More Women Want to Take Part. Is Your Event Making It Easy to Say Yes?

From attracting more women to improving participant experience, Eventrac helps endurance event organisers market smarter, communicate better, build loyalty and grow participation.

45 minutes in a toilet queue. Missing the start. 

A recent Cycling Weekly story about a rider at Mallorca 312 highlighted a problem that goes far beyond cycling.

The issue wasn't simply a shortage of toilets.

It was what that experience said to the participant:

Had anyone really thought about her experience?

That's an important question for every endurance event organiser.

Whether you organise running events, cycling sportives, triathlons, open-water swims, duathlons, obstacle races or other mass participation events, attracting more women isn't simply about getting them to click "enter".

It's about making them feel that your event is for them.

And that starts long before they arrive at the start line.

The opportunity is much bigger than cycling

Cycling has a particular challenge when it comes to female participation, but it isn't alone.

Across endurance sport, some women would like to take part but don't necessarily see themselves reflected in traditional event marketing.

They may be worried about:

• Whether the event is suitable for their ability

• Whether they'll know anyone there

• Facilities and changing arrangements

• Cut-off times

• Safety

• What happens if they can't finish

• Whether they'll feel comfortable taking part

• What equipment they need

• Whether the event is "too serious"

• Whether they'll be the only woman in their group

These aren't necessarily reasons someone will tell you they aren't entering.

Often, they simply don't enter.

That's why the participant experience starts before the participant becomes a participant.

The decision happens before race day

Nobody decides to enter a marathon, sportive, triathlon or open-water swim on the morning of the event.

The decision happens weeks or months earlier.

It might start with a Facebook post.

A recommendation from a friend.

A Google search.

A photograph.

An email.

Your website.

And in those first few minutes, a potential participant is deciding whether they can see themselves taking part.

That's why your marketing matters.

If every photograph shows elite-looking athletes pushing themselves to the absolute limit, you may unintentionally tell less experienced participants:

"This isn't for people like me."

The same applies to the language you use.

"The toughest."

"The hardest."

"Brutal."

"Extreme."

"Only the strongest survive."

That may work brilliantly for some events.

But it won't necessarily appeal to someone considering their first challenge.

The answer isn't to remove the challenge.

It's to show the whole experience.

The people.

The atmosphere.

The achievement.

The friendships.

The scenery.

The support.

The feeling of crossing the finish line.

This is where Eventrac can help

Eventrac supports organisers across endurance sport, including running, cycling, triathlon and other mass participation events.

And one of the biggest advantages of using an integrated platform is that you can do much more than simply take an entry.

You can build a relationship with your participant.

1. Make your website part of the conversion process

Your event website is often the first serious interaction someone has with your event.

If it looks dated, isn't mobile-friendly or makes people search for basic information, you've created unnecessary barriers.

Eventrac provides organisers with event websites and landing pages built around their own brand, giving them a place to explain the event properly.

That could include:

• Route information

• Distances

• Difficulty

• Cut-off times

• Facilities

• What to expect

• FAQs

• Parking and travel

• Support information

• Information for first-timers

• What participants need to bring

The more uncertainty you remove, the easier it becomes for someone to say yes.

And that applies whether they're signing up for a 10K, marathon, sportive, triathlon or open-water swim.

2. Stop treating every participant the same

A first-time marathon runner doesn't need the same message as someone running their tenth.

A first-time triathlete has different questions from an experienced Ironman athlete.

And someone considering their first sportive may need reassurance that an experienced cyclist doesn't.

So why send them the same email?

Eventrac allows organisers to use their participant data to segment audiences and communicate with different groups.

You can target people based on their event, previous participation and other relevant participant information.

For example:

First-timers: "What to expect at your first event."

Returning participants: "Ready for the next challenge?"

Previous participants who haven't returned: "We'd love to see you back."

Short-distance participants: "Thinking about moving up to the longer route?"

Women who have previously participated: "Bring a friend and join us again."

The technology isn't the point.

Better conversation is the point.

3. Make it easier to bring a friend

For many people, particularly those new to endurance sport, entering alone can be a barrier.

Entering with a friend is different.

"We're doing it together."

That's where Eventrac's referral and rewards functionality can help.

Organisers can create referral campaigns that reward participants when people they refer go on to enter.

The reward could be a discount, merchandise, money off another event or another incentive that works for the organiser.

It turns your existing participants into part of your marketing team.

And it can work across endurance sports.

A runner brings another runner.

A triathlete brings a training partner.

A cyclist brings a friend.

An open-water swimmer brings someone from their swimming group.

Instead of constantly trying to find new audiences, you give the people who already love your event a reason to introduce it to someone else.

4. Keep your participants engaged between events

One of the biggest missed opportunities in endurance sport is the gap between events.

Entries close.

The event happens.

Everyone goes quiet.

Then, months later:

"Entries are now open!"

But your participants haven't stopped being interested in endurance sport.

