Raceplace Events is an event management company founded in 1979 by Rob Wallack, of Phoenix, Arizona. Over a span of more than 30 years, Raceplace has established itself as a pre-eminent firm specializing in management of high quality endurance sport production.
In the late 70s, Mike was an avid participant in such (running) events (10Ks, Marathons, etc.); he met Rob and saw the evolution and growth of Rob's company. Rob knew that Mike was a computer guy, and he invited Mike to look at a small computer system for timing and scoring these races he was starting to use. More importantly, Rob was interested in Mike's work for Honeywell in support of a large national race, The Fiesta Bowl Marathon, that Mike worked with the travelling staff of Honeywell Marketing people that timed and scored this and other big races around the country. The world-famous Boston Marathon was one of the races that Honeywell handled...
Mike was also involved with a local running group, called the Arizona Road Racers - he served as President for 3 years. As part of this activity, he expanded their newsletter in several areas: photos and race listings that weren't exclusive to the club. This latter expansion led his to seek non-club information, and that often put him in touch with Rob and his store. A natural friendship followed...
Mike soon realized that he could improve Rob's computer timing process by creating his own, using his programming skills and knowledge of how the (much more complex) Honeywell system worked. He was also teaching a computer programming language course at a local college, and he felt this language would be a good one with which he could develop this system. So many things coming together...
So, in the early 1980s, Mike started to "play" with this language (Pascal) and the requirements of a medium-scale timing and scoring application. It was more that just a "timing program", because it needed database design, data entry processing, and reporting and analysis programs. One particular innovation was the ability to constantly produce almost real-time printout of results that could be posted as the race occurred. This feature, if it could be implemented with PC systems, would dramatically change the way races were processed in Phoenix.
The development of a PC-based timing and scoring system continued for a couple of years of Mike's spare time: in 1986 he offered to try it one one of Rob's Fall races, in a parallel environment with his existing process. Encouraged by what he saw, Rob invested in additional computer equipment to transition to Mike's system. Over the next few years, the system was used in local races, gaining important exposure to actual conditions, as Mike enhanced the programs.
In 1988, a number of major events occurred in Mike's (and Libby's) life, as well as the continuing growth of Rob's Raceplace business. Foremost, of course, was Mike's bicycle accident and head injury, and he suffered major setbacks in his career and personal programming work. Further development of the software was halted, while he recovered and went through neurological rehab. However, Rob was looking for more event management business, and in July got a contract on a duathlon (bike/run race) in Prescott, Arizona - a city 100 miles north of Phoenix.
No one was sure if Mike could make this trip, much less handle the added work/problem solving of this new type of race. Libby was especially worried, and she insisted that she join the Raceplace crew there. One of the biggest risks was Mike's having to climb up a scaffold and operate the key timing computer: he was weak and often disoriented. Somehow, it worked out...but the strain on all was enormous.
Based on this success, Rob continued to seek more timing and scoring business, for events he didn't actually own or manage. In the Fall of 1988, he acquired the contract for a national series of races: the Coors Light Duathlon. This was really a "big deal", as the series had 10-16 races, held in cities all throughout the United States: Chicago, Seattle, Houston, Tampa, Boston, San Franscisco, etc. al. It meant the Raceplace crew would be flying all over the country all summer, working in strange and sometimes difficult weather conditions, and working with local race management companies. Very stressful conditions for all, but certainly for Mike, who was still recovering...
Nonetheless, the venture was very successful, as the team always found a way to produce good and timely results. The crew worked very well together (a testimony to Rob's ability to surround himself with knowledgeable, cooperative people), even in harsh environments.