Nate DeMercurio Portfolio

While many people across the country, and the world, witnessed the final stage of the Amgen Tour of California weave through the streets of Los Angeles on Sunday, the general public had the opportunity to ride the 5-mile closed circuit course before the professional riders took over. Sponsored by Nissan, the Ride Before the Pros was free to participants and allowed anyone with a bicycle the experience of crossing the official race finish line. This appears to be a growing trend for events with streets closures, which can increase participation and exposure while maximizing permitting costs. In this case, the Amgen Tour of California gave spectators a chance to participate in the event at no cost, encouraging people to stay and watch the race which drives higher attendance and greater on-site sponsor value, and generally creates a more exciting event atmosphere. In other cases, participatory events are seeing value in the efficiencies of adding bike tours prior to traditional running ...

Anyone who's produced or managed an endurance event knows how much time, effort and resources go into creating a memorable experience for the athletes. What if you could get more out of the investment by offering more options to athletes? Often times in longer and larger events, the selection of distances is focused one or two - marathon and half-marathon - or in most cases of Ironman, only one. There are certain exceptions, of course, but a new triathlon series is looking to make multiple distances more of the rule. The HITS Triathlon Series began with an inaugural event in Palm Springs at the end of 2011, but with an ambitiously full schedule for 2012. There will be 12 events throughout the first full year and the series will culminate with a championship back in Palm Springs in December. The series is branded to be inclusive of all types of athletes, which is precisely why they offer five different distances over two days: open, sprint, olympic, half (70.3), and full (140.6).  ...

Two events, the Denver Triathlon and the C Different Triathlon, announced earlier this week they would be offering "race reimbursement insurance" for athletes in 2012. They are the latest races to partner with 365Competitors, LLC, to provide athletes a guaranteed reimbursement if unable to compete due to injury or illness. The premise is fairly simple: events partner with 365Competitors for a fee tied to race registration and events pass along the cost and benefit to athletes of insuring their money. From the athlete point-of-view : This seems like a no-brainer, great idea. If athletes are going to shell out $85-$150 for a race, what's a few more dollars to insure they can take advantage of the experience or they get their money back? Paying $85 with the risk of losing $85, versus paying $95 with no risk of loss certainly seems appealing - athletes would be much less hesitant to register, even at a heightened cost, for a event that offers the opportunity to get a refund i...