Map Matters

RunSignUp’s RaceJoy recently held a webinar to share information about map matters in relation to RaceJoy’s race day mobile app. Below is a summation of what was covered or you can view the recording here:

Topics covered include:

• Why Your Course Matters
• Map Adjustments
• Cell Conditions Verification
• Extra Value:
  • Custom Map Markers
  • Custom Cheer Points

Why Your Course Matters

Your course map is the foundation from which RaceJoy applies a great deal of its technology. RaceJoy uses the path, which is your course map, and then measures participants’ proximity to milestones on that path to issue progress alerts.

Features like Live Phone Tracking and GPS-Based Progress Alerts are highly dependent on the accuracy of your course map. You want to make sure you have an accurate course map loaded, or participants will appear that they are off course. Furthermore, the GPS progress alerts, which are typically sent out at every mile, include information like location, elapsed time, pace and estimated finish time. If the course map is inaccurate, this information will be wrong, leading to frustrated participants and spectators on race day. The goal with RaceJoy is to have a synchronized experience between what’s happening on the course and in the app.

The most important points on the course are the START and FINISH locations. The locations loaded in your course map should be at the exact actual locations at the race site. If these change, make sure they get adjusted in your map in RaceJoy. You can always call or send an email to support@racejoy.com on race day, if you aren’t able to access a computer.

To improve the accuracy of your map, you may need to adjust the Start and Finish, and move mile markers in RaceJoy.

Map Adjustments

It is very easy to make course changes at any time all the way through race day. All you need to do is go to your race dashboard and click the Adjust Course Map button. From there, it’s a user-friendly tool to customize and correct the path and any markers by dragging and dropping necessary points. Learn more by watching this video about the Map Building Tool.

We suggest having your lead vehicles use RaceJoy so you can track them. This will allow you to quickly address any issues with participants going off-course.

Checking Your Cell Conditions

You can use the Try RaceJoy feature to test the cell conditions on your course. This feature allows you to track yourself or someone else and provides freestyle GPS tracking. Races can use Try RaceJoy to drive the course and determine any trouble spots.

If you have known weak cell areas on the course, we can apply a Poor Cell Zone graphic overlay on the map in RaceJoy to manage expectations. RaceJoy is designed to pick up the connection once the participant enters a functioning cell area.

Getting the Most Out of Your Map

Customize Your Map

You can customize your map with various markers on the course like water stops, entertainment zones, medic tents, and sponsor locations. This can be done through your RaceJoy dashboard. You can add a label for the marker, a custom description and an icon to appear for that marker. See the webinar video for a quick how to.

Custom Cheer Points

A new feature with RaceJoy is custom Cheer Points. This allows you to add gamification to your event and is a creative way to engage with participants during the race by delivering cheer messages to participants when they reach certain geographic positions on the course. Examples include sending supportive messages at known tough spots on the course, a congratulations finisher cheer or a sponsor jingle as they pass a local sponsor. You can issue RaceJoy’s pre-loaded cheers, load in your own audio file or type in a message that is then played in audio format.

See the Map Matters video on how you can add custom Cheer Points to your course.

If you’d like more information about RaceJoy, please email info@racejoy.com or visit our website at www.racejoy.com.

 

Adroll Advertising and Tracking Updated

Your RunSignUp Race Website can now do Adroll remarketing by simply adding your Adroll Advertiser ID and Pixel ID in the RunSignUp dashboard. We are running a quick experiment on the Scott Coffee race over the next couple of weeks and will provide a fuller report on the benefits of Adroll in June.

You can activate your Adroll remarketing for your RunSignUp Race Website by simply adding your Addroll Advertiser ID and Pixel ID. You can find this information in your Adroll Dashboard (click here for more information). The two important parameters have been bolded in this example above – adroll_adv_id and adroll_pix_id. The exact values need to be copied from your Adroll Dashboard (do NOT use the parameters above).

More Ad Marketing Conversion Codes

We have added some new marketing ad conversion codes:

• Microsoft Bing
• MLive Tracking
• Shop Socially
• Townsquare Media

The current full list is on the right. If you have one that you use, let us know and we can add it. If you don’t do web marketing yet, please consider using one of the ones we already support 🙂

 

Madison Marathon Ran with RaceJoy!

