About this episode

Bob Bickel discusses his running career and the impact of RunSignUp.com on race registrations in the U.S.

Back in his college days at Bucknell University, Bob Bickel trained 100 miles/week, and pushed his 10,000-meter time down to an impressive 29:07. Then he took his electrical engineering skills into the tech industry, and enjoyed several modest successes. Next he opened a running retail store in Moorestown, NJ, and a few years later decided he could improve upon existing race registrations platforms. He was right. Run Sign Up has become the dominant road race registration platform in the U.S., because it's simple to use, and free for race directors to implement. What more could a volunteer race director ask for? We spoke to Bob about his own running career, what he learned from the team philosophy that made Bucknell a regional powerhouse in cross-country, and how he views the demographics of road racing in the U.S. today. We were particularly struck by one key statistic. According to Bob, only 6 percent of U.S. race participants participate in the top 100 races--the mega races that get nearly 100 percent of news coverage. In other words, 94 percent of U.S. runners take part in local and regional races. That's what makes the sport so deep and strong. For more about Run Sign Up…

More episodes of Running--State of the Sport

• Paula Radcliffe · June 20, 2026 · 1h 14m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Running--State of the Sport podcast page.