The ECT Pod is back and better than ever after a longer than expected Eli-had-room-for-nothing-in-his-life-outside-of-planning-the-Twin-Cities-Marathon-and-then-a-new-Turkey-Trot enforced hiatus! And the first episode after our break is a doozy--an exit interview with outgoing Twin Cities In Motion Executive Director Virginia Brophy Achman (who also happens to be Eli's boss).In her almost quarter-century in the industry, Virginia has witnessed a lot of "beginnings"--the beginning of Running U...
After a bit of a hiatus Tony and Eli are back with a bang, with an in-depth interview with one of the most entrepreneurial people in the industry, Ragnar Co-Founder and CEO Tanner Bell! From a project that started while Tanner and his co-founder were undergrads and thought it was just something that would look good on a grad school application, Ragnar has grown into one of the most successful brands in the endurance events industry.Tanner gives Early Risers a behind the scenes look at all asp...
In a special Earth Day episode, Eli and Tony couldn't be more excited to have Council for Responsible Sport Executive Director Shelley Villalobos on the pod for an interview. The guys first find out a little about Shelley's athletic background--which includes Division I experience in a non-running sport--and how "she resisted running as long as she possibly could" until finishing her first marathon at the 2021 Bank of America Chicago Marathon (yet another ECT Pod guest who's a member of the "...
In this special mini-episode, Tony caught up with almost twenty industry leaders at the Running USA conference last weekend in Florida and asked them what it meant to be back together with their industry peers at the Running USA conference. Enjoy--and see you next year in Denver!If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you don't ever want to miss an episode be sure to subscribe. If you have any questions, com...
In this episode, the guys discuss how events and event production companies can retain their talented people after as the industry emerges from a tough couple of years--they talk work-life balance, opportunities for growth and avoiding getting stale, and how sometimes event production people need to just be allowed the time to do what they need to do.Tony and Eli also discuss which types of events are seemingly emerging from the pandemic unscathed and whether there are some types of events th...
In the Season 3 season premier of Early Call Time, Tony and Eli interview Michael Luchsinger, President and Co-founder of Event Southwest, a Dallas-based event production company that works on some of the biggest races in the country (including the Houston, Chicago, and Dallas marathons) and also happens to be where Tony used to work.Michael tells the guys his intergenerational event production story, including old school stories about tear-tag spindle timing and when his father sold his busi...
After a long hiatus, the guys return for their final episode of 2022! Want to know why the pod went dark for so long? Then you've gotta listen, because they discuss that--and also how it was related to Eli's facial hair getting crazy for a little while. They discuss Eli's lessons learned from the return of the Twin Cities Marathon and any pandemic-related changes he may want to keep, and Tony getting on the mic at the November Project Summit and how events can--and need to--learn from how tha...
In this month's interview episode Tony and Eli consider themselves incredibly privileged to have on the Race Director of the first major American Marathon to take place since the pandemic, Greg Haapala of Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, MN.After sharing that he is a fellow member of the "One Marathon Club," stumping Tony on what NIRCA (which he helped to found) is, and letting us all know how Grandma's Marathon got its name, Greg shares the real nitty-gritty details of what it took to make Gran...
In this month's interview episode Tony and Eli have on a man who is such a big fan of the podcast that he once sponsored it, Race Roster CEO and General Manager of Asics Running Apps Alex Vander Hoeven. Alex tells the guys about the early days of Race Roster, and how he and his fellow founders originally intended to start a race, not a technology company. They talk about how Race Roster's purchase by Asics happened at a fortuitous time, as it has allowed Race Roster to invest in its products ...
In the only episode the guys will be dropping this month, Eli puts his cards on the table and admits that even after talking about it for the better part of a half-hour last episode he still doesn't understand what Tony's new job is. It's only when Tony puts it in terms of Mad Men that the wheels (or, rather should we say, the carousel) start turning for Eli.Beyond that, the guys hot wash the recent tragedy at a recent ultramarathon in mountainous terrain in Gansou Province, China, in which 2...
