Producing Endurance Sports Events for over 35 years and counting

Today on the Mile after Mile Podcast is race director Fred Sommer.

Runners and Triathletes in Florida may recognize the name Sommer and Sommer Sports Events. 

We talk about how Fred got his start in racing and producing races. He’s been producing events for 37 years. 

One of the fantastic things about this interview is that Fred Sommer has been a part of triathlon since pretty much since the beginning of the sport. 

He shares a story about setting up the tri club Central Florida Triathletes (CFT). And working with Tri Fed which existed before USAT. He also talks about the USTS series. 

Putting together races before there were even bike racks or chip timing. He describes it as the “wild west” but says that it was fun. 

We talk about what races used to cost in the 1980s. 

We chat about many of the races that Sommer Sports produces which includes the Great Floridian which has been around since 1990

Florida Challenge which includes the Intimidator which started in 1985.

Florida Xtreme Triathlon which is a multi day triathlon that goes from coast-to-coast in Florida.

He shares a lot about what makes Clermont, Florida a special racing destination. 

The Great Floridian is what we call an Independent Full or Iron Distance triathlon and there aren’t very many of these that exist in the US. Fred and I chat about this and it’s a wonderful discussion about the growth of his races and the sport of triathlon overall. 

We talk about how the business of race production and event promoter has changed over time in terms of customer expectation and logistics like permits and even how customer complaints have changed over the years. 

Like all events in 2020 Sommer Sports had to cancel and/or defer a lot of events in 2020. But Sommer Sports was able to hold some events and we talked about what some of the challenges Sommer Sports faced were and how they were able to resolve them. Fred shares an inside look to how this worked for him for a variety of events over the spring and summer.

Sommer Sports was able to hold the Great Floridian including the full-distance event. We talk about some of the ways they changed things up to keep it safe. 

I want to thank Fred Sommer for being my guest on the Mile after Mile Podcast. 

You can find Sommer Sports online at www.sommersports.com 

 

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Keep up with the host Amy Stone at www.amysaysso.com

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