So far this is the only response from competitor.. It was in the comments of the Reavis piece.....
Toni, after reading your post I thought it might be best that I reply publicly to clear the air a bit. Let me start by reinforcing my respect for you and all you have done for the sport. There are very few individuals that have dedicated so much energy, passion and hours to the sport of running like you Toni, and for that we all owe you a huge debt of gratitude.
I was somewhat surprised to read your post today especially after yesterday’s public quote in the Runner’s World? For those that didn’t have a chance to read that piece Toni’s quote started with: “I don’t blame them,” Reavis told Runner’s World Newswire. For the full quote and story, here’s the link.
http://www.runnersworld.com/races/rock-n-roll-series-significantly-lessens-elite-program
I don’t fault you for reviewing our decision and for changing your mind after further reflection. But I do want to clear up a few things.
“Poof” as you put it when referring to the overnight decision is a tad inaccurate. Our decision to no longer pay appearance fees for Elites in our North American RnR events was a difficult one to say the least. This is not a ‘practical end’ of our support of the sport, but it was a clear strategic acknowledgement of investing in elements that impact all 500,000 runners at RnR events not just the 50 or so at the front of the pack.
Competitor Group is at it’s core a health and wellness company dedicated to promoting and enhancing an active lifestyle. Lifestyle is the key word, not Sport. Rock n Roll marathons have always been about the journey, the commitment, the personal dedication required to train and finish a half or full marathon. We’re not about how fast you complete the race, we’re about the fact that you showed up on the start line and the commitment one has made to complete the journey.
We will always celebrate the achievements of the greatest athletes in the Sport and hold them up as inspiration for all of us to enjoy. We will do this through our media assets like Competitor mag, Competitor.com, Triathlete mag, Triathlete.com, Women’s Running mag, Women’s Running.com. We have more staff dedicated to reporting on the Sport than any company in the world other than Rodale. With regard to RnR, we will always welcome the elites, we are just not going to spend in excess of 7-figures annually to simply have them show up. It represents a disconnect from the brand and the very promise of participating in a RnR event. We’re going to reinvest those dollars into entertainment, the experience, more staff to execute more flawlessly, and in our continued efforts to increase participation.
While we are the largest series in the world, we’re not the only ones who have taken this position. Of the 5 top marketshare properties in the U.S. (Competitor, Disney, NYRR, US Road Sports and Nike), only one of them, NYRR, has a significant investment in Elite Athletes at their races. So while our decision may disappoint, it certainly is not without precedent.
With regard to TV component of your post, I want to remind you that it wasn’t until last year that NYRR and Mary were able to secure a national broadcast deal with ESPN after so many years of having a local ABC time buy. As you know, the media landscape has changed dramatically in the past five years, and while we continue to seek broadcast partners on a market by market basis (KLAS in Vegas, WRAL in Raleigh, etc), the ability to sell advertising in support of such broadcasts is difficult to say the least and a much more complicated process than the picture you are painting. I know you understand this intimately.
While I understand that financial investors are always an easy target, I find the whole private equity discussion somewhat naive. You don’t have to look very far for great analogies to understand that increased public and private investment into a Sport can lead to tremendous growth for all. Private equity investment strategy is all about growth. You don’t cut your way to growth. Our decision to reinvest in other areas of the experience is a strategic decision and not one that we take lightly for a moment. You don’t have to look far, maybe start with the annual Running USA participation studies, to confirm the facts about RnR’s contributions to the sport and the growth of the industry. We have taken more risk, invested more dollars than anyone in the history of the industry and whether it is the highest percentage of female participation in the industry or the highest percentage of first timers joining the fun, I’m not sure it is valid to question our dedication or commitment to promoting running and growing participation.
And by the way, let’s not forget that almost all of the industry’s dominate players operate as public equity or private equity operations: Active, Disney, Nike, Lifetime, World Triathlon Corp and Competitor. WIth outside investment industries grow, innovate and become more sophisticated. I don’t think Competitor needs to apologize or hide from this basic fundamental premise.
With much respect,
Scott Dickey
President/CEO
Competitor Group
Competitor drops support for elite athletes immediately - runblogrun
Report Thread
-
-
I ran the PDR (1:09) in the early '80's as well as the Philadelphia Marathon (2:24) which is still held in November. I remember when Mark Curp (I have a bad memory) ran a 1/2 Marathon WR in the early 80's at the PDR. Did he run 60:27?---
Competitor Group should invest in elite athletes.
