Mary Kate Shea: Building World-Class Running Events, Pro Athlete Recruitment, Boston Marathon Insights (Sunday Conversation)

Mary Kate Shea, serving as the Senior Director of Pro Athletes for road race events at the Boston Athletic Association, holds a pivotal role in recruiting and facilitating the experience of hundreds of professional runners at marquee events like the Boston Marathon, BAA 10K, and BAA 5K annually. With her extensive expertise in pro athlete recruitment, event management, sponsorship, and sports marketing, I found it compelling to invite her to discuss the merits of her position and explore how the implementation of (more) dedicated, full-time roles like hers could benefit the world of mountain ultra trail running on a larger scale. Our conversation delves into the essential elements of building and maintaining world-class running events, highlighting the critical role she plays in the process. We also explore how pro athletes are researched, recruited, compensated, and supported at races such as the Boston Marathon, offering valuable insights and takeaways for athletes, event operators, and media personnel in the trail running community.Timestamps:(1:17) - ultrarunning origins, Ann Trason story(8:59) - building a world-class running event, the importance of elite athlete recruitment(21:12) - the traits of a good athlete recruiter and manager, ecosystem of athlete recruiters(40:19) - what the position looks like from a year-round standpoint, how athletes are supported Sponsors:Naak - use code SINGLETRACK20 at checkout on their website (https://www.naak.com/) to get 20% off your purchase.Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://www.runinrabbit.com/) to get 20% off your next order.Brooks Running - check out their High Point clothing collection and new and improved Cascadia 17 shoe at this link (https://www.brooksrunning.com/singletrack).Links:Follow Mary Kate on LinkedInBoston Athletic Association WebsiteFollow Singletrack on Instagram, Strava, YoutubeSupport the show