At Trivium Racing, Libby and I (Richard) strive to put on top-notch events inside and outside of the Triad. Trivium Racing’s main goal has always been to share our passion by putting on top-notch events that enhance what’s already happening in the bigger local community. We are not in the business of making a buck off a less than desirable product. We always want to be very open about our thoughts, goals, and ideas.
When Trivium Racing was first born, we knew that one of our goals was to bring back a marathon to Greensboro. At the time Winston-Salem and Greensboro were two of the three largest cities in the US without a road marathon. From the beginning we knew it would be our biggest challenge, both financially and logistically, as a company, but we were, and still are, up for the fight.
Our first year, 2013, was a great success! Unfortunately there were complications with putting on the Elon – Greensboro version in year two that meant we would not get permission from all six municipalities we crossed until late spring for a fall marathon. This would make it much more difficult to put on an event we would be proud of. In year two of the Greensboro Marathon, attendance slipped a bit but we were excited at the responses we got from post race comments and surveys we sent out regarding the event. With this bolstering our resolve we settled in for a third year and hopefully some significant growth.
Since year one Trivium Racing has put on several other events in the area and further afield. In our first two years of the Greensboro Marathon, any profit from those other events has gone to pay for the large bill incurred by an event of this magnitude. In year two we borrowed against future events to guarantee the race’s success. As it stands currently, The Greensboro Marathon is significantly behind last year’s registrations and Trivium Racing is being forced to make some pretty big decisions about the future of the event in the coming months.
We have put our heart and soul and all of our energy into making this event successful. We don’t sit back and enjoy a payday until all of our racers, partners, and sponsors are beyond happy. Since leaving traditional employment and moving into small business ownership, Libby and Richard have taken a 75% salary cut and worked other odd jobs just to make sure that the majority of the profit from our events goes back to our participants and charity partners. We say all this to keep with our policy of honesty and to let you know that we have extended ourselves about as far as we can go on this event, but we will never diminish the quality of the finished product
In the next several weeks we will be forced to make reductions in some ways to the Marathon to secure a fourth year for Trivium Racing as a whole. The first cut we are being forced to make is the removal of our cash prize purse. As a former professional triathlete I would love if all of my events could have a cash prize with giant checks because having elite athletes push their limits on our courses is a great opportunity. This change will affect the least amount of participants and will still allow us to put on the same quality event that is always our main goal.
We are not sure exactly why our numbers have dropped in the third year, but low attendance seems to be an indication of either a dislike of the course, too many similar events in the area, or dissatisfaction of our production of the event. We have heard some say the course itself is too hilly. We have looked into the possibility of a point-to-point event from Winston Salem to Greensboro in 2016 and other options. We love this event and would still like to see it grow to become a staple event in the area, but we would love to get some feedback from the community on whether you think this event is a keeper or not.
As it stands right now, we will do everything we can to make the 2015 event happen, but in all honesty the event is under stress. We promise to be fiscally responsible with the registration and sponsorship dollars coming into the event. If however numbers stay at their current low levels we will not be able to afford the $125,000+ bill that comes with an event of this magnitude. We have big goals for 2016 and want to make sure we are around to bring more great events to the area. We have never cancelled an event in the Triad due to low attendance (even if that event has cost us money). If it comes to that with the marathon, we will not do so lightly.
Right now we are focused completely on hosting the best 2015 event. Expect great food, music, amazing volunteers, a beautiful course showcasing our great city, awesome awards and giant medals to celebrate your giant success!
We love our Running Community,
Richard Swor