We are entering a period of the year when fun runners are putting to the test the many kilometres of pounding the streets that have taken place, at times sporadically, at others with gusto over the winter months.
Last weekend there were no fewer than 25 races of varying distance around the country, headed up by the RiverRock sponsored Belfast City Marathon.
This weekend the highlight will be the inaugural running of the FIT City Run in the Phoenix Park, sponsored by the Irish Independent’s FIT Magazine. There will be a second run in Cork on July 21st and part of the proceeds from the €31.50 entry fee will go towards the Athletics Ireland Fit4Youth programme.
Being a media sponsors enables a strong promotion of the event and the organisers are also using social media to good effect. Readers and runners are asked to promote their participation, and the event itself through use of a #FitCityCover hashtag and a selection of those that do will be selected to grace the cover of the magazine, distributed free with the irish Independent every Thursday, in the coming weeks.
Take up has been slow so far but runners like to judge themselves against their own goals and will be happy to share that socially if they hit their target race time.
The Fit City Series carries a prize fund of €3,000 though it’s the taking part that matters for most. Ireland has a high level of fitness runners and many are building up to the Flora Women’s mini marathon which is the largest of its kind in the world.
It is becoming a crowded market place, albeit one that is satisfying a demand at present and the imaginative creation of specific themes will be needed to stand out. The Rock ‘n Roll half marathon over the August Bank Holiday weekend is another new event this year, while the various City Marathons have been running a lot longer, the Spar Great Ireland Run attracted a race of over 10,000 to the Phoenix Park last month, and the Samsung Night Run another 5,000 through closed off city streets just weeks after.
The challenge will be to break into the consciousness of runners that have their own favourite events that they train and prepare for and fix a point on the calendar that race organisers, and the partners they have in sponsorship can claim as their own.
The Flora Women’s Mini Marathon has played a key role in increasing participation of women in sport. Read more about The Business of Women’s Sport Conference being held at the UCD Smurfit Business School on Thursday, June 20th and book your place today.
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