The unsung heroes of multisport: Race Directors
What does it take to be a good race director? (And why do they do it?)

If there was one lesson we learned from the pandemic, it was that what makes us triathletes is participating in races. You can train as much as you want, but until you slap on that race number and hear the announcer call your name as you collapse at the finish line, you are not a triathlete. Just like you can practice a musical instrument as much as you want, but until you’ve stood on stage in front of an audience (whether that is of two or 200,000) you’re somebody making noise and annoying the neighbourhood’s dogs.
The person chiefly responsible for your transition from compulsive exerciser to triathlete is the race director. They make the magic of multisport happen. It’s time they got their due. Before we delve into the qualities that all race directors have (or should have), let’s sort out the different types of race directors.
A conversation with Georgina Women’s Triathlon race director Paolina Allan
Types of race directors
There are three types of race directors, depending on who owns the race.
- The first type of race director is the owner/operator. This person both owns the race and handles most of the tasks required to stage it. This is your typical small business model.
- The second type of race director is the hired gun. This person is either a salaried employee or a contractor who takes on the responsibility of managing the event but does not have any skin in the game (non-owner).
- The third type is the volunteer race director. This person works for a charity or non-profit organization like a triathlon club or community service group. The entry fees cover race expenses, and profits go to the charity or club. The racer director does not get paid.
Regardless of the type of race director, each one requires a superhuman set of personal qualities to ensure that a race is a success from start to finish. Here are some of those qualities.
Quality 1: Organizational skills
To become an effective project manager, you could go to university for four or five years, graduate, pay your dues at an entry-level job, take the pricey and expensive PMP course, pass the test and then move to another city to begin your new career. Or you could just organize a triathlon.
There’s no doubt that the key quality all successful race directors possess is an ability to oversee a project from start to finish and then improve on it in further iterations.
There’s an ocean of tasks to be completed months before the first waves of swimmers disappear into the horizon or the first complaint about Gatorade that is too warm, coffee that is too cold, or hills that are too steep is received.
Just a few of the tasks in organizing a new race may include: plotting it on a map, determining if it is worth doing and if it has the required infrastructure, securing funding, finalizing the courses and transition areas, getting permits from local authorities and sanctioning bodies, choosing a date for the race that won’t conflict with other triathlons or community events, publicizing the race, processing race entries, ordering supplies, then getting sponsors, workers and volunteers. And, after all of that, Mother Nature may or may not allow you to put on your race as you had planned.
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Quality 2: Stoicism
If something in your heart is urging you to run for public office, before you put your name on the ballot, try being a race director. You will develop a thicker skin than a stegosaurus and will quickly learn the intricacies of local government.
Like most good work that happens on Earth, much of the toil of a race director goes unnoticed. Unless something goes wrong. When an athlete is disgruntled (rightfully or wrongfully), the name of the sport changes from triathlon to pin the blame on the race director.
Whether it be boring finisher’s race t-shirts, to ineffective signage, to cold pizza at the finish line, the ire of unhappy racers usually lands in the lap of the race director.
A lot of the things that make for an unhappy racer are not the race director’s fault, but they have to accept responsibility (and be gracious while doing so), lest a social media storm is unleashed by a disgruntled racer. Angie Woodhead, the owner/operator of Dynamic Race Events, held Canada’s first-ever mixed-relay event in Oliver last summer. One of the complaints was that she should have had a jumbotron to let team members know when their fellow athletes were about to come in.
According to Canada Multisports owner and race director, Trevor Sol, it is the “unseasoned athlete” that often proves to be the most problematic. That is because, he says, the first-timer doesn’t know what to expect and they are happy just to be racing, while the “seasoned athletes” (roughly in the sport for five or more seasons), have a wide range of experience to draw from, so when things go sideways, they are mature enough to take it in stride.
Quality 3: Tactfulness and Empathy
Triathlon race directors don’t need to have diplomatic skills to establish a race in a new community, but they do if they ever want to hold it again.
During COVID-19, you could hear the collective sigh of relief from some communities in North America that were spared the subjugation of hundreds or thousands of well-meaning, but self-absorbed athletes.
Race directors must be diplomats. They (and members of the local government and business community) know a race can provide financial benefits for some members of a community, but those who don’t see a financial return for their inconvenience (real or imagined) are voters as well. The race director needs to have Henry Kissinger-like qualities to win over residents and civic leaders, not only to get permission to hold the event but also to draw volunteers and sponsors.
In addition to having to endure members of the host community, race directors also have to gracefully endure their athletes, whether it’s getting a stream of e-mails about what the water temperature will be (starting on St. Patrick’s Day), or any other question or comment. Most race directors show incredible empathy, especially to first-time athletes, who are generally on a pretty steep learning curve as they pull into transition for the first time.
Quality 4: Resiliency
As well-organized as a race director can be, there’s a pit of potential misfortune beyond a race director’s control. Take the case of North Vancouver’s Susie Ernsting. Susie and her husband Mark run a company called M-1 Sports Management.
As part of Ernsting’s range of contracts, she is the race director for Ironman Canada. She took the role in 2019, right after the race was moved from Whistler back to Penticton. Since taking over as race director, the race has only been run once.
Months after Ernsting started her tenure, along came COVID, which took the race off the books for a couple of years. The race was held in 2022, but last year’s Ironman was cancelled two weeks out due to forest fires. Her hopes and her planning went up in flames just like many of the trees and some of the homes in the Okanagan.
It takes a person with a deep well of resiliency to keep coming back year after year after year, trying to hold a race, but realizing Mother Nature holds the cards and only reveals them at the most inopportune time.
Conclusion: Leave only gratitude….not gel wrappers
Race directors and athletes share many similarities. Both roles demand tremendous preparation, hard work, and the ability to think and act quickly to overcome the sport’s challenges. It’s a partnership that celebrates our common love for multisport. And like in any relationship by treating each other with admiration and respect, we help to ensure the triathlon’s future. Offering a race director encouragement on race day or in a post-race email shows appreciation and supports the triathlon community, allowing us all to continue participating in a sport that has so many life-long benefits.
Kevin Heinze is a regular contributor to Triathlon Magazine. This story originally appeared in the July issue of the magazine.