The elite side of road racing received a jolt last week when the Competitor Group, whose properties include the popular Rock ’n’ Roll marathons and half-marathons, announced it would no longer pay appearance fees to pro runners. It was a signal that Competitor, which originated as Elite Racing, a company that glorified the professional side of distance running before it was bought out by a private equity company, was prioritizing the recreational side of the sport over the elite end.

Industry insiders who think elites are an integral part of big races have decried the decision. Some have wondered if similar changes will happen at bastions of pro racing such as the Boston, Chicago and New York marathons or races like the Peachtree 10K in Atlanta, Beach to Beacon 10K in Maine, or Boilermaker 15K in Utica, New York.

“I am not pessimistic in any way,” says Mary Wittenberg, the New York City Marathon director and head of the New York Road Runners, a leader in supporting elite runners.

She sees a distinct difference in the way organizations like the NYRR and the major pro road races – all of which are nonprofits – approach elite running versus the methods of private equity firms such as Competitor. “There are a lot of nonprofits committed to the magic of the pros and the masses,” Wittenberg says.

Tim Reed, executive director of the nonprofit Boilermaker, agrees. There’s a significant gap in philosophy between his race and the Rock ’n’ Roll series, though both feature mass participation, plenty of bands along the way and a fun experience for participants, he says. Like Competitor, Boilermaker doesn’t pay appearance fees. Still, it attracts plenty of elites with its heftier prize structure. This year’s Boilermaker paid $57,000 in prize money, including $7,000 to the male and female winners and $2,000 to the first American man and woman. Many Rock ’n’ Roll races pay $1,000 for first place.

“In this second running boom, a lot of races are focusing more on the completers than the ‘competers,’” Reed says. “I understand that. Our focus has always been to continue to nurture excellence in road racing. The [recreational] runner’s experience is a huge thing for us. Saying that, we also want people to see the best runners on the planet. The only way to do that is make it worth their while to do it. This year we actually raised our prize money.”

Competitor emphasizes it is not abandoning the elite side of the sport. Its races will continue to offer prize money. It will pay travel expenses of some runners. It will maintain affiliations with a small number of pros. Nevertheless, a company that once celebrated the elite side of the sport is now deemphasizing it.

Their decision to save what amounts to about a half million per year in appearance fees has prompted talk about the soundness of the economics for elite runners. Compared to other pro sports in the U.S., running has peculiar economics. There is no spectator revenue; there is precious little TV revenue.

There is print/internet media attention, largely driven by elites. When the Gasparilla Distance Classic in Tampa dropped its prize and appearance structure several years ago, it disappeared from the national sporting scene, though it continues as a viable local race. If the Boston, Chicago or New York marathons abandoned their elite components, media coverage would shrink dramatically and, presumably, discourage sponsorship.

There’s a delicate balance with elites driving media attention but needing the prize/appearance money that comes from entry fees and event sponsorships. The anxiety for fans of the elite side is what happens if entries and sponsorships decrease. Hence the worry that Competitor’s decision regarding the importance of elites could be a harbinger of a downturn.

“Competitor’s decision doesn’t surprise me,” says agent Caroline Bierbaum LeFrak. “The general population is participating more than ever in events, but for an elite athlete to make money and live comfortably, it gets harder each year. That’s sort of been the trend since 2007 when things were better economically.”

LeFrak calls Competitor’s decision a wake-up call.

“The athletes need to do more than just show up at races and compete,” she says. “They have to engage with other runners, do what sponsors want them to do, do what race directors want them to do. It’s more than just running. It’s a business. They have to explore all avenues of marketing and interacting with the running community beyond just racing.”

Phil Stewart, director of the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile in Washington, D.C., and publisher of Road Race Management newsletter, thinks there are too many runners and agents with an attitude of entitlement. If they don’t receive appearance fees, they don’t engage with sponsors or recreational runners, Stewart says.

“They bring their runners in, they take the money, they leave town,” Stewart says of some agents. “I hope it is a wake-up call for agents that by taking this narrow attitude they’re going to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. Now it’s hummingbird-size egg, but it’s still an egg.”

Says Wittenberg, “We have a lot of work to do.” She means in harnessing the potential synergy between the elites and masses. Ideally, the big names can inspire the masses to enter races, attract greater media attention and draw more sponsors.

