2024 Marathon Continues | Turning the "Business Horse" Back into the "Racing Horse"

Marathon, a sport with a history of hundreds of years, is continuing to gain popularity in China.

The Shanghai Marathon, which will start this weekend, has received over 250,000 registrations, but only 38,000 people can start from the Bund. Many runners joke that "getting a spot is like winning a big lottery."

According to the "Road Running Work Report of the Chinese Athletics Association" released this year, The total number of participants in road running events across the country in 2023 reached 6.0519 million, of which the total number of participants in certified events by the association is 4.1842 million, which is basically the same as the 4.24909 million in 2019, marking the full recovery of the marathon industry.

Due to the large number of events, the phenomenon of a "Super Marathon Day" has emerged. Taking November 2nd and 3rd as an example, more than 30 road running events were held nationwide, including the Beijing Marathon, with a total of about 400,000 participants.

Marathon scene

However, on this 42.195-kilometer track, in addition to the fun and sense of achievement brought by road running, the increasingly popular road running market also shows some "hidden concerns".

Behind the business of marathon running, anxiety of sports brands

The only equipment needed for marathon running is a pair of running shoes. Therefore, the running shoes under the runners' feet have become the main battlefield of sports brands. The competition among brands is not only reflected in the "championship shoe models", but also includes the media's statistics on the "wearing rate" of running shoes. The performance of running shoes on the track has become a key achievement in brand marketing, and behind it lies the anxiety of "who is the number one running brand".

Before the finish line, professional runners will focus on their PB results, media reporters will focus on who wins the championship, and running enthusiasts will be more concerned about what to wear to win the championship. For this reason, brands are using their own strategies in the competition, all wanting to "grab" the runners' feet through the exposure of top events.

The best way to occupy the runners' choices on a large scale in the marathon is to sponsor the marathon events. According to statistics, the sponsorships of the current IAAF Platinum Label Events and IAAF Gold Label Events in China and internationally have been divided among well-known domestic and foreign sports brands.

The only World Marathon Major candidate event in China, the Shanghai Marathon, is sponsored by Nike, the Platinum Label Event Xiamen Marathon is sponsored by Xtep, and Adidas sponsors the long-established Gold Label Event - the Beijing Marathon. The Wuxi Marathon, which has a history of ten years, is sponsored by Li-Ning, Anta sponsored the Guangzhou Marathon this year, and QiaoDan joined hands with the Lanzhou Marathon. Some domestic brands even sponsor multiple Gold Label Events.

2023 Shanghai Marathon

However, high-level marathon events with large scale and high popularity are scarce resources. In the data competition of chasing the "rate of breaking three hours and the wearing rate", brands have also found other ways to increase the brand exposure in the events. Ways such as forming brand running teams, recruiting elite athletes, and providing bonus incentive plans have become shortcuts for brands to "refresh" their battle reports.

Before the Shanghai Marathon starts, the recruitment promotions of various brand teams can already be seen on social media. In this "competition outside the race", not only domestic brands are active, but international brands such as HOKA and Mizuno are also actively participating. It is worth noting that the running team strategies of each brand have their own focuses: Some brands only require runners to finish the race wearing their equipment, while others group runners according to their pace and set corresponding reward mechanisms.

The competition among brands also poses challenges to the fairness and purity of the events.

For example, in the Lanzhou Marathon, many elite runners failed to get a spot; in the Beijing Half Marathon, the elite runner Jia Er Ren Jia, who signed with a competing brand, was disqualified for "violating the scope of use of the sponsor's quota"; in the same event, the elite runners of the sponsor even "held hands and crossed the finish line" before the finish line.

These incidents have raised concerns in the industry about the fairness of the events. Well-known sports scholar Yi Jiandong pointed out that Currently, Chinese elite runners are affiliated with multiple brands. If events exclude non-sponsor runners from participating due to commercial sponsorship terms, it will have an adverse impact on the long-term development of the events.

Turning the "Business Marathon" back into the "Running Marathon"

Returning to the essence, behind this series of phenomena, the reason is that with the rapid development of road running in China, the unique commercial value of the marathon has been created, leading sports brands to start a competition for exposure. However, in the process of China's marathon from large to strong, more professional management methods should be used to improve the runners' participation experience and the stickiness of the event IP.

The Chinese Athletics Association revised the "Management Measures for Road Running Events"

Since May this year, the Chinese Athletics Association has continuously updated the management measures for road running events, clearly stating that The rights and interests boundaries of sponsors should be reasonably delineated, and events are encouraged to invite more domestic elite athletes to participate to improve the competitive level of road running events. It is gratifying that domestic events are trying to refocus on the competitive essence of the marathon.

In mid-November, the announcement of the list of elite athletes for the Shanghai Marathon has sparked many discussions. The "202" elite athletes are leading, and the world's top athletes are gathering, making running enthusiasts' expectations for the Shanghai Marathon full.

In this "the strongest in the history of the event" elite athlete lineup, the men's group is led by the Kenyan runner Kipruto, who set a new personal best in the full marathon (PB, 2 hours 02 minutes 55 seconds) in the 2024 Tokyo Marathon, and more than ten men's PB have broken the 2-hour 06-minute mark. In the women's group, it is led by the Platinum Label athlete Tola (PB, 2 hours 18 minutes 21 seconds), and the Tanzanian runner Sakilu (PB, 2 hours 21 minutes 27 seconds), who broke the course record in the Chongqing Marathon this year, will also participate in the competition, making more running enthusiasts full of expectations for "breaking the course record".

List of invited male athletes for the 2024 Shanghai Marathon

In addition, the showdown of domestic athletes is also worthy of attention. In the men's group, Wu Xiangdong (PB, 2 hours 08 minutes 04 seconds), he will also compete with Jia Er Ren Jia (PB, 2 hours 08 minutes 32 seconds), Yang Kegu, Guan Yousheng, and Nian Zhe Ati on the same stage in the Shanghai Marathon. In the women's group, Zhang Deshun is undoubtedly the focus. Winning the Shanghai Marathon three times in a row is her goal. In addition, Ding Changqin, Zhang Xinyan, Huang Xuemei and other strong female athletes will also participate. Yao Miao, who returned to the marathon track after the cross-country season, will also step onto the Shanghai Marathon track. They will jointly fight for the glory of Chinese women's marathon.

List of invited female athletes for the 2024 Shanghai Marathon

Behind these athletes, the figures of their respective brand sponsors can be seen, including Nike, Adidas, Anta, Li-Ning, Xtep, QiaoDan Sports, etc. On the stage of this Shanghai Marathon, it can be seen that the goal of the Shanghai Marathon organizing committee and sponsors is to further improve the competitive level of the event, and at the same time provide a stage for excellent and self-disciplined athletes to pursue a higher competitive level.

For the Chinese marathon, the road ahead is full of both challenges and unlimited opportunities. What is running on the track is not only the runners, but also the values of the entire industry. Only by maintaining the vitality of commercialization while defending the fairness and purity of the events can the Chinese marathon run a unique rhythm on the global stage.

Perhaps, the real "racing marathon" is ahead, waiting for us to chase.

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