Cause-Related Marketers and the Runners They Chase
For more than two decades now, I have been running an average of about 20 road races a year, and practically every one of them benefits at least one local or national charitable organization. As an athlete, it's not necessarily the first thing you think about at a race, but besides all the physical training you have behind you, the idea that your entry fee (or at least a percentage thereof) is going to some worthy cause can’t help but serve as a strong, underlying motivating force. Of course, any such philanthropy is probably an afterthought for some runners – understandably. After all, we’re preoccupied with our performance. We’re running for time and place. But if you’ve competed in as many 5K races as I have, you come to realize…