“Where else can you compete at the same venue as some of your heroes?” says 1984 Olympic marathon champion Joan Benoit Samuelson, who founded the Beach to Beacon race in her childhood home of Cape Elizabeth, Maine. “You can’t do it at Fenway Park. Runners form a great community. Every runner is an inspiration, whether it’s someone world-class who is aiming for a record or a novice attempting their first race.”

The masses could help subsidize elite runners. “The model that is sustaining and celebrating the sport of running is a model that is getting whole communities running,” Wittenberg says. “In New York for us, it’s about the health and well-being of all the city, and it goes from our walks to our small runs and big events, to kids and to pros. It is alive and well in these places where we’re trying to motivate people on a regular basis to get out and run.

“Having pros is part of that,” Wittenberg continues. “It gets people excited, it gets us television, sponsors appreciate it. It makes the whole picture bigger and more special, it celebrates this magic of the pros and masses. Over time we may see the pendulum swing back a little with top athletes having appearances at expos and otherwise. If we get it really right, everybody will want celebrities around.”

USA Track & Field, the domestic governing body for road racing, is also trying to unite the front and back of the pack. Its new 12-K national championship, to be held November 17 in Alexandria, Virginia, will include recreational runners as well as elites.

“The road racing boom in this country has had an amazing effect on the health of millions of Americans, and has raised billions of dollars for charity,” says USATF CEO Max Siegel. “With the .US National Road Racing Championships, USATF is aggressive about providing a first-class experience for back-of-the-pack runners as well as this country’s top elite athletes. As a federation, we are committed to supporting and engaging both groups, and everyone in between.”

But, as Wittenberg emphasizes, it will take work. How many of the masses are stirred by the elites?

Not many, contends Rick Nealis, director of the Marine Corps Marathon, which will have 30,000 entrants on October 27 in Washington, D.C., in a race that has no appearance fees or prize money. Maybe 5% of his runners might be moved if they knew a Ryan Hall was in the field and would run a great time, he estimates.

“It goes to our sport being a participatory sport,” says Nealis, himself a fan of the elite side. “It’s about ‘me, my training, my experience, my trip, my bucket list. The guy who’s coming in first doesn’t affect me.’”

Runners have widely varying takes on the importance of elites. Take the diverging interests of three teachers, all active and fit, who work at Flint Hill School in northern Virginia.

Jessie McKinnie, who has cycled professionally, is a trail runner and half-marathoner, is motivated by elite athletes and would willingly pay up to $5 extra in an entry fee if it went toward elite prize money:

“I think it does add an extra element of fun when the elite runners are there,” she says. “I actually did not enter a race this year because it seemed like it would be mostly novices. Having the elite runners there keeps me more honest, if you will, about my ability level.”

Lucas Ames, a high school varsity cross country coach, prefers smaller races away from both the elites and the masses.

“I am probably an anomaly in that I like small road races,” he says. “There is more of a sense of community. As you gather at the start, you can feel that. I just ran the Tromptown 5K in rural upstate New York and the starter was joking around and announced who the local cross country coach was and that he'd be joining the race. That type of atmosphere matches how I prefer to approach a road race. Don't get me wrong: I love watching elite runners and appreciate what they do. I hope races continue to support them with prizes, but the races I prefer to run in do not seem to have them.”

Maureen Sidor, a marathoner, is dispassionate about the elite side, and would not want to pay extra for entry because fees have escalated too high in her opinion.

“I like to run for my enjoyment – the race itself, how well it is organized, etc.,” she says. “I have stopped running in races that are not organized well or the course is boring. Other than that, having a elite runner in a race I am running does not matter to me too much.”

To interest more recreational runners in elites, Wittenberg emphasizes that races, athletes and agents have to do a better job of telling the stories of elites. That becomes difficult, as many note, when the runners aren’t fluent in English and can’t schmooze with media and sponsors.

Stewart and others predict that phenomenon will soon prompt a debate of foreigners vs. Americans in elite fields.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of discussion about money going to foreigners and whether they’re worth it,” Stewart says. “I think some feel foreign athletes come to a race, take the money and leave. They don’t speak English; they’re not a good return on investment. It’s got a lot of ramifications.”

That’s a conversation for another day. Right now the sport is assessing what needs to be done to prevent more losses of revenue for elite athletes.

“We always talk about growing the pot,” Wittenberg says of the NYRR. “How to get more revenue to support youth programs, to support other initiatives and the event. How we support athletes is only part of it. If you get in situations where the pie is getting smaller, then you have to make hard decisions [about] where you have to cut. Luckily we haven’t been there, but you’re never too far away from realizing you could get there.”

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