For most of us, getting “sponsored” for an athletic occasion like a triathlon or half-marathon in all probability means sending emails to our associates, household, and coworkers asking them to point out their help with a donation. “Sponsorship” doesn’t often embody an enormous model getting concerned, like it could for knowledgeable athlete.
This marathon season, that’s altering. Milk—as in, the dairy beverage—has launched a brand new marketing campaign known as 26.2 that’s particularly meant to help feminine runners within the New York Metropolis Marathon, which takes place on November 6. If you happen to’re a girl runner doing the race, you may signal as much as get “sponsored” by Milk, regardless of your tempo or expertise stage. Have a look at you, massive shot!
Milk will match your registration payment ($295) with an in-kind donation to the non-profit group Women On The Run, which helps educate and empower ladies by means of working. (They’re matching charges for a complete donation of as much as $600,000). Members of #TeamMilk can even get working swag, a cheering part on the race, academic prep and restoration supplies, and an internet neighborhood.
The sponsorship marketing campaign is a technique that Milk (which is definitely a commerce consortium known as America’s Milk Firms) is attempting to place itself as a efficiency drink. Chocolate milk has lengthy been a go-to restoration beverage. And vitamins, energy, protein, and fats are all mandatory to assist gas your physique for runs, so the thought is sensible! (That’s, if we will recover from the enduring Anchorman “milk was a foul alternative” scene. Oof, sorry, Milk.)
However the group additionally says they’re doing the marketing campaign to lift consciousness across the hole in sponsorships that women and men athletes get. The pay hole in skilled sports activities is well-known, however Milk says that, in response to Deloitte Insights, simply 7 % of the $30 billion spent globally on sponsorships goes to sportswomen.
America’s manufacturers can actually do higher than that, and it seems like Milk desires to be on the entrance of the pack.
Whether or not you are coaching for a marathon or a run across the block, here is a 10-minute mobility exercise that can assist get your legs run-ready.