They're training.

They're racing elsewhere.

They're talking to friends.

They're looking for their next challenge.

Eventrac's built-in email marketing gives organisers a way to stay connected throughout the year.

Share training content.

Tell participant stories.

Highlight clubs.

Promote other events.

Celebrate achievements.

Introduce new routes.

Announce early-bird entries.

Talk about your charity partners.

Show people what is happening behind the scenes.

You're no longer just selling an entry once a year.

You're building a relationship.

5. Give participants a reason to come back

Getting someone to enter once is good.

Getting them to enter year after year is much better.

Eventrac includes a built-in automated loyalty points programme that can help organisers encourage repeat participation.

Someone might start with a 5K.

Then move to a 10K.

A first-time triathlete might progress from a sprint to a standard-distance event.

A cyclist might start with 25 miles and eventually tackle 60.

A swimmer might move from a 1K event to 5K.

Your events can become a customer journey rather than a collection of individual transactions.

Loyalty gives participants another reason to continue that journey with you.

6. Give participants answers when they need them

Questions are inevitable.

What time do I need to arrive?

Where do I park?

What do I need to bring?

Can I transfer my place?

What happens if I'm injured?

What's the cut-off?

Where are the toilets?

Can I change my distance?

What happens if the weather is bad?

For organisers, answering these questions repeatedly can consume huge amounts of time.

For participants, waiting for a response can create frustration.

Eventrac's AI Participant Support Agent can provide instant answers to common questions using information specific to your event.

It can be presented within your event experience and branded for your organisation.

That means participants can get answers when they need them, while your team spends less time answering the same questions over and over again.

And that's particularly valuable for first-time participants who may have more questions than experienced competitors.

7. Ask your participants what they really thought

The Mallorca 312 story provides an obvious lesson.

The organiser needs to know how participants experience the event.

Not just how many entered.

Not just how many finished.

But what did they actually think?

What nearly stopped them entering?

What worried them?

What did they love?

What would they change?

Would they recommend the event?

Would they return?

With Eventrac, post-event review and feedback requests can be automated.

After the event, participants can automatically receive an email asking them for feedback and a review.

You don't have to remember to send a survey.

It happens as part of the event journey.

And the feedback can help you improve the next event.

If participants tell you that the event wasn't clear enough for beginners, change the website.

If women repeatedly mention facilities, look at them.

If people say they wanted more communication before the event, improve your pre-event emails.

If participants love the atmosphere, make that a bigger part of your marketing.

Listen. Learn. Improve. Repeat.

8. Use your participant data to grow your events

This is perhaps the biggest opportunity.

Your participant database isn't just a list of names.

It contains information about the people who have already shown an interest in what you do.

Who entered?

Who returned?

Who hasn't returned?

Which events did they enter?

Which distances did they choose?

Who refers friends?

Who engages with your communications?

Who might be ready for another challenge?

With Eventrac, these relationships can sit within the same platform as your event management and marketing.

That gives organisers a much clearer picture of their participants and creates opportunities for cross-selling, retention, referrals and targeted marketing.

Instead of constantly starting again from zero, you can grow the audience you already have.

It's not about creating "women's events"

This is an important distinction.

The answer isn't necessarily to create separate events for women.

It's about making mainstream endurance events more welcoming and accessible to everyone.

A better website helps everyone.

Clearer information helps everyone.

Better communication helps everyone.

Faster answers help everyone.

Better facilities help everyone.

Listening to participants helps everyone.

And giving people a reason to bring their friends benefits everyone.

Women may be the group we're particularly focused on here, but the underlying lesson applies across your entire participant base.

The 45-minute queue is the reminder

That 45-minute toilet queue at Mallorca 312 is memorable because it's so avoidable.

But there are hundreds of smaller barriers that can influence whether someone enters an endurance event.

Some are physical.

Some are practical.

Some are psychological.

Some are created by poor communication.

And some are simply caused by organisers not knowing what their participants actually want.

You can't fix what you don't know about.

And you can't build a better participant experience if you only think about the participant on race day.

Eventrac: helping organisers grow, not just take entries

That's the difference between an entry system and an event growth platform.

Eventrac gives endurance event organisers tools to help them:

Attract new participants.

Convert interest into entries.

Communicate with different audiences.

Support participants before and after their event.

Reward referrals and loyalty.

Retain participants and encourage them to return.

Collect reviews and automated post-event feedback.

Learn from participant behaviour and opinions.

And ultimately:

Grow their events.

Whether you organise a running race, cycling sportive, triathlon, duathlon, open-water swim or another endurance event, the principle is the same.

People don't just buy an entry.

They buy an experience.

And the better that experience is from the first time they discover your event to the moment they finish, the more likely they are to enter, recommend you and come back.

More women want to take part. More people want to take part.

The opportunity for endurance event organisers is enormous.

The question is: Are you making it easy for them to say yes?