THERE WAS A TIME

when runners were happy to throw on their club vest, race around an unmarked route and be met at the finish line by someone with a stopwatch and a few bananas.

But what started as a community activity, largely held within the vestiges of local running clubs, has become a multi-million pound industry attracting global sponsorship.

This shift from amateur set-up to polished commercial commodity has eroded the once-accepted £1 per mile formula that runners were happy to pay in race fees. League races at £10 a pop still exist, but the market is dominated by professional race companies charging anywhere from £15 to £50 for a 10K.

But while prices have risen, so has accessibility, with events filled with non-club runners raising money for charity or just having a go, rather than racing for positions. ‘In the past, 70% of entrants would be in their running club vest and the rest wouldn’t,’ says Jody Foy, events director at RaceNation Events. ‘Now, it’s the other way round and there are a lot more women taking part, because it’s not as intimidating.’

Although runners are mostly taking part ‘for fun’, the professionalisation of the industry has increased our expectations. We now expect accurate chip timing, a tech finisher’s T-shirt, fully stocked aid stations and, of course, something shiny to hang round our necks. ‘If you don’t do a medal, it’s career suicide,’ says Foy.

With so much emphasis on completion bling, runners don’t always appreciate everything else that goes into operating a safe event. ‘Last year, someone posted an awful review of one of my races and said they got nothing for their money,’ says Simon Hollis, race director of Go Beyond. ‘People sometimes struggle to see the value.’

New race companies jostling to find a place in the crowded marketplace are struggling to meet the demands of runners. ‘Putting on an event, even a tiny one, can cost £6,000 to £10,000,’ says Foy.

Prior to the pandemic, prices were starting to stabilise as the market became saturated. As a runner, it was entirely possible to race every weekend without travelling too far from home. An ecosystem of race companies had emerged, with the vast majority made up of one-man bands or small companies, which fed into premium events such as the London Marathon and Great North Run.

But lockdown battered the industry, with many smaller companies folding. Some managed to hold on with the support of government grants or were bought out by medium-sized enterprises, such as RaceNation. The racing technology firm created RaceNation Events in 2020 following a merger with Immortal Sport, which operates 15 events in the south west. A report by RaceNation revealed that

93% of race organisers reported losses in revenue during 2020 and 13% were not planning any events for 2021.

Fortunately, the lifting of restrictions means races are starting to return in some shape or form, but the future still remains uncertain. With social distancing, additional Covid safety measures and reduced capacity, how many more races will be axed? And, for those that do go ahead, what will the impact be on the fees runners pay?

FIXED COSTS

The biggest outlay for race companies are the fixed costs to cover insurance, premises, equipment and staff. These costs remain the same whether they sell out all their events or have to postpone them due to a global pandemic.

‘We lost £400,000 during the pandemic as we didn’t have any events,’ says Run For All CEO Mike Tomlinson, who organises urban races of up to 10,000 people. ‘We had all the costs but no events. Because we are a charity, we weren’t eligible for any loans, so there is no way to get that money back.’

The events industry is run on a dilution model with few variables, meaning it is difficult to reduce costs. ‘The more people you can have participate to dilute the fixed

costs, the better the situation is,’ says Hollis. ‘Fixed costs are not that much different for 1K or 10K. And a marathon needs 100 people to marshal it whether there is one person running or 5,000.’

The complex race infrastructure is not always seen by many runners, much to the frustration of event organisers. ‘There are so many little boring costs,’ says Paul Albon, who set up Big Bear Events four years ago. ‘I paid out £500 for a gazebo in my first year, which is the equivalent of 15 entries, and my capacity is only 100. It’s a big maths puzzle, and in the first year we were nowhere near breaking even.’

Even businesses that aren’t making a profit need to hire an accountant, which in the past would have been the domain of the running club treasurer. ‘Then there are things like the 6% card processing fee on every entry,’ says Albon.

Insurance is another sizeable outlay at around £800 a year for £5million public liability, which is the level of cover local authorities expect to see before signing off on anything.

LOCATION EQUATION

Running in a stunning location or on closed roads through a city centre is part of the appeal of racing, but it comes at a cost, with every stakeholder wanting their piece of the event fee pie. ‘The National Trust wants a percentage per entrant and its bill to us can be £10,000 for one event,’ says Foy, whose races attract up to 4,000 people.

Using a country park for a trail race usually means paying the venue and covering parking charges, plus many landowners also ask for a 10% to 20% commission fee on race fees. ‘I can pay

£400 to a venue for each race and if they want 20% of the entry fee on a £60 ticket, I have lost £10 to just get a runner in the door,’ explains Albon.

Go Beyond, which is based in the East Midlands, says it had to pull one of its popular events due to increasing demands from the landowner. ‘They doubled the fees and wanted 10% of turnover, not profit. We couldn’t afford to run it,’ says Hollis, who feels landowners still lord over the countryside, treating runners like their feudal subjects. ‘It’s like going back hundreds of years to these powerful landowners with their people around them.’

Urban areas have their own unique set of challenges, as the pandemic has placed increased pressure on green spaces swarming with visitors who are now reluctant to return to indoor leisure activities. ‘In some places, we’re having to cap places as it’s difficult for venues to accommodate us because they’ve been overwhelmed due to increases in the public,’ says Richard Parr, director of development and communities at The

Race Organiser, which runs race series in the south and midlands. ‘In some cases, we’re having to accept losses as we need to maintain the relationship with parks and a presence in those parks,’ he says.

Once races leave the confines of parks and trails, there’s the added headache and cost of traffic management.

Road closures are expensive and prices appear to be set on a whim by each local authority.

‘In Cornwall, it costs £1,500 to close one road, and in Devon, it’s £85 – every local authority is different,’ says Foy.

Staggered starts are great for social distancing, but impact traffic management as roads have to be closed for longer. Hollis says he was quoted costs of £100 a minute for a temporary traffic regulation order for a race; and closing major thoroughfares through cities can cost tens of thousands, which is one of the reasons why these events are often heavily sponsored.

Some race directors feel everything is still on a knife edge when it comes to land access. ‘The biggest threat is the local •

‘ RUNNING IN A STUNNING LOCATION IS PART OF THE APPEAL, BUT IT COSTS’