Transferring technology Project Management skills to run a public event

Several years ago, I got involved with professional running. Although I had been involved in athletics in my younger years, some 25 years earlier, the professional running scene was completely new to me. I attended and participated in many events over the next few years, not really taking any notice of all the work and effort that went into running a professional running meet. I just turned up, ran, and went home.

Then I was asked to take on the role of president for my club, which meant I was now in charge of running one of these running meets – the Ringwood Gift – something I had never done before.

Not really knowing where to start, I fell back on my project management experience and treated it as a project to be delivered. Looking at it, we had a business case or forecast showing the expected costs and revenue, a set of tasks that need to be completed by a set of resources in a fixed timeline, and no room for slippage. It all started feeling very familiar, with clear similarities between running a project and running an athletics event.

As with any project, we started with planning, understanding when tasks needed to be completed by and how long they would take. Allocating or volunteering people to tasks, we quickly created a schedule. Committee meetings provided the forum for our standard status updates, checking how we were progressing against the schedule and budget.

The lead up to the day saw the familiar tension before a go-live, with the final tasks being addressed and unexpected issues needing to be dealt with. The day of the event came around – the go-live – with its runbook requiring close management of logistics, people and vendors. On the day, just like with a technology project go-live, there are small details and decisions that need to be taken care of, all supporting a successful event.

Immediately after the event, the team had the same proud sense of accomplishment in delivering a high-quality, successful event that I’ve experienced with technology projects. The feeling is shared with the people around you, who’ve worked hard to achieve a common goal. Like any project, it’s the individuals with their individual skills, capabilities, and personalities executing as a team, that realises the delivery.

Upon reflection, it was satisfying and rewarding to be able to use the same skills and experience I use in my work to organise and put on a community-based event enjoyed by so many. I had an immense sense of satisfaction and pride in realising how transferrable my skills are from one domain to another.

Lonsdale Solutions has been a proud supporter and sponsor of the Ringwood Gift for a number of years and will be a sponsor of the 2026 Ringwood Gift.