
In 2009, Robin & Jerry Kempfer (pictured above) approached Rhythm & Booms, a local fireworks festival, and asked them if they had a running event at their festival. They only asked because they were looking to sign up for a run before the fireworks. When the festival organizer’s answer was, “we do not have a run but if you would like to organize one, we would be happy to have it”, Jerry started researching how to start a 5K run. The next summer, the first Run To The Rhythm 5 Miler was born. The run was featured in Runners World magazine and people from as far away as the Czech Republic participated. From that day forward, Starting Line Events was born and has brought several events to Madison, WI.
In January of 2019, Starting Line Events purchased another event company and changed the name to Madison Events, Inc. and have added more events to their line-up as well as several part-time employees.
In the first 10 years, they raised over $100K for local charities and have started their own non-profit, Run Strong Madison, Inc. which will help raise even more money in the future