Articles by Dan Empfield

We asked 40 race directors what they value when choosing among the 16(!) platforms represented in this cohort, and how their values clash with what consumers want.

Nobody disagrees with the concept of multi-year or auto-renew deals. In Active Network’s case there is disagreement with some RDs on the term of the agreement they’re in.

Some of the 82 race registration companies appeal to RDs, others are built with the end-user in mind. Is the industry shifting, and is Active still fit to rule?

One of our TBI Conference panelists scared the living Jeebus out of listeners and rightly so. Here’s a smattering of what race directors heard at TBI ’15.

Imagine a big heart, with a head, leg and arms protruding. Valerie Silk was all heart and Felix Walchshöfer is the male version; he’s what makes it a fair fight between Challenge and Ironman.

Ironman realizes its brand leverages down to 70.3. Life Time admits its brand leverages up to Olympic distance. But it’s much more than that.

Waiting for the Bondi 4 was like crossing a desert. My canteens were filled with the Bondi 2, bought at closeout. Is the Bondi 4 the oasis I hoped to find?

Here are the top-50 specialty stores in the U.S. serving the community of triathletes during 2014, according to Slowtwitch’s polling of vendors and customers.

If you’re aboard your bike and going nowhere fast that doesn’t mean progress can’t be made. Here’s our overview of structured training apps (e.g., Sufferfest, VirtualTraining, TrainerRoad).

Before stationary trainers were rollers. Wyatt Earp rode the rollers. As did Jeremiah Johnson. Are you man enough to ride the rollers?

We call them dumb not to disparage but to differentiate them from smart trainers. To any offended trainers, we apologize. And we also explain how to smarten them up.

You can’t always run outside. What are the benefits of treadmills and elliptical machines when you need to do your running indoors?