In April's banter episode, Tony and Eli talk about a "triple crown" of Boston topics: the 70,000-runner virtual Boston Marathon, the additional $25 COVID fee being applied to the Boston Marathon registration fee this year, and, most importantly, and a slick Nike/Boston Red Sox collaboration honoring the Boston Marathon but costing consumers a pretty penny.The guys close by discussing some big news for Tony, but we're not giving any spoilers about that in the show notes--wanna find out, then y...
In their April interview episode Tony and Eli welcome Chicago Event Management Chief Operating Officer Mike Nishi to the ECT Pod. Mike was the man they had in mind when they created pod, and we can promise this episode lived up to their lofty expectations!Mike gives the guys a deep history lesson, stretching back to his first childhood experience with the Chicago Marathon (and the nature of that experience will definitely surprise you). He shares how he went from working as a gofer for the Ch...
In March's interview episode Tony and Eli welcome Caroline Fitzgerald, Vice President of Partnerships & Runner Experience at P3R and fellow member of the "one marathon club," to the pod. Caroline drops tons of knowledge about how P3R, the organization the guys dubbed "Most Likely to Succeed" back in Season 1, effectively integrates its operations teams with its partnerships and experience team to provide great experiences for their runners. From the Racing Pierogis to Pittsburgh Dad, Caro...
In this month's banter episode, the guys start by wishing each other a happy podiversary, as it has now been over a year since we recorded the first ECT Pod! A huge thank you to all of our friends, guests, and listeners who have gotten us this far. And if it's okay with y'all, we're still feeling it, so we're just gonna keep on doing this thing.Tony and Eli check in on their over/under wagers, none of which are resolved yet. But data points are starting to emerge, some of them courtesy of the...
In this special Valentine's Day (or is it Galentine's Day?) episode the guys hand off the mics to the women who tolerate them, Leslie Wise and Christina Yamanaka, to talk about what life is like when you're married to an RD. They talk about race week traditions, being supportive during busy times, and how at times having an RD for a spouse means you're like ships passing in the night.If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to p...
In this week's episode the guys have on the one and only David Katz! The founder and owner of Finish Line Road Race Technicians, David is one of the world's foremost experts on the technical side of road racing. He has not just measured marathon courses and served as an official for world-class events such as the Olympic Trials, Olympic Games, and Eliud Kipchoge's Breaking 2, but also helped to create modern road race standards by serving on the original AAU Standards Committee in the early d...
Eli and Tony are back! The first episode of Season 2 of Early Call Time starts with the guys catching up about how they spent their nearly month-long break from podcasting (which, in Eli's case, included going on a mass non-industry running audience about directing large events on the Strength Running Podcast). They then talk a little about what their hopes for the pod this year (some tight explainer episodes! And also a sponsor!) before opining about some good news for one ...
In the season finale, the guys start with a toast before discussing the industry news of the day: NYRR leadership turnover, mid-sized races returning (here's to you, Space Coast Marathon and Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon!), and the upcoming elite-only Marathon Project (listen to Episode 28, our interview with Big River Running CEO Matt Helbig, to learn what has gone into making this event happen).Tony and Eli then share what they've learned this year as well as their hopes for next yea...
In this month's interview episode Tony and Eli get to talk to Matt Helbig, CEO of Big River Running, whose Big River Race Management arm is producing The Marathon Project, an elite-only, 100-runner marathon in Arizona on December 20 which the guys have talked about before on the pod and are very excited about.After the guys learn a little about Matt's early days in the industry (which include a collegiate connection with one of his partners in The Marathon Project, Hoka One One Northern Arizo...
The guys begin November's banter episode discussing Start Line Impact, a grassroots movement spearheaded by friend of the pod and past guest Kirsten Fleming to galvanize the industry's many players to call attention to running events' positive impacts on their community and the challenges they face right now (want to get involved? Fill out this form). Discussion of Start Line Impact devolves into Tony deciding he needs to start an industry motorcycle gang called "Herd of Cats" and Eli boning ...