support our runners, the running industry lifestyle and race ops burnout, race weekend hotel room assignments, and old standby topic virtual versus in-person PRs and running "gatekeepers."

Somewhere around the one-hour mark, the guys lose track of what they're even talking about, and that's when they know it's time to wrap up this jumbo-sized banter episode, and with it the first and hopefully only edition of the ECT Pod "what we miss/what we're looking forward to about races" draft.

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and don't forget to subscribe. If you have any questions, comments, or guests you would like us to invite, please send us an email at [email protected].

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03/09/2020

In this month's interview episode Tony and Eli talk with Run Calgary Executive Director (and the pod's #1 fan from the Great White North!) Kirsten Fleming. We talk about her globetrotting youth, her "past life" in broadcast media, and how her active lifestyle blurs into her job. Along the way we learn how Kirsten landed her dream job with some bravado and the help of a "cheeky" afternoon drink, why Eli makes a better Race Director than a Director of Marketing, and that Kirsten just can't bring herself to say anything bad about Tony... even when Eli threatens to kick her off the interview unless she does.

The guys invite Kirsten to brag a bit about the City of Calgary and Run Calgary's events, and then ask for a peek behind the curtain at how this past May's cancellation has affected the Run Calgary organization. After taking that dark turn, Kirsten brings it back up by talking about what the best-case scenario looks like for Run Calgary in 2021 (Mulligan Marathon, anyone?), and also shares some of her other favorite Alberta-based and women-led races. She also has some suggestions for future podcast guests for the guys.

Is this episode a delight? As Kirsten would say, "Absolutely!"

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and don't forget to subscribe. If you have any questions, comments, or guests you would like us to invite, please send us an email at [email protected].

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/early-call-time/id1504936576 =Buzzsprout-5273401

01/09/2020

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/early-call-time/id1504936576?i=1000489388695

This episode of the ECT Pod is one like none you've ever heard before. Not only because Tony is calling in from under a blanket in a closet in for the recording session, and not even only because Eli is doing the audio editing--but also because the actual structure of the episode is a new one, in which the guys conduct a draft. Inspired by Eli's favorite baseball podcast, Effectively Wild, this week Eli and Tony each draft three things that they miss most about in-person events. Next episode in Part 2 of their draft extravaganza (draftaganza?), they'll each draft three things that they most look forward to for the industry when in-person events return.

Before they get to drafting, though, the guys talk about event people putting their talents to work doing non-event things (and how maybe if event people were in charge we would have the pandemic under control), Eli's employer's return to racing, and the Bank of America Chicago Marathon Virtual Experience (and how good it is to be an Abbott World Marathon Majors).

Want to find out what the guys drafted? Want to learn why Tony was podcasting from under a blanket in a closet? We're not giving away the good stuff in the show notes, so you've gotta listen!

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and don't forget to subscribe. If you have any questions, comments, or guests you would like us to invite, please send us an email at earlycalltimepod(at)gmail.com.

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20/08/2020

🇸🇪 The International Series Continues 🇸🇪

Continuing their international interview series, Eli and Tony welcome the man with the coolest name in the running industry, Johan Tigér , Chief Technical Officer of Göteborgsvarvet , to the Pod. And what a welcome they give him, as Eli greets him by butchering both Johan's and his race's name.

Although our American listeners may not be familiar with it, Göteborgsvarvet is a big deal, the largest half marathon in the world with over 60,000 registrants in its peak year, starting in 30 waves from 1pm-4pm on what's usually a beautiful spring day in Sweden's Second City, Gothenburg (Tony can't get over what these start logistics must look like). As its CTO, Johan is charged with keeping the race ahead of the curve in all areas technology, with a major focus on registration.

Johan has an incredibly interesting background including being part of an NSA equivalent, being at the ground floor of Sweden’s Strava equivalent, , and he’s also a beast of a runner himself.

Enough words, listen to learn more!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/early-call-time-episode-16-johan-tig%C3%A9r-cto-g%C3%B6teborgsvarvet/id1504936576?i=1000488664089

̈teborg

29/07/2020

Welcome to the block, FLOTUS!

(Are we the fixer-upper on this podcasting block?)

Can’t wait for you to hear the first episode of The ! It’s a long, thoughtful talk with Barack Obama—we had some fun with this one. That conversation goes live tomorrow, but you can follow us right now and hear a preview at spoti.fi/MichelleObamaPodcast.

08/07/2020

In this episode recorded earlier this spring Tony and Eli interview one of the behind-the-scenes giants of the industry, David Grice, owner and founder of RaceWorks Incorporated. David is a good friend who worked with and showed both Eli and Tony the ropes in their early days in the industry and, despite his substantially better running pedigree, is also a member of the "I've only run one marathon" club.

The guys talk about running for University of Texas as well as David’s extensive running list of high-profile events including the Chicago Marathon, Philadelphia Marathon and USATF trials. We even hop on a time capsule and talk Austin Marathon which is where both Tony and Eli cut their teeth under David’s tutelage.

Listen for this and so much more including tales of danger while marking rural courses, driving super cars and brewing that intoxicating beverage we call . We also profess our love for the best beer garden in , Draught House Pub & Brewery.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/early-call-time-episode-11-david-grice-president-owner/id1504936576?i=1000481767340

25/06/2020

Go get it!

Attention all runners! 🔊🔊🔊 Our BibRave ambassador applications are officially OPEN! 🎉

Unlock free race entries, rep some sweet swag, and join an amazing running community! We’re accepting applications for content-creating runners (of all levels!) now until 7/3!

Apply today! ➡️ bit.ly/BibRaveAmb2020

20/06/2020

🏳️‍🌈 New Special Episode 🏳️‍🌈 Catch Michael Clemons, one of our favorite industry hustlers--a man who slings barricade by day (and sometimes night) and plays craps and eats two burgers in one night (and sometimes day). Links:

Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/MCLPriMo
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2YdWdo9
Native Buzzsprout site: https://bit.ly/MCLPriMo3

This Pride Month banter episode features special guest Michael Clemons, founder and owner of the Louisville Running Company (which Eli is still learning how to pronounce). Michael, already having completed his run before our early morning recording session, gives us a little bit of his history with running before sharing his coming out story. He goes on to define key terms from the LGBTQ+ Community, analyzes and educates us on how races, clubs and crews can be better allies to the community, and overall just helps us in walking the walk.

Michael and the Pod agree that while portalets are egalitarian in their terribleness, registration with only binary gender options should rapidly become a relic of the past. Coming at it from the viewpoint of someone whose workplace is the endurance sports events industry, Michael encourages us all to embrace sharing our pronouns even if we conform to traditional gender norms, to normalize and make it easier for those who may not. And as a sometimes road warrior, he encourages us to think about how we house folks when we bring in folks from away to work our events.

We cover so much more, including Eli's penchant* for snooty words such as referring to Track and Field as “Athletics”. Fun fact he pronounces “rodeo” as “ro-day-o”. I didn’t get to bring that up on the pod but if you’re still reading this. You’re welcome. (*Eli's fun fact: Tony called it my "pension" in our Instagram post. Which is worse, Tony, mispronouncing words or using them incorrectly?)