Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Falmouth Road Race Teams with CIGNA Insurance

As I mentioned a while back, the Falmouth Road Race was looking for a sponsor this year. Today they announced that they've found a great match - CIGNA Insurance. Their tag seems to be "A Business of Caring". Now, doesn't that just give you warm fuzzies? It's nice. I like it. I'm sure they are going to be a great partner for the road race, too.

Oh, there's a new logo, too. I like the color scheme.


Just a happy tidbit for today. Thanks for stopping by.

Saturday, April 22, 2006

More Bob Roll...and a rumor about BobkeInk

Rumor has it that BobkeInk, Bob Roll and Jessi Pacetti's company, is about to start working with one of the cycling pros that is really hot right now. Do stay tuned because that will be an interesting tidbit, I'm sure.

Until then, as I promised at the end of the epic interview with them, I've posted a rapid-fire round of questions with Bob and Jessi over on the Krew's site. Take a look, it's kind of fun.

Just a tiny tidbit for today. Thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

BL Ochman, Shel Israel, Doc Searls, Hugh Macleod, and...Me?

Last week, BL Ochman did a quite informative post about how she keeps track of all of the information that's coming at each of us every day. It's no easy task for any of us. There are some things she uses that I use and assume everyone does, but others I hadn't even heard of and will check into them.

Then she took it one step further and asked for tips from some other bloggers. In the first installment she posted tips from Doc Searls (co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto), Steve Hall (adrants) and Shel Horowitz (Principled Profit blog). Good info from all.

Then there was today's installment. Shel Israel (Naked Conversations), Henry Copeland (blogads blog), David Vinjamuri (The ThirdWayAdvertising Blog) and then....Donna Tocci. Wait! That's me. Holy Moly!

BL goes on to give tips from Steve O'Keefe ( Patron St Productions, International Association of Online Communicators blog) and Jeremy Wright (b5media) and now I see that she's added Hugh Macleod (gapingvoid.com)!

Wow! All of them and....me. I'm still speechless.

Thank you, BL, not only for thinking I could add something of value with this group of pros, but for putting this all together and sharing it with us. Great, great tips!

Readers, if you haven't done it, go over and read these posts right now; I'll bet you'll learn something. Keep going back for a few days to see if she's going to add more tips from interesting people. You never know who might pop up!

Thanks for stopping by.

The Boston Marathon's last finisher....

One last marathon post - until next year, that is!

Every year Race Director Dave McGillivray not only does his thing as the 'ring master' for the Boston Marathon during the morning and throughout the afternoon - he then spends the evening running the course. I'm not kidding, I've been there in years past when he's finished. He's done it for years. This year was no different. He finished in 4:19:53. Amazing.

Here's Dan Shaughnessy's article from Boston.com on the run, "Director's Cut is a Late Show". It captures the spirit of Dave's run very well.

Congratulations, Dave!

Thanks for stopping by.

Monday, April 17, 2006

Bob Roll Interview

Although I'm not used to being an interviewer, if you are interested in knowing a little bit more about former cyclist and current cycling commentator, Bob Roll, check out the interview I did with Bob and his new partner, Jessi Pacetti, over on the Krew's site.

It's more about the marketing of a personality than cycling. Take a look....

Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by.

Boston Marathon Memory

It's Marathon Day here in Massachusetts. Sure, there is a holiday of sorts called Patriots' Day, but most everyone knows it as Marathon Monday.

Marathon Day is the culmination of all the work that is done all year by the Boston Athletic Association. It's an exciting day for everyone involved. You've got the butterflies and feel mounting excitement, just like the runners. The day goes by in a blur and before you know it the finish line is jammed with people who have accomplished a major goal - finishing Boston.

The marathon holds many special memories for me, mostly of the people I met; the good friends that came into my life. But my favorite memory of race day itself is one that you might not expect.

Putting elite athletes on the bus to Hopkinton? No, that's like putting your kids on the bus for their first day of school! Do they have everything? Did you help them enough? Are they prepared?

Watching the start of the race? No, that is a 'hold your breath' type of moment.

Watching the progress of the race off and on in the press room? Certainly not. That is just nerve-wracking!

Getting the break tape, flowers, laurel wreaths and finishers medals to the finish line? No, that's just part of the job.

Watching the winners come down Boylston Street? That's close, especially when you know a winner of a division or there is a record being broken!

But the best part of the day for me was at 6am. You don't sleep much the night before the marathon when you are part of the organizing team and you are up very early tending to all of those last minute details.

At 6am each marathon morning that I worked there I'd go outside, walk over to the finish line and walk straight up the middle of Boylston Street. It was so peaceful! The crowds aren't there yet, the media hasn't arrived, runners are no where to be found. Sometimes there were a couple of guys putting up the last of the barriers, but other than that, there wasn't a sound. Streets are blocked off around Copley Square and the city hasn't quite woken up yet on this holiday. I'd walk up Boylston to Hereford, where the runners come on to Boylston and then back down. It was my time to breathe, relax and enjoy the calm before the storm because by the time I got back to the hotel, we were in high gear for the rest of the day and evening. But those few minutes were just magical for me.

All the best to the marathon team this year, especially 'master of ceremonies', Race Director Dave McGillivray, and start line announcer Sue Smith.

And, of course, best of luck to each of the runners. May you experience cool conditions, a tailwind and your own personal triumphs along the way.

Happy Marathon Day!

Just a marathon tidbit for today. Thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Bike Portland Anniversary

Congratulations to Bike Portland! It was a year ago yesterday that Bike Portland was 'born'. In that time Jonathan has posted well over 700 informative posts for the cyclists of that great city. He's made in-roads with city and police officials and really created a place for cyclists to congregate and share information. It's a wonderful resource.

