Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 120, July 2019 | Page 37

SA’s Emerging Market
In South Africa, the numbers in obstacle races, colour
runs and similar events are generally not included in
growth figures the way they have been in the States.
Similarly, although around 60,000 runners line up for
a 5km parkrun at over 200 venues each week, the
South African running market is generally gauged
by those involved in the formal road running market.
This has over 1400 official races, with around 100,000
registered runners taking part each year.
While the major proportion of participation in the
USA is amongst the 5km and 10km events, with
much smaller numbers in the longer races and
marathons, the reverse is true in South Africa. Here
half marathons, marathons and ultra-running events
amass the greatest field sizes. That said, the seed
for the current growth is linked to the introductory
effects of parkruns, and mass 5k and 10km events.
Key to this are the Spar and Totalsports women’s
races, where numbers have exploded in recent
years. This growth has been complimented by the
cultural acceptance, if not trend, for greater women’s
participation, particularly amongst the upper-20 to
mid-40 age group.
In South Africa, self-discovery and acknowledgement
of a ‘can-do’ attitude in parkrun and mass short
events, often motivated by medical health points,
discounts and rewards, is now translating into mass
registration in the longer events, with an end goal of
achieving a Two Oceans or Comrades finish. (Whereas
in many other countries, it’s sufficient for most runners
to do their regular 5k or 10km, with a dream objective
being a one-off marathon). At this stage, this is not
a linear growth across the performance levels of the
sport, but one that creates a bubble effect, and the
primary motivation is one of ‘bucket list’ items.
The Evolution of Isolation
South Africa’s years of political isolation resulted in
the massive growth in popularity of the Comrades
Marathon, with the end goal being to finish the ultra,
and this evolved into similar goals in the Two Oceans,
Korkie, City to City and Bergville-Ladysmith ultras.
These were the events where every self-respecting
runner wanted to earn their permanent number!
However, while these were amongst the largest
50-60km ultras in the 1980’s, only the Two Oceans
has grown, while Bergville has dropped from fields of
3000-plus to around 300 runners, and the other two
have disappeared completely.
Since the return to international sport in the early
1990s, both in terms of participation and TV
viewership, there are now so many other options,
attractions and challenges, that the motivation to
do 10 Comrades or Two Oceans has also declined.
Now the Comrades goal is more often ‘one Up, one
Down, earn the Back2Back,’ then move on to the 70.3
Ironman, international races, and other challenges.
Tick the bucket list and move on.
Nowadays, whilst the growth in race entries is to
be welcomed, it has a considerably different effect
on race dynamics, which organisers are only just
beginning to grapple with. For example, one of
Comrades’ greatest successes is the focus on
novices, whereas those in the Green Number club are
often up in arms at the apparent drop in recognition...
but that’s because for the past few years, the novices
have made up around 30% of the field, whereas
Green Numbers are fast becoming a dying breed.
And the focus is now on participation, as opposed to
competition, with many runners quite happy to ‘go
along for the ride’ with friends and achieve a medal,
as opposed to a best time, which was the main
performance mark of the 70s, 80s and 90s.
The Participation Benefit
The increasing participation volume of South African
road running is great news in terms of more potential
audience for sponsors. It’s not simply the runner,
but also their family and the overall increase in vibe
around the event, that adds to the commercial impact
for the city, the region, and particularly where TV/
streaming is concerned, the sponsor.
However, the sustainability of sponsorships for
the 1400-plus races on the SA calendar is at best
questionable. The cost of organising events increases
each year, which requires a combination of greater
sponsorship and increased income (from entry fees or
other means). Although contentious, a marathon entry
fee of around R250 is fast becoming the cheaper end
of the norm. That means that every four runners add
R1000 to the event’s income, but more importantly,
with family and friends tagging along to the event,
those four runners will typically add around 12 to
15 more people to the potential interaction market
for a sponsor. This is even greater if the event has
substantial media coverage, meaning greater return
on investment for the sponsor.
South African races are much smaller ‘fish’ at present
on the world stage, but this could change with the
growth of international events such as the Cape Town
Marathon and the FNB City Series leading the way.
Until now, Comrades has been the ‘big fish,’ but it has
been swimming in a restricted local puddle, by global
standards. Hence the 2018 Comrades was estimated
to generate a R335 million impact on the Durban
economy, with a restricted TV Viewership of three to
four million. Being an ultra, it has limited international
interest, and hence the ‘Rand to Influence’ return on
investment is less appealing to a major sponsor, unless
its focus is entirely on the South African market.
The key point is that every commercially savvy race
has some local leverage. For example, in a very rough
travel and accommodation calculation of the 2015
Om Die Dam Ultra, even the very small community
of Schoemansville was estimated to benefit to the
tune of some R30 million from race weekend. That
didn’t even count any awareness, secondary sales,
employment or media coverage estimates. For most
races, this sort of impact can buy at least the willing
assistance from provincial, municipal and tourism
authorities, if not financial support or services in kind.
Logistical Effects
A key aspect for race logistics is the fact that the
increase in race numbers can be a significant
benefit in terms of safety. Many smaller events find
it impossible to gain road closures for their event,
and there is little more dangerous than a road with
only 15-30 runners passing per minute, even more
so when the runners are running with the direction of
traffic. As a general rule on a normal residential route,
when they get to around 100 runners per minute, the
race becomes safer due to visibility of the massed
runners, and as the number increases to 200 to 300
runners per minute, so the authorities see greater
justification for partial or full road closure.
The New York Marathon, as an example, attracts
45,000 runners from 100 countries as well as across
the USA, and is estimated to have a R4 billion
economic impact. The Boston Marathon’s impact is
estimated around R3 billion. The massive world-wide
TV audience of these races gives any international
sponsor a great vehicle for influence and interaction,
and so can be sold for a very high value. In contrast,
37