Getting someone to register for your race is hard. Getting them to come back the next year is harder. Here is your playbook for building loyalty.
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How Do You Get New Runners to Become Regular Runners?
Getting someone to register for your race is hard. Getting them to come back the next year is harder – and not more valuable. If you're looking for a playbook for building loyalty, start here.
Key strategies include:
Instead of sending and email, build an email strategy (and start before race day)
Use your data to recognize and reward loyalty
Incentivize word of mouth marketing – runners who bring their friends also have more fun on race day
Building repeat participation isn't a set-it-and-forget-it, one-time thing. It requires annual attention throughout the lifecycle of your race. Start now, and build the kind of race that people want to come back to (every year).
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THE INSIDE TRACK
Salomon just locked up exclusive rights to Ironman footwear, apparel, and gear through 2031, and its name will now sit on the title of the sport's most iconic race.
A masters runner who doctors feared might never run again built an AI tool he says predicts race times with 97.4 percent accuracy, based on data from his own 200-plus races, then went out and won a national title.
Some of the biggest names in wearables are quietly re-engineering their sensors after research found darker skin tones can throw off heart-rate readings by up to 15 beats per minute.
The company behind nearly every pro cycling team's saddle pads just got acquired, as Röko snapped up Elastic Interface's parent company in its third Italian buyout since 2019.
A new scripted drama is putting the Tour de France behind a camera crew of its own, following a fictional cycling team fighting to survive, with filming underway now for a 2027 release.
VividQ has revealed holographic technology for bike shops that lets customers see a bike in different sizes, colors, and configurations without the shop having to stock every version.
The National Park Service has proposed a rule to streamline e-bike and bicycle access across major California parks like Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon, though it stops short of opening any new trails outright.
Brooks Running added NFL star Cooper Kupp, WNBA forward Maddy Westbeld, and Premier League footballer Oscar Bobb to its global athlete ambassador roster, betting that running credibility translates across sports.
Wahoo's new Apple Watch app lets cyclists and runners record workouts straight from their wrist and sync everything back to its training platform, with deeper recovery tracking still to come.
Fitness-racing brand Hyrox just sold to a private-equity-led group in a deal valuing the company at roughly $700 million, prompting its co-founders to publicly reassure fans "you will not get rid of us anytime soon."
Jakob Ingebrigtsen called his rivals "losers" and "cowards" after finishing fourth at the Diamond League Final, then walked back part of the outburst while 14 meet records fell across the weekend, including marks from Marileidy Paulino, Audrey Werro, and Masai Russell.
️ An analysis of 2.75 million marathon finishes found that race-day air pollution, not just heat or wind, is quietly costing runners minutes on the clock.
️ Athlos canceled its third New York City meet just weeks before race day, and the women's track league still owes $75,000 in stadium deposits for an event that will no longer happen.
Ever wonder how a road race gets its exact distance? Here's how courses are measured, and why a missed calculation still sent Edmonton Marathon runners 700 meters off course this year.
JOBS
NEW Atlanta Track Club - Social Media & Marketing Coordinator
NEW Atlanta Track Club - Design Coordinator
NEW Atlanta Track Club - Membership Manager
World Sports Group - Senior Sales Manager – Endurance Sports and Partnerships
Boston Athletic Association - Director of Event Operations and Venue Design
Nike - Generative AI Lead Designer
REI - Maintenance Technician
New Balance - Senior Footwear Designer, Performance Running Innovation
Brooks Running - Designer II, Advanced Footwear Design, Visual Brand + CMF Design
Brooks Running - Principal Footwear Merchandiser, Americas
But that’s not all. Check out other great job opportunities on our job board HERE.
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