Using CGI's logic, should all colleges and universities cancel all sports except profitable ones (Football) because they dont make money on that particular sub-division of their business of educating people for a profit?
I would be suprised if CGI is prepared to prove it will re invest all the money (over 7 figures as they say) into promoting fitness and their "brand" of running. Since they said "over 7 figures" does that mean they spent at least $10M (which is where 8 figures starts)?
Another thing: They made a big mistake by not keeping their commitment to those elites who are scheduled to run the Philly Half in less than 2 weeks! That stinks. -
30:45X-C1978 wrote:
Using CGI's logic, should all colleges and universities cancel all sports except profitable ones (Football) because they dont make money on that particular sub-division of their business of educating people for a profit?
College sports are not at all comparable to Competitor's situation. You cannot use their logic like that. -
Whom are you to tell people what logic they can use or not use?
-
So basically private equity operations are actively dismantling the sport and redistributing the assets in a way that will make road races more "fun" for the average participant who's just running to finish. People training to compete (no pun intended) don't bring in any profit and therefore don't matter at all. The silver lining for me is that I'm going to start reading Toni Reavis' blog that I just learned about. There's some really cool stuff on there.
-
Great insight. Thanks for this.
-
Well of course. This is not the first race to drop the elite category and it won't be the last.
This has been rumored for years. Even before the buyout. The races generate a LOT of revenue...Elite Racing was formed with good intentions but the whole ship started to go under when they expanded so quickly. The head guys used to be quickly accessible but now forget about it.
Oh well I lost all desire to watch or participate in anything having to do with R&R series a long time ago.
(although Portugal half was great in 2011 and Madrid was awesome last year).
I can see this elite trend happening to a lot of other races. I hear the soft grumbling and snippy remarks about another Kenyan winning the race from selected organizers and media types. So much for the meritocracy.
The Kenyans or East Africans have been used as pawns as races scrambled to achieve recognition over the last 20 years. So having a host of Kenyans, even if they were B,C or D grade carried a certain cache. And it made everyone feel kinda good to award prize money to a needy hard working African. But that glowing effect has worn thin.
And since no one cares who wins the race or what the times are (mass audience..and in many cases most of the running staff/organizers)this elimination of the elite category was inevitable.
Again, I see this as the start of a new American trend.. First smaller races then who knows? I wonder when NYM and Chicago will go this route? They will lose gold label status but who cares as their bottom line will increase. Perhaps when the current tv deals expire?
I will repeat this. The explosion of participation in marathons at first seemed glorious but the glow quickly faded, especially amongst those that used to hustle out to obscure road races in the 70's and early 80's. On site registration, multi-tasking workers who knew your name or face.. Races were the price of a matinee movie and just as fun.
I keep thinking how perhaps Avery Brundage (who was considered archaic by the early seventies) was right when he said money ruins sport. -
The one thing I don't understand is these races depend on a large number of volunteers. Why should someone volunteer for a company that is lining its pocket. If they suddenly had to pay people to work the water stations, finish lines and expos they would be out of business tomorrow.
-
What about the sponsors of the Rock and Roll series? Brooks has been doing a pretty good job of supporting elite running, between Hansons and the mid-distance team they just set up. They're a big Rock and Roll sponsor, and it would be nice to see them do something. I think Powerbar sponsors a pretty good number of runners too, and they're a Rock and Roll sponsor. It's a big event and seeing as the sponsors all care first and foremost about their bottom line, they certainly won't pull funding altogether, but a little pressure wouldn't hurt anyone.
-
Ritz ran Philly last year and was thinking about running it again this year. Too bad.
-
Pyrrhus Wins!! Pyrrhus Wins!! wrote:
Does this count as a victory for that Picky Bar led group of pros that did not want race sponsors telling them who they could advertise for, what they could wear, how big and many logos they could display?
Now they can get their sponsors name out there unrestricted. They should be dancing in the streets of Asculum over this one.
http://camilleherron.com/2013/09/02/are-professionals-killing-professional-running/
I’ve been to major and sub-major races around the country, talking to and hearing the complaints from race directors/race officials, who question whether it’s even worth it to have prize money. Many of the elites drive in, take the money, and leave. They give nothing back to the event, sport, community, or sponsors. No marketability.
http://joshcox.com/competitor-groups-decision-to-remove-elite-funding/
(myDad)... had made millions and had an understanding of marketing, finance, budgets and business that I had yet to fully grasp. All that to say: I respected his opinion and coveted his advice. I brought him up to speed on my situation; he took notes on his yellow pad. When I finished, he asked a very simple question, “Josh, what’s your job?”
