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The race is on

By John Plummer, Third Sector, 21 May 2008

Running events are booming and, with three new large-scale events in London this year, small charities are getting the chance to compete for places. But how close are we to saturation point?

Britain's apparently insatiable appetite for running events is going to reach new levels this year. On Monday, 10,000 people will take part in the inaugural Bupa London 10,000, a 10k event. Later this year, two new half-marathons will take place in the capital within a month.

All this comes on top of the mega-events such as the London Marathon, the Great North Run and Cancer Research UK's Race for Life, plus the plethora of half-marathons and 10k events that are held in most major cities every year.

Charities will be watching next week's Bupa London 10,000 particularly closely. This event, which takes in part of the 2012 Olympics marathon route, has the potential to be huge.

It has been jointly organised by London Marathon Ltd and sports marketing agency Nova International. The two companies, which are headed by 70s running stars David Bedford and Brendan Foster respectively, already stage the country's biggest races: the London Marathon attracts 35,000 runners; Nova's Great North Run gets 50,000.

This is the first time the two have collaborated, and together they wield considerable clout. The BBC has agreed to show highlights, and there is speculation that the event could expand to attract 20,000 participants in the run-up to 2012. Whether it will continue beyond the Olympics has yet to be decided.

This year, 3,000 places were sold to charities at £50 each. The most anyone bought was 100. There is no official race charity, but Marie Curie Cancer Care received extra places because of its relationship with Bupa. The charity places were not widely advertised; instead, the organisers approached charities that have London Marathon gold bonds, which guarantee entries for five years and are permanently renewable. "We contacted charities we are already working with, saying we had a new event, and asked them whether they would like to express an interest," says Bedford.

Gold bonds are controversial: those who have them love them, but many of those who don't have them think they're unfair because they allow only the same organisations to benefit year after year. Extending the loyalty scheme to the new race could polarise opinion further.

Bedford argues that those who supported the London Marathon in its early years deserve to be rewarded, and that there is no sense in trying to please everyone - an impossible task anyway, with 180,000 registered charities in the UK. Bedford says his priority is to run a smooth event and that everything else will be discussed afterwards. But he is not averse to the idea of charities approaching him for places in the event next year.

The new Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon on 12 October and the London Half Marathon on 5 October provide more fundraising opportunities. The Royal Parks event grew partly out of frustration among charities trying in vain to get places in the London Marathon and is aimed particularly at small charities. The Royal Parks Foundation itself is a small charity with five staff. In contrast to the London Marathon and Nova, it has never staged a running event. "It is a huge undertaking for us," says Sara Lom, chief executive of the foundation. No TV coverage is expected this year.

The foundation has allocated 7,500 of the 12,500 places to charities; most have been filled, and all 5,000 non-charity places were snapped up in a week. "There are a lot of small charities that can't get places in the London Marathon or the Great North Run," says Lom.

Charity places are selling for £117.50 on a first-come, first-served basis. Four 'golden oak' charities will receive extra places, but a decision on whether to introduce a long-term loyalty scheme similar to gold bonds has yet to be made.

The Elephant Family, a small animal charity with an annual income of £700,000, has bought 50 Royal Parks places and hopes to raise £20,000. "The London Marathon is an impossibility for us, so this is a golden opportunity," says Ruth Powys, head of campaigns and development. "The public associate the marathon with charities, but to us it's a big brand."

Richard House, a London children's hospice with two London Marathon gold bonds, has bought 30 places in the Royal Parks race. Suzie Broadley, events fundraiser, says the explosion in the number of races should ease the pressure on charities desperate to cash in on the running boom. "The London Marathon is so hugely popular that it's great to have other events people can participate in," she says.

Many charities now rely heavily on fundraising from running. But is it sustainable? Everyone we spoke to thinks people will continue to want to do it, but Bedford warns that although events held in parks should continue to prosper, some people are starting to turn against street events because of the disruption they cause. "We are starting to see signs of people saying enough is enough," he says. "Westminster and the City of London are concerned about proliferation. As time goes on, the number of events will be limited."