John Conley and Jim Marino Named 2006 MarathonFoto/Road Race Management Race Directors of the Year from: Road Race Management October 13, 2006
The ten-member committee charged with selecting the 2006
MarathonFoto/Road Race Management Race Director of the Year selected two
winners after a tie vote between the two finalists.
John Conley
(Director of the AT&T Austin Marathon) and Jim Marino (Director of the
Blue Cross Broad Street Run) are Race Directors of the Year. Both were
honored at the Road Race Management Race Directors’ Meeting and Trade Show
in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on October 12th. The award is presented by
Running Times magazine.
Described by Bill Rodgers as “the Gold
Medal of race directing,” the award is determined by a vote of a diverse
ten-member committee comprised of race directors, media representatives,
sponsors, and elite athletes.
“Our two winners this year both
epitomize dedicated and talented leadership of their events. John Conley,
director of the Austin Marathon, rose from being an asthmatic child to
completing 16 marathons before entering the race directing world. Today
his event stands as the 16th largest marathon in the country thanks to his
dedication and leadership. Jim Marino led the Blue Cross Broad Street Run
to double in size from 6,742 participants in 1998 to 15,389 in 2006. The
event ranks as the second largest 10 miler in the U.S. and has been named
the Best Sporting Event in Philadelphia by a local magazine,” said Phil
Stewart, editor and publisher of Road Race Management, in making the
presentations.
The MarathonFoto/Road Race Management Race Director
of the Year award is made annually to recognize and promote excellence in
race directing. Nominees were judged on several factors, including overall
ability, reputation of race, creativity and organizational ability.
Previous recipients have been: Rafael Acosta (World Best 10K), Steve
Bosley (Bolder Boulder), Julia Emmons (Peachtree Road Race), Ed Froehlich
(Quad-City Times Bix 7), Chuck Galford (Cascade Run Off), Susan Harmeling
(Bank of America Gasparilla Distance Classic), Jon Hughes (Disney
Marathon), Scott Keenan (Grandma’s Marathon), Fred Lebow (New York City
Marathon), Dave McGillivray (Boston Marathon), Jeanette Park (Gasparilla
Distance Classic), Carey Pinkowski (LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon), Earle
Reed (Utica Boilermaker), Bill Reef (Bolder Boulder), George Regan
(Freihofer’s Run for Women), Tracey Russell (Ukrops Monument Avenue 10K),
Steve Shostrom (Steamboat Classic), Allan Steinfeld (New York City
Marathon) and Harold and Louise Tinsley (Rocket City
Marathon).
Road Race Management (www.rrm.com) publishes a newsletter and
comprehensive Directory for race and industry professionals and conducts a
prestigious annual national race director meeting and trade show in Ft.
Lauderdale, Florida each year. MarathonFoto is the world’s largest race
photography company (www.marathonfoto.com). Running
Times is a national magazine known as the runner’s best source (www.runningtimes.com).
