Twin City Track Club had the honor of attending the 2025 Road Runner’s Club of America (RRCA) Convention, where they received the esteemed award for 2024’s Excellence in Communications. If you missed it, the communications team from Twin City Track Club, Alicia Rider, Er Ralston, and Marisa Browning wrote up their experiences on the event, which can be read HERE.
The communications team had a lot to say about the wonderful opportunities they got to experience during the event, but of course they weren’t the only attendees. Our wonderful communication team reached out to these other attendees to ask about their experiences.
Thank you so much to those who responded. We’re excited for everyone that had a great time at the convention and were able to take lessons both personal and professional to apply in your running and club. We hope to see some of you and more at next year’s convention.
Here is what they had to say:
Jeff Weiss: Badgerland Striders, VP
This was not my first experience with the RRCA convention, but as usual it was a great event. In comparison to previous conventions I’ve attended, I noticed there weren’t as many educational sessions available, and the topics within them weren’t as great as previous conventions I’ve attended. It was also noted that several session speakers were part of for-profit businesses rather than clubs.
The convention also put on a local race, this year was Get in Gear which offered a 5k, 10k, and half marathon. I participated in the 5k, although I didn’t particularly have a goal as I was recovering from an injury, so my focus was just to have fun and make sure I crossed that finish line. One thing I feel could have been a bit better with my convention experience is that usually the races are on Sunday. I have a preference for this type of schedule as I feel it bodes better for the educational content.
As far as favorite sessions and moments. It’s hard to pick just one. With so many clubs across the country, they’re all so different from mine alone. Tons of good ideas to bring back to the club for improvement. Other than that, I did overall enjoy the trip to Minneapolis, the sights, the city, everything. I definitely will recommend others to attend RRCA convention if they have a chance… it’s important for relationship building and improving your club.
Raymond Bailey: Pikes Peak Road Runners, BoD
This was in fact my first convention. It was all I could have hoped for and then some. It was incredibly fun. I learned so much and I’m looking forward to bringing back what I learned to share with my club.
For the race, I did the half marathon. My goals for this race were to go sub 1:35 and to PR. I’m so excited to be able to say that I accomplished both with a time of 1:34:37! I’m thankful that I did not need to make any adjustments for weather, course or otherwise, in fact both conditions were pretty perfect in my eyes. The day before race day, there was a shakeout run (have to make sure we’re race ready of course) which included the Mayor, Jacob Frey! Exciting to see important locals involved in the community. I got to share a few miles along the group run which was one of my favorite moments of the weekend.
As far as the convention goes: it was phenomenal. My favorite session was the lessons of being a race director with Dave McGillivray. I found the presentation to be very engaging and humorous. It taught me a lot about race directing, but I also enjoyed hearing his personal story. One thing I will ensure to bring back with me to share and improve my club is the session about the insurance policy. It will help to better insure our club and we plan on adjusting our insurance policy. I also found the session on growing weekly club runs to be informative and hope to implement this to increase our membership.
I thoroughly enjoyed the convention weekend because I learned so much valuable information. I would highly recommend others to attend as they will make so many new friends through networking and just enjoy our sport of running. I also enjoyed running in my Superman gear as it made people smile during this weekend. It is exactly why I wear it to create smiles as we need more of those in this world.
Monica Kaman: Lynchburg Road Runners, BoD
This was my first time attending the RRCA Convention, and it was an amazing experience. I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it. One of my favorite moments was when the Lynchburg Road Runners Club received the Road Race of the Year award for the 2024 Moore & Giles Virginia 10 Miler—an event I not only ran but also had the opportunity to help organize. Watching my friend, the club president, accept the award was incredibly special. A fun non-convention highlight was getting upgraded to first-class on our flight to the convention!
I ran the 10K. I had the best 10K of my life! I set a personal record (PR) by 4 minutes and maintained very consistent split times throughout the race. Prior to the race, my colleague, Bret recommended that I not start too fast. I followed his advice, which helped me run a much more even—and ultimately faster—10K.
With an amazing experience, there isn’t much I would change, but I wish I had been able to attend the seminar “Top 10 Lessons Learned from World-Renowned Race Director, Dave McGillivray.” It was one session I really regret missing. On the other hand, my favorite session was Sustainability for Events: Grandma’s Marathon Case Study. The content was both practical and insightful. Our club plans to review the recommendations and consider how we can implement some of the strategies at our larger events. A few key takeaways from the convention in general I had were: focusing on carbon offsetting, reducing waste, switching swag options, and increasing recycling efforts. Our club has already begun updating our swag offerings, and we’re exploring opportunities to donate extra supplies or potentially partner with a local food bank.
As silly as it sounds, going to the Mall of America and riding a roller coaster was something on a random middle school bucket list I made years ago. While it may seem minor, it was really fun to check that off—even if it was more nostalgic and lighthearted than anything else.
Yes, I’m incredibly grateful that my board invested in me by sending me to the convention. I had a wonderful time, learned a lot, and met some truly incredible people. I would absolutely recommend the experience to others.