Blistering Pace Turns Email Into a Revenue and Retention Engine for Destination Races

September 4, 2026

New haku case study details how the organization generated 19% of combined event revenue through email, maintained a 67% average returning participant rate, and increased marketing capacity by up to 200%.

MIAMI, Fla., Sept 4, 2026 /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – haku, the world’s best platform for endurance event management, today released a new case study detailing how Blistering Pace Race Management scaled their personalized participant communications across a portfolio of destination races while increasing marketing capacity and generating measurable revenue.

Blistering Pace oversees marketing for events including the Big Sur International Marathon, Napa Valley Marathon, San Francisco Half Marathon, and Monterey Bay Half Marathon. By using haku to personalize communications based on runner behavior and registration status, the organization generated nearly 20% of their combined revenue with email.

The results of this personalization project extended well beyond immediate revenue. Blistering Pace achieved a 67% average returning participant rate, with 39% returning from the prior year and another 28% returning after one or more years away. Email open rates reached 72% for the Big Sur Marathon Foundation, while participant-specific transactional communications recorded open rates as high as 90%.

“For destination races, registration is only the beginning of the participant relationship,” said Hannah Sconzo, Director of Marketing at Blistering Pace Race Management. “Because haku is so responsive to each runner’s unique journey, we can be much more relevant in our communications and ultimately drive more meaningful action.”

Blistering Pace uses haku to deliver the right message to the right participant at the right time. Its participant journeys include abandoned-registration follow-ups, product offers, hotel reminders after registration, and targeted resends to runners who did not open important event communications. Location data also allows the team to distinguish between local and traveling participants for even greater engagement.

“I’m able to spend my time more effectively,” Sconzo continued. “I can pre-plan the participant’s journey around our overarching goals and know that our communications are executing in the different ways I need them to.”

Automating this work has helped the Blistering Pace marketing team free up two to three times more capacity without sacrificing relevance.

Blistering Pace also uses haku to evaluate campaigns according to registrations and revenue, rather than relying on opens and clicks alone. When Napa Valley Marathon registration opened, for example, the team compared opening-day registrations with the prior year and monitored progress against a performance target while there was still time to adjust its marketing.

Haden McCarter, haku’s Product Marketing Manager offered that: “haku works behind the scenes to make sure each runner receives useful information at the right moment while giving Blistering Pace’s marketing team a clear view of the registrations and revenue each campaign influences.”

That combination of campaign, registration, and revenue reporting has given the organization what Sconzo described as “a very actionable strategic roadmap” for decisions involving advertising, pricing, and future campaigns.

The impact of haku’s personalization was particularly visible during the Monterey Bay Half Marathon’s eight-day sellout, when approximately 32% of event revenue was generated through email.

Jackie Levi, haku’s Chief Strategy Officer explained: “Destination races often have long and complex participant journeys, so you need an intelligent platform that understands customer context and works with your marketing automation, customer service, and every other part of the participant journey.”

Blistering Pace applies the same focus on relevance to sponsor communications. The organization works with its partners to develop event-specific, co-branded messages grounded in participants’ interests and needs. More precise audience selection helps sponsors reach relevant runners without compromising the engagement and trust Blistering Pace has built with its audiences.

“haku has exceeded everything that I want in an email provider,” Sconzo said. “And the fact that it’s built into our overall registration system is the cherry on top.”

The complete case study, including the strategy and results behind Blistering Pace’s participant journeys, is available on the haku website.

About haku

haku is the global leader in endurance management technology. Its all-in-one platform for endurance events goes far beyond registrations to manage every part of the event lifecycle, memberships, fundraising, e-commerce, marketing, and more. With haku event organizers, race directors, and their teams can cut out busy-work, deliver a better experience, and generate more profit. It brings everything together in one intuitive solution. With the industry’s only native CRM, innovative AI capabilities baked in, and a powerful suite of capabilities, haku unlocks the full potential of your data, driving revenue growth beyond registrations, increasing efficiency, and enabling smarter, data-driven decisions. Fully customizable, scalable and built for security, haku adapts to your workflow so you can focus on what matters most: running a successful event.

About Blistering Pace Race Management

Founded in 2016, BPRM works in a variety of race management capacities, ranging from specific projects to full event oversight. Clients include the San Francisco Half Marathon & 5K, the Napa Valley Marathon and Half Marathon, the Big Sur Marathon Foundation, Stronger Faster Boulder Co, Chicago Event Management, and the New York Road Runners. For more information, visit blisteringpace.com.

Media Contact

Jackie Levi
Chief Strategy Officer, haku
Marketing@hakuapp.com