Ever run a race and wish you had a little help from your friends or a way to motivate you through a rough spot? Well, that is what RaceJoy was built for and this last weekend’s Madison Marathon and Half Marathon participants made full use of it!

During the Madison Marathon weekend, nearly 3,000 people used RaceJoy and more than 4,300 motivational audio cheers were sent real-time!

Ashley D. ran her first half marathon, using RaceJoy to connect with her daughter. Here’s her RaceJoy story…

“This was my first ever run, and I went straight for the Madison Half Marathon. I also injured my hip just before mile 6, and by mile 8 and 9 I was ready to quit – at the very least not able to run anymore. Just as I was telling myself to make it until help came around, a cheer was read that had come from my daughter – and it made all the difference. Although I had to continue walking, I was able to pick up speed, and complete the 13.1 miles within a reasonable amount of my original goal. Knowing they were there waiting, I knew I couldn’t quit. Thank you for making this available to us!”

— Ashley D.

Thank you Ashley for sharing your experience and congratulations on your first half marathon!

RaceJoy issued progress updates at every mile during the full and half marathon courses. Alerts included information like current location, pace and estimated finish time. More than 37,400 GPS-based progress alerts were sent at the Madison Marathon weekend. Now that’s a lot of updates!

Another Madison Marathon runner, in his 17th marathon, used RaceJoy for the first time last weekend…

“I downloaded the app for the first time for a race this weekend. I used the progress report, cheers and tracking features for my family. It was great. I had no technical issues and I could leave my phone in the back of my belt pouch and still hear the updates and the cheers come through. This is a great tool. And the cheer feature would be awesome on courses where it is hard for spectators to get around or if you are at a race solo.”

Here at RaceJoy, we love hearing runners’ stories – share yours at rockstar@racejoy.com. And help us to spread the word by sharing your experience in the App store!

 

RaceJoy Overview Video for Race Organizers

Below is a new video we just put out that provides an overview of RaceJoy for race organizers thinking of offering advanced runner tracking for their event. The video is about 12 minutes and covers RaceJoy’s key features of live continuous tracking, GPS-based progress alerts and cheer sending. It also covers the additional value the race receives, including race operations management features, news alert system, sponsor advertising and race advertising. Many races will have a single sponsor cover the cost for RaceJoy and this video is a helpful tool to use with potential sponsors.

Click Below for the Video:

A how-to video for participants and spectators will be available soon!

Please see RaceJoy’s Website for additional information or send us an email at info@racejoy.com.

We look forward to changing the race experience with you!

Ability Tour Embraces All Abilities with RaceJoy!

This weekend on Saturday, July 16, the Ability Tour is offering RaceJoy to its participants and spectators as part of the day’s experience. The inclusive bicycle event, organized by Peckham, Inc., is dedicated to raising awareness for people of ALL abilities and embraces those with disabilities so that they too can enjoy the road. The proceeds from the Ability Tour go directly toward equipping other recreational events with the resources and accommodations to make race events more accessible for all.

This event is very unique in its effort to create an opportunity for people with disabilities to experience a cycling event that many would not be able to experience on their own. The race provides assistive technology, including handcycles, tricycles, recumbents and tandems. In addition, the event offers staff member support for those that need assistance on the course.

“The Ability Tour has taken the universal design philosophy and applied it to a bicycle tour. Accessibility for individuals who use a wheelchair or individuals with cognitive impairments has been addressed in every phase of the tour. Everyone has the opportunity to push themselves by riding with the fastest cyclists in the state to the individuals completing their first 8 mile ride with a companion cyclist.”

– John Waterman, Programs to Educate All Cyclists

The Ability Tour offers multiple course options on race day, including 8, 30 or 50-mile loops. Riders can also choose to complete the 50-mile loop twice for a century!

The courses begin at Peckham, Inc. in Lansing, MI and take scenic roads that are sure to please. The roads are very well-marked and extremely bicycle friendly. There will be SAG services and aid stations along the way for basic bike repairs, food, beverages and even Frisbees! Lunch is Chipotle!

As part of this year’s event, race organizers are adding RaceJoy as a complimentary service for participating riders and their supporting family and friends. By including RaceJoy, those who download the app and carry their phone on race day will have access to live cyclist tracking on an interactive map view. Friends and family, both at the race site and from their homes, can track participants and know exactly where they are along the course.

