We continue our weekly spotlight, and this week we are honored to introduce Dave Mars, the race director for the London Ohio Marathon.⠀
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Hi, I’m Dave Mars. My wife is Sarah, and we have four children—Eldon, Caelan, Vivian, and August.⠀
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How did you become a race director?⠀Ever since I moved to London, Ohio, I thought it would be funny to host a marathon so runners could say that they had run the London marathon. When I found out about raising funds for a neglected community park, I knew it was time to make it a reality.⠀
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What’s the greatest challenge you face in your role?⠀Our community and volunteers are so amazing. The biggest challenge is adapting to variables outside our control, like the weather.⠀
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What’s most rewarding? The best thing about being a race director is seeing people meet their goals and have a great time at the event.⠀
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Other than signing up for your race, how can runners support and encourage race organizers? It’s super helpful for people to sign up early. Aside from signing up, it’s also helpful to have people reach out to ask questions. That helps a race director understand what messaging is and isn’t working.⠀
