Active Joe race director emphasizes community, inclusivity, charity

By Henry Howard

Talk about making the most out of an unfortunate situation.

When an injury forced Libby Jones to drop her race plans, she pivoted to a volunteer role. That experience provided the spark for Jones to begin a race directing career, which she has been doing for almost two decades.

As Active Joe race director, Jones place an emphasis on building an inclusive community, creating races for anyone and donating to charities.

Due to her contributions to the trail and ultra running community she is my featured race director for May. In January 2024, I kicked off this monthly feature to pay tribute to the trail and ultra race directors who make the sport great. To see previous RDs featured, they are all available here. If you have any nominations, feel free to email me here or fill out this form.

Meet Libby Jones, Active Joe race director

Question: Why did you get into race directing?

Answer: I got injured. ;-) I was training for my first marathon in 2005 and ignored the signs of plantar fasciitis until it caught up with me. I couldn't do the half marathon we had on the schedule so I volunteered instead. Afterward, the race director said I was an excellent volunteer and asked me to get more involved. It snowballed from there and

now I've been race directing — the passion in my life I found because of what I did when injured — for 19 years.

Question: How did you get your start as an RD?

Answer: The race I volunteered at was put on by the Dallas Running Club. I started out getting more involved in their large half marathon, the DRC Half, and became the race director for it in 2007. I went on to help direct women's half marathons for a non-profit with my race director mentor, Paula Robertson, for several years before I started The Active Joe, my own company where I could work with many charities and produce races with my own vision. “The Active Joe” was named to be dedicated to the “average joe” who is getting active, to the vast majority of people out there who are doing this in their off hours and weekends for fun and fitness. And we have a charity focus and have given over $300,000 to many charitable organizations over the years too!

Question: What's the most interesting thing you've learned about yourself since you became an RD?

Answer: The most interesting thing I've learned as a race director is how to ask for help! If you are a resilient and independent person, this can be such a struggle. And being a race director often requires you to wear many hats, even hats for things you may not be very good at or familiar with. Learning to bring in others who have the skills you don't is what leads you to be successful.

Question: What's your best piece of advice for someone who wants to become an RD?

Answer: Understand why you want to do it and how it serves the community. I have a saying: “Sometimes more isn't better. Sometimes more is just more.” If you want to create a race or get more involved, know how you will enrich your community by doing it. What skills or focus do you bring? How does this help? A self reflective deep dive is a good idea for anyone but especially when getting into race directing.

Question: What's your favorite race to direct?

Answer: Dinosaur Valley Endurance Run. It has a distance for everyone — five options ranging from 5 miles to 100 miles. It has grown and been embraced by its community to the point that we're in our second year now as a Western States qualifier, and people can qualify on the 100K or the 100 mile. It's held at beautiful Dino Valley State Park, a real gem to be had in Texas to show multiple styles of terrain all in one place. And it's a diverse and inclusive race crowd, and volunteer base that is just full of heart!

Question: What's your favorite race to run?

Answer: I love scenic races, so Gorge Waterfalls, Bighorn, Volcanic 50. Those have been races where the image of the beauty of nature have really stayed with me.

Question: Tell me about a funny experience as an RD and what you learned from it.

Answer: Oh this really puts me on the spot where I wish I had documented more of my stories over the years for when things start to muddle together. I had a runner show up to one of my races realizing he had absolutely no running shoes on him. Luckily, we were also collecting hundreds of worn running shoes for a charity, so we gathered helpers from the crowd and found him a pair in his size. He went on to a podium finish in that stranger's shoes! The ability to pivot in race directing is always important. You can't just have a Plan B, you need a C, D, E, F, etc. There is always some sort of crisis going on behind the scenes at a race that runners are probably not aware of, but that ability to think outside the box and adapt and solve problems is what lets the day have the potential for big success.

Question: If a runner can only do one of your races ever, it would be ...

Answer: Dinosaur Valley Endurance Run. I've highlighted above why it is such a great race already. While the race has scenery, solid execution, and a distance to challenge everyone, it also just has the best vibe, and that's important. Everyone is welcome, but we also actively invite previously underrepresented or less acknowledged

communities. Being prepared for an ultra is important, so as one example, our Runners' Manual is available in English and Spanish, because we have so many native Spanish speakers in Texas. These small personalized touches are what people love about that race and all races by The Active Joe.

Question: What exciting project do you have in the works?

Answer: It has been a lot of work to get Dinosaur Valley Endurance Run to the professional level and size to be a qualifying race for Western States Endurance Run that right now I'm focused on continuing to make that a solid event and tweak and fine tune aspects to keep improving the runner experience there. I recently moved from Texas to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in August 2024 for my husband's work. I have been adjusting to traveling back and forth to produce the events I am so committed to and that I love so much. That Texas running community is still so important to me even if I am not physically there for so much of the year, and I give back to that community in donating my time to produce my races!

Question: Where can runners find out more about your races?

Answer: www.theactivejoe.com