Early Call Time Early Call Time Pod

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 USA, the founding of NCS4's marathon forum, the beginning of Twin Cities In Motion and other similar events becoming fully-fledged professionally staffed organizations--and the guys ask her about those and learn a lot about the origins of some industry institutions. They also ask Virginia about her time at TCM--the biggest changes she's seen, her biggest accomplishments, and what she hopes for for the future--and of course Tony can't help but ask her what it was like having Eli working for her.

On behalf of so many in the running industry to whom Virginia has provided mentorship, leadership, and guidance over the past twenty-three years, the guys would like to say a heartfelt "thank you" to Virginia for coming on the pod. We think you'll all really like this one.

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, comments, guests you would like us to invite, or topics you would be interested in hearing us explore, please send us an email at earlycalltimepod@gmail.com.

Thanks as always for listening, and we'll catch you bright and early on the next episode of Early Call Time!

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Instagram: @EarlyCallTimePod
Twitter: @EarlyPod

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 aspects of how he and his team built Ragnar--from how they came up with the name and what it means, to bribing friends and family with iPod Shuffles to staff early events, to how they've scaled and structured their team, and how Tanner stays in touch with the event experience. He also shares a story that makes clear the being on an events team runs in his family's DNA, and teases what the future may hold for Ragnar since their recent acquisition by FitLab.

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, comments, guests you would like us to invite, or topics you would be interested in hearing us explore, please send us an email at earlycalltimepod@gmail.com.

Thanks as always for listening, and we'll catch you bright and early on the next episode of Early Call Time!

Facebook: @EarlyCallTimePod
Instagram: @EarlyCallTimePod
Twitter: @EarlyPod

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 "one marathon club!"). And Shelley tells us about how she became involved with event sustainability working in college athletics, and she then transitioned to the Council.

Shelley shares some history about the formation and the early days Council, what it does, and what it's like for an event to certify as sustainable with the Council. She talks us through what a day is like in the life of someone advocating for and supporting events who pursue sustainable sport and what kind of tools are available for an event or event organization considering certification or just attempting to become more sustainable (including CRS's new, free ReScore event sustainability assessment tool, courtesy of TCS). And she and Eli talk about what kind of resources and efforts an event hoping to certify should expect to have to marshal, and what the case for certifying is (and although it is the right thing to do, the case is more than "It's the right thing to do!").

Things go a little bit off the rails for a bit toward the end of the interview, when Eli and Shelley riff about our potential Mad Max: Fury Road-like future, other post-apocalyptic movies, and drinking our own bodily fluids. But Shelley then brings it back, sharing a reading from environmentalist Wendell Berry, because that's just how things go sometimes on the ECT Pod . . .

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, comments, guests you would like us to invite, or topics you would be interested in hearing us explore, please send us an email at earlycalltimepod@gmail.com.

Thanks as always for listening, and we'll catch you bright and early on the next episode of Early Call Time!

Facebook: @EarlyCallTimePod
Instagram: @EarlyCallTimePod
Twitter: @EarlyPod

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, comments, guests you would like us to invite, or topics you would be interested in hearing us explore, please send us an email at earlycalltimepod@gmail.com.

Thanks as always for listening, and we'll catch you bright and early on the next episode of Early Call Time!

Facebook: @EarlyCallTimePod
Instagram: @EarlyCallTimePod
Twitter: @EarlyPod

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 that the market can no longer support. And lastly, the guys talk about a new, small foray by the Rock 'n' Roll Running Series back into the elite space, and whether that signals a shift in the sport.

We hope you enjoy this posted-slightly-later-than-planned episode of Early Call Time--the end of February can really sneak up on you fast! If you did, in fact, enjoy 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, comments, guests you would like us to invite, or topics you would be interested in hearing us explore, please send us an email at earlycalltimepod@gmail.com.

Thanks as always for listening, and we'll catch you bright and early on the next episode of Early Call Time!

Facebook: @EarlyCallTimePod
Instagram: @EarlyCallTimePod
Twitter: @EarlyPod

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 business for 100 pairs of running shoes. Michael tells us about how he and his business partner have built the company, the types of things that keep a business owner busy that people solely on the event production side might never see, and how ESW has weathered the pandemic. We also hear about the virtues of producing events for hire versus owning events, how the Texas Distance Challenge is still going strong as it heads into its third year. Most importantly, we learn the one piece of constructive criticism that Tony got during an early annual review. Want to find out what it was? Then you've gotta listen.

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, comments, guests you would like us to invite, or topics you would be interested in hearing us explore, please send us an email at earlycalltimepod@gmail.com.

Thanks as always for listening, and we'll catch you bright and early on the next episode of Early Call Time!

Facebook: @EarlyCallTimePod
Instagram: @EarlyCallTimePod
Twitter: @EarlyPod