Participants and spectators will also receive GPS-based progress alerts that include information like pace and estimated finish time. The alerts will be sent out every 5 miles along the course. Participants have the option to post these alerts to their personal Facebook and Twitter walls in real-time.

Another popular feature available for free is Send-a-Cheer, which includes the ability to instantly send fun, pre-recorded cheers or personalized Text-to-Cheer messages any time before, during or after the race.

We are excited to be apart of this year’s Ability Tour and look forward to changing the race experience together! Good luck riders – it’s time to get your bike on!

Peckham is a nonprofit community vocational rehabilitation organization that provides job training and competitive employment opportunities for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment.

You can offer advanced tracking and cheers at your next race by creating a race in RaceJoy at no cost and in a few simple steps through RaceJoy’s Website or your RunSignUp dashboard. If you would like to provide these features to your participants for free, please see our buyout options during the RaceJoy setup.

Relay Races Hand Off RaceJoy to Runners!

We are seeing a trend of relay races – from marathon distances to multi-day 300+ miles – requesting to load their events into RaceJoy so that they can offer live runner tracking and cheers to their participants and spectators.

RaceJoy provides interactive, real-time features to help relay teams on race day and for their supporting family and friends to encourage them along the way.

One of the most popular features available is live phone tracking, which allows users to know where team members are at any given time by watching the runner’s blue dot move on an interactive course map or the location of their support vehicle. RaceJoy uses the runner’s phone as a GPS tracker. So, it is the person’s true position, versus a simulator. Many of the relay race directors like this feature as a safety precaution – especially for the longer distances where some people could run off course.

Participants can also receive NearMe alerts to notify them when their team member(s) are drawing near to them so they can prepare for the handoff.

Another popular feature used to motivate team members is the Send-a-Cheer feature where people can send fun pre-recorded audio cheer clips. Supporting fans can also use Text-to-Cheer for personalized messages that are delivered in audio format. This is very popular with long endurance relay events where you need an easy communication device with your runner. The text is converted into speech for the runner and they do not need to look at their phone while running.

The most recent relay to offer RaceJoy to its participants and spectators was the Relay Iowa this past weekend. This was the longest relay distance to offer RaceJoy to date: a relay course taking place across 3 days, 2 nights and 339 miles. Relay Iowa is known as the World’s Longest Relay Run!

The teams consist of up to 12 people running some of the most beautiful and challenging landscapes Iowa has to offer. The route took the runners from Sioux City all the way to Dubuque. The goal is not to win, not to come in first, but rather to work with the team to make it across Iowa in sixty hours or less.

Race organizers of the Relay Iowa offered RaceJoy to its participants and spectators for free, and more than 400 people took advantage of the interactive race day features! 144 participants had their phone’s tracked and received more than 850 cheers!

Participants are also able to get progress alerts through RaceJoy. Relay Iowa alerts were sent every 10 miles based on the GPS location of the runners’ phones. Nearly 2,700 progress alerts were sent over the course of the weekend.

These alerts are also able to be automatically posted to Facebook and Twitter in real-time.

Team members wishing to receive the alerts during relays are required to hand a phone off as they would a relay baton. With longer distance events, like the Relay Iowa, teams often choose to use a backup phone battery. After testing different portable phone chargers, our preferred brand is Anker.

Check out some of the upcoming relay’s offering RaceJoy:

• Rock Lobster (free tracking)– Takes place in Bar Harbor, ME from June 24-25; Course is 200 miles

• The Fred Running Relays (free tracking)– Takes place in Comstock Park, MI from August 5-6; Course options include a 200 mile relay and 100 mile relay

• Peak to Brew (free tracking)– Takes place in Wilmington, NY from August 12-13; Course options include a 238 mile “full” relay and a 115 mile “half” relay

• Burning River (99 cents)– Takes place in Willoughby, OH on August 6; Course options include a 100 mile, 50 mile and Back 50 mile

Relays offer a great way to achieve something with others and participate in a race you might not do on your own. There is nothing like that team spirit of accomplishing a goal together and encouraging one another along the way. It is great to see the reception from the relay race organizers and their use of RaceJoy to help build this team spirit and bring the runners together on race day! Go Get Em!

If you’d like to offer RaceJoy to your participants and spectators, you can easily get your race loaded through RaceJoy’s Website or on your race’s RunSignUp dashboard. We require a two-week minimum load time. Buyout options are also available.