Brands are constantly looking for ways to engage with communities that will prove fruitful for their investments. Venelize de Lange from media update examines why marathons have become one of the most marketable spaces in the modern event scene.
If you are in any way involved with the running community, you've probably heard more than enough about training blocks and tempo runs, especially with the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon happening this coming weekend. This long awaited event promises to attract global interest as it marks the final year of the race's candidacy for the Abbott World Marathon Majors since it joined the programme in 2022.
As seen with the cancellation of the event last year, runners hold significant media influence. However, they don't just create and circulate media when they're disappointed that a marathon was cancelled — they also market said marathon through their excitement over participating and training for it.
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Resultingly, marathons have become incredibly valuable in marketing. While more and more brands are investing in marathon sponsorships, the visibility they gain from the races extends beyond the official event coverage and organiser-led media exposure.
Arguably, one of the biggest marketing advantages is the amount of content marathon runners generate themselves. From training updates and Strava stats to race-day TikToks and finish-line photos with well-deserved medals, participants effectively become micro-influencers for the event and its sponsors.
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That said, to fully comprehend this reach and marketing advantage of marathons, brands would have to monitor online engagement around these events. This is most effectively done through advanced social media monitoring tools such as brand tracking, hashtag tracking and competitor benchmarking, which enables marketers to determine what content truly resonates with their audiences and maintains their interest.
Running culture ultimately offers brands something many traditional marketing efforts struggle to create organically: community. Unlike one-way advertising, marathons are built on shared experience — training blocks communally endured, shared race-day feelings of accomplishment and post-run storytelling that participants actively contribute to. It's this sense of belonging that drives engagement and sustained brand affinity.
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*Image courtesy of Canva and Facebook
**Information sourced from Marathon Handbook, LinkedIn and Cape Town Marathon