Icon Chasers

In an industry where first place is the ultimate goal, sports entrepreneur John Korff, in his latest venture, emphasizes size over speed.
That event is the Sarasota Music Half Marathon & Rockin' Bridge 4 Miler. Not that Korff and his business partners, Sarasota Open tennis tournament director Tony Driscoll and Molly Jackson, who co-owns several area New Balance stores, aren't concerned about speed. But the primary goal for the debut marathon, scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015, is all about being big, bold and beautiful.
“Ultimately we want to be like Gasparilla or Disney,” Driscoll says. “We want an iconic event in Sarasota.”
The road there will be a case study in how to quickly handle large-scale logistics, organization and planning — something many businesses face. Korff, Jackson and Driscoll are the principals behind the race, and they will invest $250,000 of their own money in it for year one. The race isn't connected to the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series, which runs races nationwide, including previous events in St. Petersburg.
“Our biggest challenge is this is totally a new concept,” says Korff, a consultant with the New York City marathon for 15 years. “You have to make it look like the 10th year the first year. You have to do it right from the get-go.”
The race is scheduled to start at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, just north of downtown Sarasota. The course hits the Ringling Bridge, St. Armands Circle and the Sarasota bayfront before it zigzags through several neighborhoods. The finish line is back at the Van Wezel. Organizers say the race should be ideal for runners who love enthusiastic crowd support from beginning to end.

The parts that weave through the neighborhoods are where logistics are paramount. That's where there will be bands. There will also be up to 20 nonprofit organizations with booths along the course, aiding runners and promoting their causes. Homeowners along the route will get a cowbell, says Korff, and a sheet that explains how to have a good time during the event. “It's not just about a race,” Korff says. “We are essentially trying to create a 13.1-mile party.”

To pull off a party like that with so many moving parts, says Korff, requires a team of doers who both know how to get stuff done and communicate with each other — constantly. The organizers plan to hire four people in key positions six weeks before the race and there will be 400 volunteers. Says Korff: “A lot of this is positioning and how far in advance you communicate with people.”