How Leading Marathon Organizers Are Transforming Phone Inquiry Management From Volunteer Overload to Sustainable Communication Systems
Background
For many marathon organizers, handling phone inquiries has quietly become one of the most time-consuming parts of event management.
In Japan, main office numbers often receive:
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Repetitive questions from participants (“How can I check my registration?” “Will the event be canceled if it rains?”)
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Sales calls from vendors and sponsors
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Volunteer or part-time staff requests for clarification
The result: overwhelmed phone lines and staff exhaustion just weeks before race day.
Around the world, however, organizers are rethinking phone operations—not by ignoring runners’ questions, but by building systems where information is shared, automated, and intelligently routed.
Case Study 1: London Marathon (UK)
The TCS London Marathon introduced an official WhatsApp chatbot integrated with its FAQ database.
In the week leading up to the event, more than 85% of all participant inquiries were automatically answered by the bot, reducing the need for live phone support.
Only urgent matters—such as medical assistance or media coordination—were redirected to human staff.
“Our team no longer spends hours answering the same questions.
We can now focus on improving the runner experience.”
— London Marathon Events Ltd., Communications Manager
Result: Clearer workload separation and smoother communication during peak demand periods.
Source: TCS London Marathon official WhatsApp service, Meta Business Case Study, 2023
Case Study 2: New York City Marathon (USA)
The New York Road Runners (NYRR) reorganized its inquiry system into two distinct channels:
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General runners: FAQ and chatbot access via the official app and website
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Press, sponsors, and emergency contacts: a dedicated, monitored phone line
This channel separation reduced phone call volume by approximately 65% in its first year.
Volunteers could focus on in-person logistics, while trained staff handled mission-critical communication.
“We realized not every question deserves a phone call—many deserve faster answers.”
— NYRR Operations Team
Source: NYRR Operations Insight, Marathon Handbook Report 2023
Case Study 3: Sydney Marathon (Australia)
The Sydney Marathon relies heavily on volunteers. To support them, the committee implemented a lightweight voice AI system that answers calls to the public number and routes them automatically.
Key features include:
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Real-time categorization (“registration,” “weather,” “medical”)
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Multilingual transcription and email forwarding for non-English callers
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Automatic summaries for the organizing committee
This reduced total inquiry-handling time by around 60% and helped lower volunteer turnover.
“Even small adjustments like automated summaries made a huge difference for our part-time team.”
— Sydney Marathon Organizing Committee
Source: Running Events Australia, Operations Brief 2024
Lessons for Marathon Organizers
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Centralize Information
Collect FAQs and common call themes in a shared document accessible to all staff and volunteers. -
Reimagine the Role of Phone Lines
Treat phone calls as the final escalation step, not the default. Prioritize chat, email, and automation for predictable questions. -
Adopt Lightweight Automation Tools
Affordable, easy-to-deploy AI or rule-based systems can reduce call time even for small regional races. -
Focus on Runner Experience, Not Just Efficiency
Automation is not about replacing empathy—it’s about redirecting human time where it truly matters: safety, community, and engagement.
🧭 Conclusion
Globally, marathons are not reducing human contact—they’re restructuring it.
The goal is to ensure that every runner’s question is answered promptly, while organizers can focus on creating memorable events.
By shifting from “answer every call manually” to “manage communication as a team”,
organizers can build a more sustainable, stress-free operational model that benefits both runners and staff alike.
References & Further Reading
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Meta Business Case Studies – TCS London Marathon WhatsApp Chatbot (2023)
→ https://www.whatsapp.com/business/success-stories/tcs-london-marathon -
Marathon Handbook – How the NYC Marathon Streamlined Runner Communication (2023)
→ https://marathonhandbook.com -
Running Events Australia – Sydney Marathon Volunteer Operations Report (2024)
→ https://runningevents.com.au -
World Athletics – Marathon Operations and Communication Trends Report (2023 Edition)
