Keeping Grassroots Races Alive with John Yelland
Just under a year after our first conversation, race director John Yelland returns to the UKRunChat Podcast to talk about the realities of organising grassroots events and why community matters more than ever.
John is the founder of Mad Hatter Sports Events in Cornwall and creator of the unique Hourglass Race, a "front yard ultra" where runners tackle two-mile laps against a steadily shrinking time limit.
In this episode we discuss the challenges facing race organisers, from rising costs and late entries to volunteer recruitment and social media marketing. We also explore what makes grassroots events special, why runners continue to return to Hourglass, and what participants can do to support the races they love.
In this episode:- How the last year has been for Mad Hatter Sports Events
- Why grassroots races are facing increasing challenges
- The impact of late race entries on organisers
- The difficulty of promoting events through social media
- Why creating an atmosphere matters as much as the race itself
- The importance of volunteers and community support
- How Hourglass differs from a traditional Backyard Ultra
- Common mistakes first-time Hourglass runners make
- The strategies that seem to work best in the race
- Why some ultra runners are intimidated by the format
- What runners can do to help keep local races alive
Hourglass is a unique endurance challenge held at the Royal Cornwall Showground. Runners complete two-mile laps, starting with a 30-minute time limit. Each lap reduces by one minute until participants can no longer complete the distance within the allotted time.
The event takes place on 27 July and is organised by Mad Hatter Sports Events.