For example , your local 10km race may use club members of the organising club as marshals , and then there is generally no fee attached , but take a bigger race such as the Comrades Marathon , and marshals are no longer volunteers , they are appointed by a paid supplier , and that cost the Comrades Marathon Association ( CMA ) R275,020 in 2019 , when the race was last run before the pandemic .
The bigger the field , the more it costs to put on the race , as the Two Oceans Marathon organisers know all too well
In the Good Old Days
I have heard this argument so many times over the last few years , it is frightening : “ When I ran back in the 80 ’ s or 90 ’ s , races were much cheaper .” And I get it . I used to run quite substantially in the late 80 ’ s to mid-90 ’ s , and races were cheap . But here is what has changed . Back in those days , the municipality / city would sponsor the police and paramedics , whereas those two line items are now the most expensive items in your race budget , because you need to pay for them now .
Images : Action Photo SA & Shawn Bejamin / Ark Images
To give you a few examples , the Comrades pays around R1 million on race day to the Metro Police , while the popular Tembisa Mile in Johannesburg spends R40,000 for Metro services . The Valentines Night Race in Randburg , a 10km race , has to fork out R90,000 to Metro . Similary , refreshments were also sponsored in those days . No longer . The Valentine ’ s race spends R8000 on refreshments , and in 2019 , the Comrades Marathon had to fork out R1.1 million for refreshments .
Back in the day , only the marathons and ultras handed out medals – the shorter races gave finishers a tracksuit badge . Even then , medals were not handed out to all finishers . Your top 10 men and women received gold medals , and then there were cut-off times to get a silver or a bronze medal – and if you didn ’ t make those , you might receive a tracksuit badge . Might . Not guaranteed . Race T-shirts were an extra that you chose to pay extra for . And it was not a fancy moisture-management shirt , it was a cotton T-shirt .
These days , if a race does not offer a quality T-shirt , massive medal and a goody bag with other freebies , it can be vilified on social media … but those things cost money . Lots of money ! Randburg Harriers spent close to R50,000 for the Valentines Night Race on medals alone . And with all these costs , from Metro and refreshments to medals and T-shirts , so race entry fees simply have to increase . There is no other way for a club to host a race unless they can meet their expenses , and the bigger the race , the more those expenses accrue .
Elusive Sponsors
Prior to the pandemic , sponsorships were already incredibly difficult to come by , but now things are even harder . And yet , at the recent Comrades Marathon Launch , the race was accused of sitting on its laurels these past two years during the pandemic , instead of looking for new sponsors . To accuse the CMA of being lazy is beyond naïve , and is in fact actually malicious , as I know how hard they have been working to try secure sponsorship investment . And the same applies to many other race organisers .
Without sponsors , races cannot survive . Entry fees simply do not cover the costs of staging a race . They just don ’ t , no matter how loud the outcry from runners about increasing entry fees . Popular opinion does not change hard facts . We are all upset about the petrol price increase . There is huge outrage . Does the price come down ? No . That price is determined by various economic factors , and ‘ the economy ’ really could not give a damn about our outrage . The same principle applies to hosting races . Economic factors determine costs , and entry fees , and how much shortfall must be covered by sponsorship money .
Sponsors become involved in an event to fulfil their objectives , not those of the race , organisation , event , etc . In other words , they want to advertise ( and sell ) their brand , product or service . So , the relationship with the event has to produce a tangible benefit to the sponsor , too – and it is no longer just about media exposure and seeing the sponsor ’ s logo pasted all over the event venue , race number , medals and T-shirts , and on TV ( if the event is televised ). No , it is about how the relationship will enhance the sponsor ’ s business . In other words , does the relationship drive more traffic through their doors ? Does the event speak to their target market ?
Duration and cost of the sponsorship also play a role . It takes years for a brand to form a relationship with an event , and if the sponsor stays on board long enough , then it becomes synonymous with the event . Classic examples of this in South Africa come from cricket and surfing , as well as athletics . The limited overs cricket format became known as “ going to the Benson & Hedges tonight .” In surfing circles , people spoke about “ The Gunston ,” and everyone knew exactly what was being referred to . Same with the Engen Grand Prix Summer Series in athletics . It became just “ the Engen Series .” These relationships were built over years , even decades . However , the nature of sponsorship relationships globally has changed , and sponsors no longer want to stay for long years in a relationship . They want to refresh and reinvent every few years , so if they stay with your event beyond five years , you have done exceptionally well .
Enter the pandemic and most corporations lost money , and when that happens , the first budget that is usually cut in tough times is the marketing budget . So , that makes finding an event sponsor even more difficult now . Those are realities . Yes , some events have been able to secure sponsors , notably Totalsports signing for three years as title sponsor of the Two Oceans Marathon , but the bulk of events have been trying hard not to lose whatever sponsors they had . And those conversations were tough .
Tough Choices
Runners like to complain about entry fees . A glance at other sporting events will show you that running is still one of the cheapest sporting events to enter . Have you looked at the entry fees of an Ironman triathlon ? Or the Cape Epic in mountain-biking ? You will fall off your chair ! What runners also need to start taking into consideration is that races of the calibre of Comrades , Two Oceans , Cape Town Marathon , Soweto Marathon , the Run Your City Series and the Spar Women ’ s Series could not be staged to the level they are , if they were not run as a business . Not a club , a business . Putting on these events requires full-time staff , and that also comes at a price . The expertise required is not a ‘ side job ’ that can be done just by volunteers .
While the pandemic appears to have suddenly caused races to become expensive , it has actually exposed what was always a problem , the unsustainable model of entry fees being too low . Yes , I said it , too low . The system was inevitably going to crash someday , and the entry fees being charged now are economically more realistic . That simply means that athletes will have some tough choices to make about which races they can afford to run . Sadly , that is a harsh reality , and no amount of griping on social media will change that .
I liken events to cars … I love Audi and Volkswagen cars , and recently the VW Tiguan caught my eye , but it is so far off my financial radar right now , I would need make some very big sacrifices to buy one , even to the point of cutting out necessities … but that is a choice I need to make for myself . The same now applies to races , as runners may not be able to afford entering a race every weekend anymore , so they may have to make a choice which races they can afford .
About the Author
Manfred Seidler is a freelance sport journalist who has been in the industry since 1994 , in both print media and broadcasting , covering four Olympic Games for SABC Radio , and producing various athletics shows for the SABC . Follow him on Twitter : @ sportmansa ; Facebook : Sport Man SA ; Instagram : sportman _ sa .
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