byLarry EderPhil Lockwood is pretty mellow, for a race director. Running the Steamboat Classic, as Phil has, for nearly fifteen years, and the Komen Race for the Cure, some fascinating experiences in the road racing business.
The Steamboat Classic is a road race with traditional elite fields plus the traditional support from citizen runners. It’s pedigree goes back over two decades and Phil is only its second race director ever. The Komen Race, actually the second Race for the Cure ever, is a large celebration of the sport and show of support for those with cancer as well as very effective fund raiser for the Komen Foundation. Through both events, disparate as they seem at first, Phil’s skill set makes them better races.
The race director is the proverbial “the buck stops here” type of person. If anything goes wrong with a race, it is the race director’s fault. From not enough master’s age group medals, to a complaint about a course that is too tough, the race director will receive the negatives.
The beauty of the MarathonFoto/RRM Race Director of the Year, Presented by the Running Network LLC, for a sponsor is that you get to be recognized with the prestigious race director. For the race director, it is a time where the labor of love one has done is recognized.
Phil Lockwood, in his acceptance speech, thanked his club and noted that there were two generations of his team, veteran and more recent in Glen Latimer and Tom Bedford. He also noted that after twenty years, and he has about five more to go, a new race director should be named, which is part of Lockwood’s job to find.
Congratulations to Phil for setting the standard so high and giving our sport two very fine and distinct events!
November 6, 2008
Contact: Jeff Darman
(610-925-1976)
jdarman@rrm.com
Philip Lockwood Named 2008 MarathonFoto/Road Race Management
Race Director of the Year
The twelve-member committee charged with selecting the 2008 MarathonFoto/Road Race Management Race Director of the Year has named Philip Lockwood, Director of the Steamboat Classic and the Komen Race for the Cure, Peoria, IL, as the 2008 MarathonFoto/Road Race Management Race Director of the Year.
Lockwood was honored at the Road Race Management Race Directors’ meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, FL on November 6. The award is presented by the Running Network.
“We had an impressive field of well-qualified candidates, but Philip emerged as a consensus winner,†said award coordinator Jeff Darman. Described by Bill Rodgers as “the Gold Medal of race directing,†the award is determined by a vote of a diverse committee comprised of race directors, media representatives, sponsors, and elite athletes.
“Philip Lockwood has been the driving force behind the Steamboat Classic as it grew from a regionally prominent to a world-class event. However, he has never lost touch with the wishes and needs of the everyday runners as he enhanced the event’s technical details, benefits and hospitality. Today the Steamboat Classic serves as a shining light and the gold standard in Midwest road racing,†said Phil Stewart, editor and publisher of Road Race Management, in making the announcement.
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 included: Rafael Acosta (World Best 10K), Steve Bosley (Bolder Boulder), John Conley (AT&T Austin Marathon), Julia Emmons (Peachtree Road Race), Ed Froehlich (Quad-City Times Bix 7), Chuck Galford (Cascade Run Off), Susan Harmeling (Gasparilla Distance Classic), Jon Hughes (Disney Marathon), Bob Ingalls (Utica Boilermaker), Scott Keenan (Grandma’s Marathon), Fred Lebow (New York City Marathon), Jim Marino (Blue Cross Broad Street Run), 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 (Ukrop’s 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 other publications designed for race and industry professionals and conducts a prestigious annual national race directors’ meeting and trade show in Hollywood, Florida each year. MarathonFoto is the world’s largest race photography company (www.marathonfoto.com). The Running Network (www.runningnetwork.com) is a media network, founded in 1986, focused on the sport of running. The Running Network represents many of the finest regional and national specialty running and endurance sports magazines in North America. In 2009 it will represent 24 print publications and 20 websites.
For more on the Running Network, please click on www.runningnetwork.com