“To win races,” I replied, sure that I nailed it.
“No, that’s not it.”
“No, dad. Actually it is.”
He smiled, removed his glasses and put his pen down. “Well, that’s part of it, performance is the cornerstone, but to the decision makers, the ones controlling the budget, your job is to sell product. They’re not sponsoring you for the love of the sport or because you’re a likeable guy, they’re sponsoring you to improve their bottom line.” -
One needs only to look at the Steamboat (CO) Marathon to see how far elite races will fall without top runners. As soon as Steamboat stopped bringing in elite runners, the winning times shot up. I believe last year's winning time is 20 min off the course record and perhaps a half dozen runners under 3 hr. Having viewed the demise over the last decade (as a competitor and volunteer), I really have no enthusiasm for the sport of road racing as it stands now. The racers have turned to runners and most are joggers.
-
otto wrote:
runasfastasucanforaslongasucan wrote: I also remember when John Hancock took over Boston and they paid appearance fees for Japanese runners to come over. I believe a couple ran just under 3 hrs for a training run and was paid about $30k.
Some good points, thanks. I just have difficulty believing the above because it is so un-japanese. Can you show some evidence?
I think it was Takeyuki Nakayama that I went by near mile 18(?) at Boston in 1991 and I went 2:56 that day. I remember a discussion on TV or in the paper that he was injured but had to finish in order to collect his appearence fee.
My memory has a lot of miles since then and it possibly could have been a different runner as Nakayama is not shown in the results booklet...or he did DNF and not colect. The memory of Nakayama wearing the face of his watch on the inside of his wrist reminds me he was the guy -
I've not gone through all of the postings, but this announcement shouldn't come as a surprise. Businesses and corporations follow a very simple formula for success: increasing revenues while reducing costs.
I've never participated in a RNR race. It's not my thing. I could give a rat's a$$ about bands along the course, a medal, what is in the goodie bag and whether I get a tech t-shirt. (don't get me started on 10,000 people paying $60 for a Hot Chocolate 8K). I can't think of a single instance where I've made a decision to run a race based on the amenities offered by the organizer. But I suspect I'm in the minority because I know these races are wildly popular.
Jack and Jane mid-packer don't care about some Kenyan they've never heard of winning a race. However race organizers know that Jack and Jane mid-packer cover the costs, post pictures on line, tell their friends, etc., so they're going to focus their attention on them - which frankly, makes good business sense. The money that was spent on the elites can now be spent on getting another band, a bigger medal or more cheer teams at mile markers. This is what the masses want - and that's what they're going to get.
The reality is the money spent on the elites added nothing to their bottom line. It was an expense that was no longer justified. These races are going to sell-out / be at capacity whether or not the organizers bothered to recruit elites. It may be an issue to the true fans of the sport, but for the majority of the running public, they won't bat an eye. -
Fred Gwynne wrote:
The one thing I don't understand is these races depend on a large number of volunteers. Why should someone volunteer for a company that is lining its pocket. If they suddenly had to pay people to work the water stations, finish lines and expos they would be out of business tomorrow.
I agree entirely. A for-profit-business model that relies on people donating their services makes no sense. MLB doesn't expect people to volunteer at ticket booths, as ushers, or to sell concessions, so why should Competitor.
Do the people donating their time to RnR races know that they are just donating labor to a private equity firm so that it can get a bigger return on its investment?
Competitor is really just taking advantage of the non-profit, volunteer-driven ethos of races to be able to rake off the value that volunteers donate for free into higher returns for investors. -
jx10 wrote:I can see this elite trend happening to a lot of other races. I hear the soft grumbling and snippy remarks about another Kenyan winning the race from selected organizers and media types. So much for the meritocracy.
The Kenyans or East Africans have been used as pawns as races scrambled to achieve recognition over the last 20 years. So having a host of Kenyans, even if they were B,C or D grade carried a certain cache. And it made everyone feel kinda good to award prize money to a needy hard working African. But that glowing effect has worn thin.
THIS!!! -
Some truth in this. Especially because so few races bother to engage elites in PR and promo ops. Local media is almost always clueless too. But, take the elite competition out of a race, and you get just another fun run/ turkey trot hobby jogger fun fest. Enjoyable maybe, but also completely forgettable. The real choice in growing a noteworthy event is not whether to have elite competition or not, but whether to handle the elite competition correctly or not.