Thanks for all you do, Jonathan!

Just a congratulatory tidbit for today. Thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

More Marathon

Here are a couple more Boston Marathon tidbits:

"The Last Pick" by Dave McGillivray, Boston Marathon Race Director, is out now. Fittingly, I just got my copy in the post today. I can't wait to read it cover to cover this weekend.

John Hanle is a 7-time Boston Marathon finisher from South Boston. He's started a blog, "The Ultimate Guide to the Boston Marathon".

The Boston Marathon will be held on Monday, April 17th.
11:25am -- wheelchair division starts (my favorite part of the race)
11:31am -- elite women start
12:00pm -- elite men and wave one start
12:30pm -- wave two starts

Thanks for stopping by.

Monday, April 10, 2006

Happy Marathon Week!

Here in Massachusetts we've begun what some of us call "Marathon Week". It's the week leading up to the BAA Boston Marathon. The 110th running of the Boston Marathon will be a little different this year as it will begin with a wave start. Having started my career at the marathon office, I have to say that if Dave McGillivray thinks this is a good thing for the race then it is. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

Marketers have a field day in Boston each year during this week. There is the Expo that is free to everyone and the official sponsors have their parties and get togethers, but then there are the companies that come to town to attach themselves to this grand race in any way they can.

One such company is Spira Footwear. A few months ago the company announced that it would pay the winner of the Boston Marathon $1 million if they were wearing a pair of Spira shoes when they did it. Sounds good, right? Well, according to this article at Boston.com, because the shoes have springs in them the sport's governing bodies have yet to rule if they are 'legal' in competition. So, theoretically, if a runner wins the race with Spiras on they could be disqualified.

So, Runner X might not be the official winner in the record books, but record books aren't all that the public remember. After all, who do you remember more Rosie Ruiz or Jacqueline Gareau? Say one of this years runners won with the Spira shoe and then was DQed...the publicity would be huge. They would always be seen as the winner to the majority. Also, the million dollars is much more than the BAA's prize money for the top spot. However, from working with many elite athletes over the years in Boston, it's not about the money, it's about being the Boston champion. It truly means something special to these athletes. To conquer this course and be better than everyone else that day, well, that is magical.

What do I think about all this? I think the governing body needs to make a ruling in a hurry and not put this on the BAA as the USATF says in this article. I also think that Spira is getting an incredible amount of exposure for little effort - they even have a section on their website "Banned in Boston". I will bet they will be in Boston this week in full force, riding the wave of this publicity. Are they right or wrong? That isn't for me to decide. However, being their marketing folks this week will be a lot of fun.

Enjoy race week everyone!

Just a running tidbit for today. Thanks for stopping by.

Friday, April 07, 2006

Lance Armstrong isn't going anywhere

For those of you who thought Lance Armstrong may fade into the woodwork after retiring, nothing could be farther from the truth. He popped up on my radar twice yesterday.

The first was in Sal Ruibal's USA Today article, Hincapie cycles toward cycling fame. It's an article in advance of this weekend's Paris-Roubaix race about how George Hincapie is poised to win some races (including this weekend as a possibility) and seems to be the most recognizable name in US cycling right now. Who was the expert Sal talked to about this? Yup. Lance. Sure, he's a cycling expert, but me thinks he's a little biased when talking about racers. Unless I'm wrong (and I have been before), he's still connected to his old team so I wouldn't expect him to say anything else. However, what about Mr. Landis? He's pretty darn recognizable, too.

Although I've never met Lance, I do have to think that truer words have never been spoken in his quote here:
"George is a nice guy, no doubt," Armstrong says. "He's learned that he can be a gentleman and still have a killer instinct. Me, I'm the opposite. I'm a jerk who has to work at being a gentleman. I've always loved to put the hurt on people."

Then I read something that really got my attention. Cyclingnew.com is reporting that Lance is going to drive the pace car at the Indanapolis 500 this year. That's just way cool.

"All I can say is that when we got a phone call to ask if I was interested in driving the Pace Car at Indy, it was a very short conversation," Lance said. "It was like, 'Are you kidding? Of course.'"

Who wouldn't say 'YES'? Lucky duck. Good for him.

By the way, you can catch Paris-Roubaix this weekend on OLN. It's on this Sunday late afternoon. Check your local listings. I'm sure Bob Roll will be doing commentary, too, which always makes the show interesting.

Just a little cycling tidbit for today. Thanks for stopping by.

Monday, April 03, 2006

Oh, to have Heineken's budget!

B.L. Ochman has an interesting post about Heineken's latest launch. Apparently, they solicited people to try their new beer via email. It's great that they targeted at least one influential blogger (maybe more, I haven't looked it up at all). I'm sure they sent solicitations to media folks, too. I would think pitching free beer is a little tricky, but that's their job, not mine, so they must know what they are doing. I'm sure with every pitch they send they cross their fingers that they are not offending anyone.

What I can't get over is the presentation. Look at the photo again. A chilled bottle and an opener came in that metal case. One bottle. One opener. Chilled. Cha-ching! Cha-ching! Because you know that B.L. isn't the only person they sent this to.

Why can't we all have budgets like that for our launches? Seriously. Ok, it's not like I'm going to put a lock in a case like that, but I'd be able to make the gazillions they spent on this go a long, long way if it were my budget. Couldn't you?

Just a little tidbit for today. Thanks for stopping by.

A little trivia

I got this little gem from two different people today:

At two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 next Wednesday morning, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06.

I think that is pretty cool.

Just a tiny tidbit for today. Thanks for stopping by.