Running USA wire 10, February 2, 2010

Running USA 2010: The Industry Conference Recap

Record conference attendance; inaugural town hall meeting; annual award winners; Hall of Champions inductees, Team USA Minnesota and Allan Steinfeld honored

CARLSBAD, Calif. - (February 2, 2010) - A record number of more than 400 people attended the Running USA 2010: The Industry Conference on January 31 - February 2 at the beautiful La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad. The largest running industry conference presented diverse and timely breakout sessions such as the power of social media, volunteer recruitment, going green, attracting sponsors, motivating young runners and making the most of your media as well as networking opportunities and inspirational speakers.

In addition, on Tuesday afternoon, the inaugural town hall meeting focused on running's role in a healthier America. Running commentator Toni Reavis emceed the confab with panelists Ali Vincent, the first female winner of the Biggest Loser, and Olympian and race founder Anne Audain.

"U.S. road races had a record year in participation in 2009, and the 7th edition of our conference was also a record-setter in the number of attendees, sponsors and exhibitors. The highlight of Running USA 2010 was the town hall meeting and the ideas and action plan generated," said Susan Weeks, Running USA CEO. "We thank our sponsors, speakers, panelists and attendees for making this our best conference yet."

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
At the Monday evening awards banquet and live auction sponsored by ING, the seventh class of the Running USA Hall of Champions was recognized for their contribution and dedication to the sport:

* Fred Finke (Longwood, FL), coach / internet pioneer / administrator
* Ryan Lamppa (Santa Barbara, CA), media / researcher

Team USA Minnesota was selected for the inaugural Allan Steinfeld Development Award during the Hall of Champions dinner, and the conference's silent and live auctions raised more than $37,000 for Team USA Minnesota and other Running USA's programs.

At Monday's Trailblazers Luncheon and Awards, Tracey Russell, Atlanta Track Club executive director, was presented the Women's Running Magazine Trailblazer Award for her contributions to the sport, and Sarah Reinertsen, NIKE athlete and Challenged Athlete Foundation spokesperson, gave an inspirational speech on her life and running.

On Tuesday at the Leadership Luncheon and Awards presented by Ashworth Awards, Valerie Bushey, Executive Director, Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA), gave the featured address.

During the conference, the following awards were also presented by the Running USA Youth Committee and YouthRunner.com:

Youth Event of the Year
Operation Smile Final Mile, Virginia Beach, VA

Youth Program of the Year
Medtronic TC Kids Marathon, Minneapolis, MN

Youth Program Contributor of the Year
Dean Karnazes - Karno Kids Foundation, San Francisco, CA

On Sunday, Running USA’s Board of Directors elected the following officers: president, Virginia Brophy Achman (Twin Cities in Motion); vice president, Creigh Kelley (BKB Ltd.) and Andy Hersam (Competitor Group); secretary, Lonnie Somers (Fetal Hope Foundation) and treasurer, Mike Schmitz (Electric City Printing). Allan Steinfeld (New York Road Runners) was appointed president emeritus.

This year's conference theme was "Meeting Challenging Times" and Running USA 2010 was powered by Active.com, Ashworth Awards and Leslie Jordan, Inc.

For more information on Running USA, its objectives, members and annual conference, visit RunningUSA.org or contact Ryan Lamppa at (805) 696-6232 or ryan@runningusa.org

NYRR, Office of the Mayor of New York City, NYC Parks & Recreation Announce the Run for Haiti

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As part of a joint effort to provide critical aid to Haiti, 100% of entry fees from run will go to NYC's Haiti Relief Fund

NEW YORK - (February 2, 2010) - New York Road Runners, the Mayor's Office of New York City and the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation have announced the Run for Haiti, a 4-mile run and walk to benefit Haiti relief efforts, to take place on Saturday, February 20, at 9:00am in Central Park.

All entry fees ($40 per entry) will go directly to New York City's Haiti Relief Fund, which is administered by the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City and directed to the following organizations: the American Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, Partners in Health and the United Nations World Food Programme.

Entry applications are on a first-come, first-served basis and are now available at www.nyrr.org. The event will be capped at 8,000 participants. In an effort to expand the scope of the event, runners can participate in a four-mile virtual run through MapMyFitness.com in cooperation with NYRR by clicking on www.mapmyrun.com/virtual_event/ny_haiti/index.

"Over the past few weeks I've spoken with a lot of New Yorkers with family in Haiti, and their stories are simply heartbreaking," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "New York City is doing everything possible to support earthquake relief efforts, including accepting donations to the City's Haiti Relief Fund, which so far has raised over a million dollars. I am grateful to New York Road Runners and the Parks Department for organizing the Run for Haiti where all entry fees will directly go to the Fund."

"The devastating earthquake in Haiti has brought out the best in New Yorkers. Through donations to the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, our contributions are providing the emergency relief where it is needed the most," said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. "As the recovery efforts continue, we need to keep working hard to help, and I applaud New York Road Runners for joining the City of New York in organizing the Run for Haiti. This four-mile run/walk through Central Park is a great form of exercise, and the entire entry fee will be applied directly to the City's Haiti Relief Fund."

"The devastation in Haiti is so tragic that it can be paralyzing to think about it. The idea of the Run for Haiti is to give people the chance to take action by running and walking and to come together in support by donating to the relief efforts," said New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg. "It will be a run to remember in NYC, and thanks to our partner MapMyFitness.com, runners around the world will be able to join virtually in an unprecedented coming-together of the running community to make a difference."

