289. On the Job with Michelle La Sala, Race Director

Ali on the Run Show

Ali Feller

Run, Health & Fitness, Women, Inspiration, Runner, Entrepreneur, Sports, Fitness, Health, Running

4.9 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 12 October 2020

⏱️ 79 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“I am a believer in opportunity.”

It’s been a tough year for so many brands, individuals, and industries, and within the running industry, race companies have been hit particularly hard. On this episode, Michelle La Sala, president and founder of Blistering Pace Race Management, talks about her road to race directing, and explains how the pandemic has affected her business, which specializes in managing large-scale mass participation running events. Michelle’s clients include the New York City Marathon, Chicago Marathon, Big Sur International Marathon, and Napa Valley Marathon. Previously, she was race director for the California International Marathon (CIM) and was the volunteer coordinator for the L.A. Marathon. Michelle, a 31-time marathoner with a 2:59 personal best time, talks about what she’s doing to stay afloat right now, and offers her take on how we can all support our favorite races right now.

Thank you to Tracksmith for sponsoring the On the Job series on the Ali on the Run Show! Go to tracksmith.com/ontherun and use code ONTHERUN15 at checkout for 15% off your first Tracksmith purchase!

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The On The Job Series on the Alley on the Run Show is brought to you by TrackSmith.
0:04.4	Go to TrackSmith.com slash on the run and use code on the run 15 to get 15% off your first
0:11.9	TrackSmith purchase. Welcome to the Alley on the Run Show. I'm your host Alley Feller and this
0:21.4	is season three of the On The Job Series where we meet women with cool, unique, interesting careers.
0:28.9	We kicked off season three last week with Kimberly Kincaid, the critically acclaimed romance
0:34.4	novelist. And today we're talking about races. Remember races? I know, we all miss them so, so,
0:41.6	so much. We all want to know when they'll be back. But in the meantime, I am so excited today to
0:47.3	introduce you to Michelle LaSolla. Michelle is a race director and is president and founder of
0:53.6	blistering pace race management. Her company's clients include pretty much all of everyone's
0:59.0	favorite races. The New York City Marathon, Chicago Marathon, Big Sur International Marathon,
1:04.2	Napa Valley Marathon, and so many more. She's had a wildly successful career in the running and
1:10.7	racing industry, Michelle was race director for the California International Marathon or CIM,
1:16.3	as runners know to call it, and she got her start in the industry working for the LA Marathon.
1:22.1	I so appreciate it learning the ins and outs of how Michelle got to where she is today and what
1:26.7	she's done to become such an in-demand person when it comes to race management. A key phrase you'll
1:32.7	hear over and over in this episode? Opportunity. This woman knows how to seize them. And I appreciate
1:40.4	it hearing Michelle's honest take on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the industry. We all know
1:45.9	that it has and she talks about what she's doing to stay afloat. She also offers advice for how we
1:51.6	can support our favorite races today, tomorrow, and in the future. Oh, and we ran out of time so we
1:58.4	didn't even get to talk about the fact that Michelle herself is a superstar runner. She has run 31
2:04.5	Marathons and boasts a 259 personal best. So she's pretty amazing both on and behind the race
2:12.4	scores. Please join me in welcoming Michelle LaSalla to the on-the-job series on the alley on the
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