Behind the Scenes of the World’s Largest Marathon

For Episode 15 of The Speakeasy, we sit down with Bhavesh Vaghela, Chief Product, Technology & AI Officer at London Marathon Events, to explore what it takes to run a 365-day product and technology operation behind an event that happens one day a year. Oh wait, make that two days! Leaning into Bhavesh's journey through defence, banking, cybersecurity and travel before landing in mass participation sport, we explore how LME builds for a portfolio of 25+ events beyond the marathon itself, why "there's no proxy" for customer empathy, and how the team thinks about AI, and avoiding what Bhavesh calls the "silent graveyards" of over-invested, under-validated AI bets. We also get into the mechanics of sponsor trust, the case against dynamic pricing for the London Marathon, and why Bhavesh believes sport is roughly where banking was in 2008. If you’re interested in how to engage your audiences year-round for your one-off event, and the tech innovations driving that growth, this one is ...