Teams are good

Ian Campbell
September 04, 2025

Before I realized that running is replacing religion I was confused about how an individual sport could bring so many people together.

The truth is, running’s accessibility makes it easy for anyone to participate and the social element of the sport is dramatically underrated by those who do not run. All races tend to be social events, but races with teams tend to take it to the next level.

There are many advantages to including teams in your race like:

Organic registration growth: Participants become team captains, invite friends and family, and naturally grow your race.
Raise more money: Team leaderboards and peer-to-peer fundraising pages drive donations. People give to people, not just causes.
Build community & make race day more fun: Team members bring energy with matching shirts, banners, group photos, and traditions that keep people coming back.

Time and time again I get calls from race directors who are frustrated by complicated team setups. Confusing rules, clunky flows, and a bad user experience leads to lower participation, fewer donations and volunteers who want to pull their hair out. They love it when I tell them how simple we make it.

At Run The Day, creating and managing teams is not quite as easy as pushing an easy button, but it is damn close.

-Ian

ICYMI: A Brief History of Races

Humans have come a long way since we ran to survive as hunter gatherers. Now, we set up elaborate finish lines and handout fancy medals. Earlier this year, I wrote a short piece exploring the history of races over the past 10,000 years.

Illustration of Pheidippides, the ancient Greek messenger, running through the countryside in armor after the Battle of Marathon.

Almost 500 years before Jesus Christ, a Greek messenger ran about 25 miles from Marathon to Athens to deliver news of the Greek’s victory over the Persians in the Battle of Marathon.