Nicola Harrington, Events, Participation & Experience

What I do

The Experience & Participation Scan

"A fresh pair of experienced eyes on your event, programme or initiative."

£750

Fixed fee

🔍

Insight

An independent view from someone who has delivered complex experiences and genuinely understands why people engage, return and recommend.

💡

Clarity

A clear picture of your participant journey: where it sings, where it loses people, and what that means for your numbers.

🎯

Priorities

Not a long list of recommendations. A focused set of actions: what to do now, what to do next, what to consider later.

How it works

Discovery Call

We talk through what you're running, what you're trying to achieve, what worries you and what success looks like. No prep required. Just an honest conversation.

60–90 minutes

Material Review

I look at your website, registration flow, communications, feedback and any existing reports. I'm looking for friction: the points where people hesitate, drop off or disengage.

Participant Journey Map

I map the full experience from first awareness through to return, visualising where you're winning people over and where you're quietly losing them.

Experience Scan

Drawing on 15+ years of operational and participation experience, I identify the bottlenecks, missed moments and hidden opportunities that aren't always obvious from the inside.

Findings Summary

A concise five-page report: headline observations, your participant journey, top strengths, key opportunities and a clear priority action plan.

Feedback Call

We talk through the findings together. Not just "here's my report." This is about helping you think differently, not handing you a document and disappearing.

60 minutes

Perfect if you already have something running.

This isn't for new events or start-ups. It's for organisations who care about getting it right and want an independent eye to help them see what they can't.

Annual events Cycling events Running events Established festivals Community programmes Business Improvement Districts Tourism initiatives Volunteer-led organisations Participation programmes

Also available

Freelance Event Operations

Alongside the Experience Scan, I'm available as a freelance event operations specialist. Whether you need an extra pair of hands for a one-off event or ongoing operational support across a season, I work behind the scenes to make things run smoothly.

Discuss your event

Event planning
Operational delivery
Logistics coordination
Volunteer coordination
Stakeholder management
Event-day support
Risk & contingency planning

Out in the wild

Work in the real world

A few of the events, programmes and research projects I've been part of.

Stonehenge Summer Solstice

I delivered one of the UK's most iconic mass gatherings. Working together with multiple stakeholders from highways to local campsites and counter terrorist officers, to welcome over 10,000 people to celebrate sunrise safely and joyfully at the stones.

Multi-agency emergency responders and ambulances during Exercise Amber

National Ambulance Resilience Exercise

I organised Exercise Amber 2, a major national multi-agency interoperability exercise delivered with the National Ambulance Resilience Unit, bringing police, fire and ambulance commanders together to test their joint response. Read about Exercise Amber.

Riders with medals at a community trail cycling event

Volunteering at Cycling & Running Events

From the Clarendon Marathon to local cyclocross races, I volunteer across grassroots cycling and running events, seeing first hand what makes them work.

A group of runners lined up together before a social run in Salisbury

Silent Runs Salisbury

Building community through social running, creating the conditions for people to connect, take part and keep showing up.

Young riders racing cyclocross on a muddy course

Research in progress

Cyclocross Participation Study

Independent research into participation drop-off in youth cyclocross, finding the small things that keep young riders coming back.

Took part 2026

Battle on the Beach

I lined up for this iconic gravel race on the sand in March 2026, getting stuck into the events I care about as a participant, not just behind the scenes.

Who I work with

For the people behind the events

I work with organisations who care about getting it right, not just ticking boxes.

Sporting Events

Cycling, gravel, running and endurance events, and community sport that want better operations, participation and experience.

Public Sector & Community

Local authorities, participation initiatives, community engagement and behaviour change programmes that bring people together.

Charities & Membership

Volunteer-led organisations, participation programmes and community-based projects looking to grow and keep their people.

15+

Years
experience

About Nicola

From Stonehenge to start lines.

I help organisations create experiences people want to be part of. Over 15+ years I've worked across major public events, national resilience programmes, healthcare, technology and security, bringing together people, logistics and operations to make complex things happen.

These days I'm most interested in participation and experience: why people get involved, what keeps them coming back, and where organisations quietly lose participants, volunteers and communities along the way.

Through my son's national and international cycling journey, and my own love of running and community participation, I've found my home in sporting events, mass-participation programmes and community-led experiences.

Helping organisations create experiences people want to return to and recommend.

Years spent making complicated things look easy.