The Run for Haiti will include pre-race and post-race activities for families, including free kids' races.

New York City's Haiti Relief Fund, administered by the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, was established to provide a secure vehicle for donations to aid the victims of the January 12, 2010, earthquake. The Mayor's Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization, serves as an umbrella not-for-profit organization for the City of New York to aid public programs with private support. To donate by phone, call 311 (212-NEW-YORK outside New York City); online, go to www.nyc.gov/fund; by mail, make check payable to Mayor's Fund, One Centre Street, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10007 (note: Haiti Relief Fund).

Surf City USA® Marathon Expects Event Record Field of 20,000

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Runner's World's Race of the Month for February 2010

CARLSBAD, Calif. - (February 1, 2010) - The Surf City USA® Marathon has been selected by Runner's World as its Race of the Month for the magazine's 2010 February issue, Race Director Kathy Kinane of Carlsbad-based Kinane Events has announced.

The Marathon / Half Marathon will be held on Super Bowl Sunday in Huntington Beach. This year's event has sold out at 20,000 participants after experiencing meteoric growth over the past four years. In 2009, the event had more total finishers than the LA Marathon or San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon.

The Kinane Events team was recruited by Amy Tomchak, president of Pacific Shoreline Marathon LLC, in 2006 to oversee management of the struggling marathon. Surf City USA has grown from 10,000 to 20,000 in those four years despite caps on attendance every year to maximize the quality of the event. Recognized by Runner's World in 2009 for the very cool "Surf Board Medals" and beautiful coastal course, the event is now recognized as one of the top 12 half-marathons in the country.

Kinane, a qualifier for the first U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials in 1984, notes that Surf City USA attracts a field that is 65 percent women.

"As a former marathoner, I'm thrilled that road racing offers all women the opportunity to go outside and have some fun getting exercise with family and friends," she said. "The Surf City USA® Marathon has great medals, great surf music and a beautiful course that features the Bolsa Chica reserve, two large parks and a beachfront path along the white water.

"Our women runners are well educated and understand the importance of enjoying a healthy active lifestyle," Kinane added. "They know that life is not a spectator sport, although, they should all be home in time to watch Drew and Peyton toss the pigskin around."

Kinane Events was established in 1991 and currently produces the Surf City USA® Marathon, Pacific Marine Credit Union O'side Turkey Trot, Santa Anita Derby Day 5K and the Dick's Sporting Goods Vista Strawberry Festival 5K. Prior to establishing Kinane Events, Kinane was the co-founder and general manager of Elite Racing.

Visit kinaneevents.com for more information.

Sponsorship Spending Receded for the First Time in 2009

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Better days ahead as forecast projects 3.4% rise in 2010

CHICAGO - (January 27, 2010) - Sponsorship spending by North American companies is expected to grow 3.4 percent this year to $17.08 billion, according to IEG Sponsorship Report, the world's leading authority on sponsorship.

The projection is welcome news to the sponsorship industry, as spending declined 0.6 percent from '08 to '09 to $16.51 billion. The decline marks the first time that less money was spent on sponsorship than in the prior year.

"Those unprecedented numbers reflect a marketplace that never recovered from the economy's free fall towards the end of '08," said William Chipps, IEG SR's senior editor.

Sports, the largest sponsorship category in dollar terms, saw spending decline one percent from $11.4 billion in '08 to $11.28 billion in '09. Two of the other six major property sectors suffered a drop in revenue also: Spending on causes slipped a scant 0.3 percent from $1.52 billion to $1.51 billion, while arts spending fell 0.8 percent from $848 million to $820 million.

The other sectors managed gains, but not of the variety that cause leaps of joy. North American corporate spending on entertainment tours and attractions rose 0.8 percent from $1.63 billion to $1.64 billion; spending on festivals, fairs and annual events increased 0.4 percent from $753 million to $756 million; and spending on associations and membership organizations went up 2.9 percent from $482 million to $496 million.

Each of the six sectors continue to earn the same share of the sponsorship pie as they did in '08, with sports taking 68 percent of the dollars, followed by entertainment tours and attractions at 10 percent.

Global Spending a Rosier Picture
With the U.S. economy at the heart of the downturn, spending by companies based outside North America has not been as negatively impacted by the recession. Global sponsorship expenditures reached $44 billion in '09, a 2.1 percent increase from the $43.1 billion spent in '08.

Minus activity by U.S. and Canadian companies, spending by the rest of the world hit $27.5 billion in '09, a 3.8 percent rise over $26.5 billion in '08.

For 2010, IEG SR projects 4.5 percent growth in worldwide sponsorship to $46 billion. The largest gains will come from Africa and South America, in part due to activity and interest surrounding South Africa's hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup and a developing sponsorship marketplace in countries such as Argentina and Brazil, the latter of which will host both the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.

Countries based in Central and South America will increase spending by 5.7 percent to $3.7 billion, while companies from all other countries, including those on the African continent, will grow their spending by the same 5.7 percent proportion to $2.1 billion.

European companies will boost spending five percent to $12.7 billion and those based in the Asia Pacific region will see a four percent rise to $10.4 billion.

For more information about IEG and the sponsorship industry, please visit www.sponsorship.com or call (800) 834-4850 (outside the U.S. and Canada, (312) 944-1727).