Community the biggest benefactor, organizers say
Reprinted with permission from Daily Camera, 2004
By Mary Butler (Camera Staff Writer)
Earlier this month, Philip Lockwood staged the Peoria (Ill.) Race for the Cure, a charity race that drew 25,000 people and raised $750,000 for the fight against breast cancer.
Next Monday, the world-famous BolderBOULDER 10K will attract about 49,000 walkers and runners, but the 26-year-old, for-profit road race will barely break even, organizers say.
"Some people say we could cut costs to give money to charities," race director Cliff Bosley said. But we want to do what's best for the event, and what's best for the sport ... We've chosen a method that works, and it's where our roots are."
The BolderBOULDER - which boasts the largest non-marathon prize purse of any race - strives to promote running and fitness, as opposed to a particular charity. Even in its best years, organizers say, the race is no cash cow. In fact, its biggest benefactor is the Boulder community.
A closer look at the race shows: It meshes with the city's environmental ethic; it lends to the area's reputation as a recreation mecca and desirable place to live; and it ranks among the best, if not the best, money-making weekends each year contributing an estimated $10 million to the local economy.
From the in-state runners, who spend an average of $76.50, to the out-of-state visitors who stay at hotels and spend an average of $276 a day, the dollars add up to an early shot of tourism before the high travel season begins in mid-June.
Spending time and money
When Paid Sikorski and his wife, Jennifer, arrive in Boulder on Friday, they will begin shopping, dining out and sightseeing. The Rochester, N.Y. couple plan to stay with friends, run the race and enjoy a relaxing three-day weekend. "This is a vacation-type race," he said. "I'm not out to set any personal times. I'm coming to get the experience." He estimates they'll spend about $500 by the time they leave next Monday.
The race provides a huge boost to the local economy every year, said Mary Ann Mahoney, Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director. "We know the BolderBOULDER fills hotel rooms on a weekend when they're not traditionally filled up," she said. Many children are still in school, and families haven't yet begun embarking on summer getaways. But the event-combined with Boulder Creek Festival and Moondance Film Festival, held the same weekend-gives people a reason to head to Boulder for a day, a night or more. Although not every hotel room may get booked, she said, many years there is overflow to hotels along the U.S. 36 corridor. Restaurateurs know participants aren't likely to be out eating and drinking a ton on BolderBOULDER Eve, said Dave Query, owner of Jax, Rhumba, Zolo Grill and the West End Tavern. Still, he said, "any three-day weekend is huge for business."
The BolderBOULDER is just as good or better at generating dollars than a University Of Colorado home football game or CU's spring commencement, Mahoney said. "What's wonderful is that it's a part of our community, a homegrown race that continues to create a larger turnout every year," she said. Even nicer is time fact that it's a clean form of tourism, said Greg Hartmann, CU's Center for Sustainable Tourism executive director. People are running, using their own power to get around. The race builds community pride, as Boulder is consistently ranked as one of the nation's top running cities and best places to live. Magazine rankings, such as those given annually by Runner's World, may also be considered free advertising. "The buzzword is the 'triple bottom line,' which is the idea of economic impact and also social and environmental impact Something like the BolderBOULDER fits that very well," Hartmann said.
Cash cow
Behind the scenes, BolderBOULDER organizers do their own share of spending - about $2.3 million to stage the nation's second-largest 10K. Last year, race registrations totaled $1,450,000 for about 48,000 registrants, 65 percent of whom paid $31 for a package including a race T-shirt. Sponsors contributed another $500,000 and the BolderBOULDER's training groups and merchandise sales helped balance out the budget sheet. Race organizers say they break even most years and any profits are put into reserves. The reserve fund is expected to top $200,000 this year and is hoped to eventually grow to $700,000 to cover unanticipated expenses such as if the race ever had to be postponed or it lost any key sponsors, race director Bosley said.
Bosley said the race grows by about 2 percent to 3 percent annually. Last year, about 45,000 people finished and another 3,000 were no-shows. That growth has helped keep the race largely immune to the economic downturn of recent years. Even so, keeping the for-profit BolderBOULDER in the black has never been easy, Bosley said. The cost of staging the race has risen by about 7.5 percent a year. Plus, race organizers have often had to account for unforeseen costs. For example, when CU decided to install grass at Folsom Field the race had to pay to cover and protect it.
Even in years when the race has made more than it spent, Bosley said, the BolderBOULDER is no money tree for the race's seven full-time and three part-time permanent employees. Among them, they split about $500,000 in pay and benefits, he said. Bosley's father, Steve, who co-founded the race with Olympic marathoner Frank Shorter, never took a salary or any money from the race. Steve Bosley, a retired banker, is now running for CU regent. "A lot of people confuse what you gross and what you take home," Cliff Bosley said. "People ask me, "Where's all the money going?' or they say, 'You've got to be kidding me. You work fulltime in that job?' " The BolderBOULDER-- like most large road races - is a year-round venture. There's plenty of work that goes into gaining and keeping sponsors, organizing race logistics and planning for the next year, Bosley said. "We've been really anal about doing everything right," he said. "We study other road races to see what ails them. At the end of the day, we only have one chance to do this right, and then 12 months before we do it all over again."
For-profit versus nonprofit
Julia Emmons, executive director of the nation's largest 10K, the 55,000-participant Peachtree Road Race 10K in Atlanta, can attest to the high costs of staging a road race. The non-profit Peachtree costs "way over $1 million" to stage, but without any advertising costs or need to rent a stadium, she said. The BolderBOULDER spends $72,000 to rent Folsom Field and cover its natural grass stadium floor, the race's marketing and advertising budget is $187,000; and the $162,964 elite prize purse is the largest of any non-marathon road race. The race donates hundreds of free entries and T-shirts to charities throughout Boulder, which are auctioned and raffled off to help aid the organizations. The race also holds food and toy drives and recycles athletic shoes and cellular phones. But it doesn't directly give money to charities like many cause races, such as the famous Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. The Peachtree's Emmons said the fact is that these races have a different sports-minded mission. The Peachtree donates about $l00,000 a year to running-related charities, such as inner-city track clubs and bicycle emergency medical technician programs. Peoria Race for the Cure's Lockwood says cause races and events with professional sporting elements such as the BolderBOULDER are completely different animals. "When a race is designed from the beginning to support a cause, then there are certain aspects that will be eliminated," Iockwood said. There is no prize purse. Most workers are volunteers. Many local businesses donate their services.
Tim Murphy, who heads Elite Racing, said organizing road races is a labor of love - not money. He's a self-described running fanatic, who abandoned a successful career in medical sales to pursue promoting a sport he loves. Murphy founded the wildly popular Suzuki Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Diego, Calif., seven years ago. In its first year, the for-profit marathon attracted 20,000 participants but lost $1.2 million, Murphy said. Cutting costs and raising the entry fees have since resulted in a profitable bottom line, Murphy said. Besides passion, professional-level races need well-off supporters to make them work, Murphy said. "If Steve Bosley hadn't done well in the banking industry, he couldn't have been able to maintain the BolderBOULDER at the highest level he said. "No way."
Contact Staff Writer Mary Butler at (303) 473-1390 or butlerm@dailycamera.com
For a summary of BolderBOULDER's finances, click here.