How to Organize a Marathon
A successfully planned and executed marathon can raise public awareness, and money, for a worthy cause.The specific logistics of planning a marathon vary depending on the type of event. However, many of the details involved in planning and hosting less popular types of marathons are similar to those involved in planning a run or walk. This article explains how to organize a marathon.
Before the Marathon
Decide on the main purpose and objective of the marathon
Once you’ve identified a charity, entity, or cause to support, choose a name for the corporate event that is descriptive and easy to remember. Be sure to contact the organization you will be conducting the event for to see if they have any specific guidelines that you need to adhere to.
Select a date and a location for your event. If the location is a popular one, you may need to have either a few backup dates or back up locations in mind.For a run or walk, select a course and carefully measure distances. Have both a short and a long version to accommodate participants of varying degrees of fitness. Be attentive to obstacles, challenges, or safety hazards that may exist in the course and plan accordingly.
Develop a budget for your event.Research similar events to determine estimated costs of various activities that could be included in your event.
Related Post – How to Avoid Common Time Corporate Management Mistakes
Determine how your event will be financed and how much it will cost. Be sure to include administrative costs such as advertising, banners for the start and finish lines, numbers for participants, refreshments, trash cans, portable bathroom facilities, and awards.Calculate how much money you will have to raise and identify potential fundraising options, including estimates of how much you expect to raise from each funding source. If you plan to solicit large contributions in the form of corporate sponsorships, start discussions with the appropriate corporate representatives as early as possible as these negotiations often take time.
Determine what licenses or other permissions you will need. Find out what type of medical and/or liability insurance you will need and make sure that you have sufficient insurance coverage prior to the event.
You may need to contact the local police and fire department, public works, the parks and recreation department, and private property owners.
Promote and market your event
Use flyers, posters, signs, brochures, word of mouth and press releases to spread the word. Take advantage of social networking by creating buzz for your marathon networking websites. You may even want to set up a blog or website to publicize your event and to share up-to-date information with supporters.
Prepare an event day checklist of all of the items that need to be taken care of that day. Assign volunteers to each item and make sure each of them knows what they will be responsible for during the event.
Discuss any last-minute details with the police or other officials who plan to be on-site.
Send thank you notes to sponsors and volunteers. Use the same social networking venues and a local press release or news article to publicly thank participants, sponsors, and volunteers as well.
Calculate the total amount of funds raised from all sources minus expenses and submit the funds to the organization.Calculate the total amount of funds raised from all sources minus expenses and submit the funds to the organization.
