Well, that was tough 😅

RUNLY NEWSLETTER #136
Thurs Dec 4th

This year we have activated at quite a lot of running events.
 
Each event has its own unique challenges for us (me), whether it's logistics, travel, time, money, displays, setup, bump-out, or a myriad of other potential concerns.
 
If these events give me only one thing, it's content for this newsletter!
 
Okay, you know, exposure, community, relationship-building, and all that stuff too.
 
But really, where would this newsletter be without the content from our events 😅
 
I've been waiting all week to write this one.
 
Last weekend we activated at the 2XU Wellness Run in Melbourne. We were given the opportunity to bump-in on the Friday, the day before Day 1.
 
By the way, I had a couple of people ask me what 'bump in' and 'bump out' are. Basically bump-in is bringing all your gear in, or getting it delivered, setting everything up and being ready to go. Bump-out is the opposite.
 
So we bumped in on the Friday afternoon.
 
As you may have read in one of my previous newsletters, we had a brand new marquee. It was big, and seriously heavy. Twice the size of our previous one.
 
And if I could've picked anything to go wrong for this event, it would've been one of us getting crushed by this huge bloody thing in the setup.
 
But no. 
 
That was the easy part. We got it setup in no time. Pretty easy.
 
I should also mention that the good people of O2 Events who manage this race, are some of the best in the business. So helpful, so attentive.
 
We left that afternoon pretty happy, we had setup a day in advance, we could just rock up the next day and get into it.
 
Displays were up, the stock was already on the displays, tables with covers on, everything was ready to step in and activate.
 
I was due to be up at about 5am the next day to be there nice and early.
 
I am usually awkwardly early for race events, I don't like the idea of needing to scramble for final preparations.
 
So, there I am winding down in the evening, getting ready to call it and go to sleep. Baby is sleeping, dog has been walked, teeth have been brushed.
 
Given it was Black Friday, I was still checking my emails and messaging the team.
 
I see an email at the top, received 2 minutes ago.
 
"Call me asap mate" the subject line read.
 
It was from the event organiser. He only had my email.
 
If you've ever gotten a message from someone saying call me asap mate, you know it's not something to brush past.
 
I call him.
 
He said, 'mate, I'm not on-site, but security has just called me and they said your activation has been ravaged by a freak gust of wind'
 
He was pretty calm about it, his tone of voice didn't match the content.
 
He followed up by saying they have wrapped everything up in the outer walls of the marquee the best they could.
 
Cool.
 
We both hung up. I'd get there even earlier tomorrow morning to suss it out, and get it set up again.
 
I spoke to my wife, and we thought, hang on a minute, what if there's something broken? What if some of the stock is damaged, or wet?
 
Mind you, it is poooooooooouuring rain at this point.
 
So I thought nope, I've got to go check it out.
 
It's only a 30-minute drive, but obviously I should be sleeping at this point.
 
I scooped up a handful of lollies meant for the next day to keep me awake on the road and I was off.
 
As I pulled in to the site, what had happened was extremely clear.
 
ALL OF THE WALLS WERE STRIPPED OFF.
 
We went from four walls to none. The walls were being used to wrap the entire contents of the activation in the middle of the marquee.
 
The security buggy was sitting IN the tent, because it was now open and exposed to the public.
 
I couldn't believe it, at this point we are only 8 or 9 hours away from trading.
 
The security went above and beyond to protect the contents, but it looked like a hot mess.
 
The security guy explained to me that they had a freak gust of wind rip through, and we're lucky the whole marquee isn't floating somewhere in the Bass Strait right about now.
 
After I arrived he sped off in his buggy and I took a closer look.
 
My heart sunk into my stomach.
 
Rain is coming in sideways at this point.
 
Our displays are completely bent, going off in all angles, some parts hanging off by just a steel thread.
 
Some stock is on the floor, boxes are cracked open, the walls have become glad wrap around the stock.
 
I don't know what we do from here.
 
It's pouring rain. The wind is still strong.

The covers protecting everything from the rain are completely and utterly soaked.
 
If I take the covers off everything will be wet. 
 
Should we even try to trade tomorrow? Should I just pull the pin and take it all down now? But I probably (definitely) can't do it by myself.
 
I don't know how much can even be salvaged, there's a good chance a lot of this won't survive.
 
I call my old man, like I have done so many times in my life for advice.
 
He says wrap it up the best you can, come back fresh in the morning and work it out.
 
So I do that.
 
Head home. Set the alarm for four hours time, and I'm back at it.
 
As I pull in nice and early, I see a figure in the marquee.
 
It is none other than my old man.
 
He's sitting on a chair, there's more towels than a hotel, the covers are unwrapped and he's got his tool set out working on fixing the displays.
 
Now, I know he reads this newsletter religiously, so I don't want to pump up his tyres too much.
 
But I hope that I can be there for my daughter like he is for me.
 
We put our heads down. We were on the clock to get this up and running. Quitting was not an option.
 
And by some miracle, two and half hours later, despite ravaging winds, sideways torrential rain and a few hours sleep, we were back.
 
I honestly don't know how we did it.
 
It wasn't methodical, it wasn't calculated or precise, but piece by piece we put it back together.
 
You know, not everything was salvagable, and what we ended up with was not my vision for how I wanted to present the brand that weekend.
 
But as they say, 'done' is better than perfect.
 
And while in the overall scheme of Runly, it's a largely insignificant moment.
 
But from a personal perspective, I have always prided myself on overcoming adversity, and this was one of the those times.
 
The fact that we were able to trade for the next two days is hardly a triumph of human spirit, but it was certainly a mental, physical and emotional test.
 
Thanks to those that came by to say hello, bought something or had a chat.
 
It makes all that effort worth it.
 
See you at the next one.
 
Run well,
Robbie