Most people think of track and field and believe that it is a sport that isn’t all that exciting simply because they can’t participate in it, there are too many events and there are few ways to keep track of the top stars in the sport as they run the fastest times of the season in Europe. I would say the same thing of road racing, except for the fact that many people that do road races don’t even know there is a professional side to it.Like most individual sports, road racing from a professional perspective, lives and dies by sponsorship. If athletes aren’t sponsored, they can’t make a living running, as well as prize money, which is barely existent if sponsors aren’t supporting races. While this can be viewed as a problem, it should be viewed as an opportunity, and a creative one at that.
Many sports, including golf and tennis, live and die by sponsorships. Many golf tournaments may not be around next year due to companies struggling in the current economic state. However, many tournaments, and indeed many other sports, are organized properly, thriving with quality sponsorship, but also building up other ways to make money as well.
Where am I going with this…just hold on.
Often times, fans of the sport complain because there aren’t enough professional training groups around the United States, or there aren’t enough high profile competitions, or this isn’t enough prize money at the already existing top end competitions. Money makes the world go ’round, and it seems like road racing and track and field simply don’t have the dollars necessary to take the sport to the next level in the sporting public’s eye. I always thought this true, until now.
In the July 13 issue of Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal, there is an entire section on high-end sports, including sailfishing, sailing, polo, tennis and golf. While those sports are historically known as wealthier sports, running is never mentioned. However, when looking at the statistics (login may be required), running could very well be one of the top 3-4 wealthiest participant sports in the world.
The stats:
- While running ranks as the 14th sport in the $250,000+ category, it is tied for fifth in popularity in the $150,000-$249,999 category and is tied for first with golf in the $100,000-$149,999 category.
What do all these numbers tell me? Well, for starters, they tell me that there is a great deal of personal wealth in road racing. More so, it tells me that there are financial opportunities for the sport that simply aren’t being utilized. If any of our sport’s leading organizations took the time to identify some of these high-income level participants, drawing them into the sport on the professional side, this could very easily fund the sport at a much higher level. Heck, isn’t that why golf, tennis, sailing, skiing, triathlon, all thrive financially?
Road racing is by far the most untapped part of our sport. Currently, it seems like the Wild West, with little structure, a million events, but few big players. The opportunity is there to expand road racing, making it a much bigger sport than it currently claims to be. With millions of people taking part each year in events, and knowing that there are some very wealthy individuals who participate in the sport, this should indicate that road running has limitless potential. A sport with limitless potential seems like a sport many would eagerly invest in, right?
Thanks to RunTheRoads
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