Beyond Translation: Why True Localization Is the Key to Global Race Growth

The World Is Running Together, But Not the Same Way

Across continents, the endurance world is thriving. Runners travel from Dubai to Boston to Vienna and beyond. Event organizers trade knowledge across time zones. Digital platforms promise to unite them but often fall short when local realities meet global technology.

That’s something Paula Beebe, a Customer Experience Manager at haku, knows intimately. After years working with race organizers in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East, she’s seen the quiet friction that can derail even the most ambitious global events. Paula clarified:

“The entire industry is coming together more than I’ve ever seen, but they’re not all running their events the same way.”

Her insight cuts to the heart of a growing challenge in the endurance space: translation is not localization. True localization is empathy, expressed through design. It’s about understanding how culture, language, and logistics shape the race experience, and how failing to account for them limits growth before the starting gun ever fires.

When “Localized” Isn’t Local Enough

On paper, “going global” might seem easy enough: add a language toggle, update the currency field, and you’re ready to launch in any market.

In practice, the smallest cultural details often create barriers to understanding and experience.

Paula points to European races that expect printed bib names, nationality flags, and awards sorted by country. To local organizers, these are essential details that define participant identity. Meanwhile, to a US  race organizer, details like nationality might seem like optional extras.

What seems like a software limitation quickly becomes a business limitation. A runner’s ability to pay, participate, and feel seen depends on whether the system was built with their world in mind.

That’s why localization isn’t just a nice-to-have. When technology doesn’t adapt to local norms, the cost isn’t just frustration, it’s exclusion. All of this results in a worse participant experience.

Culture Shapes the Course

Culture defines what people value in their race experience. And those values change from market to market. 

In the U.S., endurance events are community spectacles full of swag, charity ties, and personal storytelling. Participants want emotional connection and visible rewards that they can take home when an event concludes. They not only want these things, but expect them to be included in the registration price.

In Europe, personalization can be more prestigious. The name on a bib and nationality on display aren’t vanity touches; they’re markers of pride. In some localities, nationality goes even a step further. It isn’t just cosmetic, instead nationality is used to determine award categories. Paula further explains that:
“It’s not always enough to just use a registration address when determining nationality. For our interconnected world, where someone lives and where they are from could be vastly different.”

Localization, then, is not just about interface elements. It’s about respect. 

Respect for what participation means in each culture. Respect for the way data carries identity. Respect for what organizers want their participants to feel.

Every culture has its own definition of a great race. A global platform has to help you operate wherever your event takes place.

Why It Matters: The Hidden Cost of Poor Localization

When localization falls short, the effects ripple far beyond inconvenience.

1. Lost trust.
Participants who can’t register in their language, currency, or cultural context often assume the event isn’t meant for them. They hesitate or abandon registration entirely. 

2. Stalled global growth.
Platforms that treat every market like a carbon copy of another country quickly hit a ceiling. Each unaddressed cultural nuance, whether a missing payment option or a rigid registration form, translates into fewer entries and slower adoption. GDPR considerations also matter for the EU market.

3. Operational inefficiency.
When localization gaps appear, organizers fill them manually. They juggle spreadsheets to track bib personalization, manually translate confirmation emails, or answer repetitive participant questions.

4. Brand dilution.
An event’s brand is built on participant experience. When language, tone, or workflows feel mismatched to local expectations, it sends the wrong message. True localization protects brand equity as much as it drives participation.

Empathy as the Engine of Global Growth

At haku, localization is not a checkbox — it’s a philosophy.

The company’s design principle, put people first, means that localization starts with empathy, not engineering. Before deciding how to build something, the team asks: What matters to this organizer? How do participants in this region measure a great experience?

That mindset mirrors how Brynne Kelly, another haku CX leader, describes automation:

‍“The point of technology isn’t to replace people — it’s to give them back the time to be human.”

Localization and automation are two sides of the same coin. Both make complexity invisible so people can connect. Both translate empathy into structure. And both determine whether technology feels empowering or alienating.

When systems reflect cultural nuance they build confidence. Confidence turns into participation, and participation turns into growth.

The Business Case for Going Local

For endurance organizations eyeing international growth, localization isn’t a technical detail, but rather a market expansion strategy.

Every barrier removed adds measurable value:

• More participants: Localized forms and processes expand who can sign up.
• Lower support costs: When instructions and confirmations feel native, participants need less help.
• Higher loyalty: Participants return to events that feel designed for them, not just translated for them.
• Faster innovation: When technology fits local contexts, organizers experiment more and innovate faster.

Paula has seen this firsthand. When one of haku’s client’s needed a relay setup re-engineered based on local input, participation rose and manual work plummeted. She explained: 

“It wasn’t just about the technical changes we made. It was about the human element behind those changes.”

Why Now: The Race Toward Global Relevance

The endurance industry is entering a new era of competition. Global audiences are growing, but attention is fragmenting. The next generation of runners, many of whom are multilingual, mobile-first, or culturally diverse, expects every digital touchpoint to meet them where they are.

Platforms that treat localization as an afterthought will lose ground to those that treat it as strategy.

In a world where trust is increasingly tied to relevance, localization is how brands prove they’re paying attention. It signals care, inclusion, and credibility. It tells runners everywhere: this event was made for you.

The point of getting localization right is to make the entire experience feel effortless.

The Future: Global Platforms, Local Hearts

Runners from Tokyo to Toronto all want to experience the same reliability, but in their own language, culture, and cadence.

Choosing the right tool for your event isn’t just about finding out which solution offers the most features. As Paula Beebe puts it,

“We can translate text in an afternoon or at most a few days. Translating culture takes listening and getting to really understand the people living it every day.”

True localization is empathy operationalized and empathy, as it turns out, scales beautifully.

If you’re interested in learning more about how haku helps endurance event organizers the world over, we’re ready to talk. Request a demo today.

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