Patrick Fotheringham journal #04: why organising a bike race isn’t as hard as it seems

Our 2024 journal contributor Patrick Fotheringham rides for Halesowen Academy. As one of the older members of the squad, his role is part-mentor, part-racer. Like his father, William, he is also involved in race organisation. In his fourth journal entry, Patrick reflects on his experience of organising the Nick Clayton Memorial Road Race, framing it as not just a manageable endeavour but a profoundly satisfying one.

It is widely accepted that the British road racing scene is struggling. From last minute cancellations to low entry fees to a withering National Road Series, 2024 has been pretty bleak. Instead of listing the reasons why, as the die-hard fans of the Patrick Fotheringham journal will know I love a little moan now and again, I’m going to put a more positive spin on things and talk about the good things about organising a race from my own experience running the Nick Clayton Memorial Road Race in September, and why it is probably nowhere near as hard as you have been led to believe.

Reason Number 1: Simplicity

The process of running a race actually isn’t as complex as I thought it was going to be. Upon deciding on a course and a date, registering it was a fairly simple process. There are various hoops that British Cycling (BC) make you jump through, but following the step-by-step process and entering information on the Organiser dashboard makes things pretty quick.

The process of running a race actually isn’t as complex as I thought it was going to be

Once approved, the provision any BC affiliated official such as commissaires, accredited marshals and NEG is taken out of your hands; a certain level of communication between all parties is still needed. The booking of adequate medical cover and timing chips is a few emails or texts, as is finding drivers for lead cars and commissaires cars, making sure you have a couple in reserve. The final parts of the process are putting out the signs the day before, and filling anymore gaps such as red flag marshals. Once all this is done, it pretty much falls into place on the day.

2024 Stage 2 Bikestow 3 Day Image Credit: PelotonPix / Dave Dodge Photography

Reason 2: Cost

Having seen some extraordinary costs of races slapped across social media, I feel it may interest some people to know that even with a small field – 38 to be exact – my race broke even through entry fees alone, with enough for decent prize money for the top three.

Even with a small field – 38 to be exact – my race broke even through entry fees alone, with enough for decent prize money for the top three

This being said, I did make some decisions to account for this. The course chosen was not heavy on accredited marshals, as well as being in a good location. My medical cover was cheaper than expected. The majority of the overhead expenses were covered after the race when the entry fee money was released by the British Cycling system, so the couple of things I had to pay before that was the only real time I was out of pocket, and even then, that was only a small amount.

Image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental

Reason 3: Satisfaction

Getting my race on the road was a very good feeling; watching it roll out of the HQ with no problems was very satisfying, it felt like something I had created myself that had worked. I had also had to cancel or rearrange the previous two editions of the race and ended up not organising, so to finally do so gave me a sense of relief, especially with all the uncertainty of whether it would go ahead. I had 12 entrants 10 days out, far from ideal. It started to pick up and finally looked like I would have a viable bike race.

Getting my race on the road was a very good feeling; watching it roll out of the HQ with no problems was very satisfying, it felt like something I had created myself that had worked

Now, I am well aware that I am in a very privileged position when it comes to race organisation. The BC Regional Events Organiser in the West Midlands is an absolute hero, a true legend of the game who will do anything to get a race on the road and always willing to help in any way possible. It is also a region that puts on a lot of events, so the people involved in the key roles are very experienced and know exactly what they are doing, which helps the race run like clockwork on the day. But the point I’m trying to make is that it is a lot easier than you might think to be a first-time organiser, and it feels good to give something back to the cycling community. The most difficult part was getting people to ride it.

In short, while it takes effort and coordination, for me personally, organising a bike race was not as hard as I initially thought it was going to be. If you play your cards right, it won’t break the bank and once you push it down the mountain, it snowballs very quickly into something that you can do with relative ease and good organisation skills.