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Marathon Brings Out 20,000 Runners & #711; and An Economic Boost

Marathon Brings Out 20,000 Runners , and An Economic Boost

BY MARION WEBB

On June 6, some 20,000 marathoners, most of them out-of-towners, will line up in Balboa Park to participate in San Diego’s high-profile running event , the Suzuki Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon.

More than 11,000 participants are expected to fly into San Diego. Thousands more will arrive by car. They all have one goal in mind finish the 26.2-mile race.

“It’s not every day that somebody runs a marathon,” said Tracy Sundlun, executive vice president for Elite Racing, the San Diego-based sports marketing company that is putting on the event for the seventh year.

Runners have plenty of marathons to choose from nationwide, Sundlun said. To ensure they choose San Diego’s, Sundlun, Elite Racing founder and president Tim Murphy, and a 50-member team are enlisting 47 bands, 2,000 high school cheerleaders, and 5,000 volunteers to encourage runners along the way.

Sundlun’s goal for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon , creating a major tourism event , has paid off handsomely for San Diego’s economy.

Economic Impact

Last year, runners, their families and friends contributed $39.5 million to the local economy, according to Elite Racing statistics.

This year, Sundlun estimates that number could climb to $43.5 million.

“The city could care less if we have all local runners, because there isn’t any economic impact of these folks coming here , so the goal is to get as many out-of-town competitors as possible,” Sundlun said.

Adding a group of Kenyan superstars like Ondoro Osoro, and Margaret Atodonyang, who finish the race in just over two hours, makes for great television and happy sponsors, he said.

For Sal Giametta, a spokesman for the

San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau, Elite Racing’s event is a dream come true to build San Diego as a tourism destination.

“In the tourism promotion world we call it top-of-mind awareness,” Giametta said. “People watch the race (on television) and Elite Racing (which produces the show) comments on how wonderful San Diego is and what a great destination it is , and (best of all) we’re not paying for it.”

Meanwhile, there’s a huge influx of visitors here spending money at local hotels, restaurants, and visiting attractions, he said.

Even the economic impact from putting on the annual Pacific Life Holiday Bowl college football game pales in comparison to the marathon , $20 million vs. $43.5 million.

Yet together, these events don’t come close to the biggest cash cow of all , the Super Bowl, (last held in San Diego in January 2003) , which represents a more than $300 million economic windfall for the city.

This year, Sundlun budgeted $4 million to put on the marathon.

The four major sponsors, led by American Suzuki Motor Corp., and other longtime sponsors Reebok, Foot Locker, and Tylenol , contribute “hundreds of thousands” of dollars each.

When it’s all said and done, Sundlun expects Elite Racing to bank $100,000 in profit.

That is the payoff from a year’s worth of work, marketing and selling the event.

“When we first set up to create the Suzuki Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon (the first race was in 1998), the key was to create one of the world’s premiere events from an elite athlete, marketing, and television point-of-view,” Sundlun said. “The impact on the community had to be at the absolute highest level.”

Touting S.D. Assets

Knowing that marathoners pick their race destinations several months in advance of race day to train for it makes for an equally competitive race among planners.

Like his rivals, Sundlun sends his team to running expos across the country to schmooze runners, showcase their colorful oversized medals, and tout San Diego’s assets , the San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld, Balboa Park, the Gaslamp Quarter, Mission Bay , all destination points during the race.

“We go to as many as 50 different running expos around the country and other significant events,” Sundlun said.

Marketers have found reinforcement is the key to success.

“Our thought process is that somebody needs to hear from us four times before they act , Whether it’s from a television commercial, a direct mail piece, an e-mail, or an ad in a running publication,” he said.

Needless to say, Elite Racing uses all the tactics to lure runners.

Despite the effort, Sundlun found that most people don’t even bother replying.

Instead, they simply sign up on the Internet.

One of the biggest draws for all of Elite Racing’s events continues to be the music.

“This is not the San Diego marathon, it’s not the Phoenix marathon , it’s the Suzuki Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, it’s the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in Arizona, it’s the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, it’s the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach,” he said. “People want to run, but we also have people that are attracted by the theme, and that changed the demographics.”

Average Age Is 39

Women ages 25 to 29 make up the largest demographic group in the race. The second largest group is women ages 30 to 34, followed by men in the same age group.

“Yet, the average age is 39,” Sundlun said.

The age difference makes for more fun.

But it also creates a problem for Elite Racing marketing director Shauna Buffington, who is in charge of the musical entertainment.

She admits this year’s headliner band Live, an alternative rock band, wasn’t her first choice.

“I would love to have Lenny Kravitz, but I can’t afford (his price) of a half a million dollars,” Buffington said.

So Live, which comes for $100,000, and is available to play at the Coors Amphitheatre in Chula Vista on June 6, is a viable choice.

Four hundred CDs later , all submissions from artists to perform , Buffington and her musical team have long since finished their own marathon CD review.

She hopes their choices , a mix of ska, reggae, blues, classic rock, and country , will please runners’ and spectators’ musical tastes.

Sundlun said Elite Racing’s employees thrive on the adrenaline rush that comes from dealing with the unknowns of race day, he said.

“We want this event to come off as well as possible on June 6,” Sundlun said. “Not only for the superstars that run under a five-minute mile, but make sure people who run six to seven hours will have the greatest experience of their life. We want to make sure that all the people in town who have absolutely no interest in our event feel good about it.”

Communication is key. Elite Racing has one staff person who deals exclusively with the community. Last month, residents living along the course were mailed two reminders that the race is coming. But even the best intentions sometimes aren’t good enough, Sundlun said.

He recites this anecdote from a race in New York City.

“I was in New York for 20 years , here are these people , as we are running through Brooklyn that are going absolutely ballistic,” Sundlun recalled. “No matter what we do we will fail in some instances but it isn’t for a lack of trying.”

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