by Larry Eder
This is my daily chat with #RunBlogRun viewers and track fans on all things track & field!
This is #CoffeeWithLarry for Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Our topics;
1. How to reach the high school runner.
2. Why most brands don’t seem to get it. They reach the top athletes but not the ones who will be their consumers for the next 4 decades.
3. When I worked with New Balance in the 1990s, we put shoes in front of some high schoolers at the K-Bell Classic in March 1990, and it worked.
4. HOKA is doing some remarkable things with Postal 2 Mile and, now, FootLocker. They get the good ones and the average ones.
5. NB and NIke battle on the champ’s side, spending an estimated $3-5 million, and wonderful social media, with video access and fun photos for memories.
6. The big meets reach 40,000 kids and inspire many more, but how do you reach 1.6 million 14-18-year-olds who run, jump and throw 46 weeks a year, six days a week?
7. Since 1996, at RunningNetwork and RunBlogRun since 2006, do daily training for track and cross country athletes.
8. Saucony sponsored the Summer Mileage program; several brands just brazenly copied it, some doing it with great innovation.
9. Young coaches and young athletes want to run and do the workouts told by coaches.
10. Where else do high schoolers go? 94 percent ask coaches about running shoes, and 57 percent go to local running stores.
11. How do you keep the sport fun?
London Athletics Meet
July 23, 2023, London, England, U.K., photo by Kevin Morris
12. That is the challenge.
13. 50 percent of high school athletes quit the sport if they are injured for 7 straight days or more.
14. The Dubai Marathon is just 11 days away; check out #DubaiMarathon at www.dubaimarathon.org, which will be held on January 7, 2024, at Dubai, U.A.E. (sponsored)
15. The New Balance Indoor Grand Prix will be held on February 4, 2024. For no more information, www.nbindoorgrandprix.com, #NBindoorgrandprix, (sponsored)
16. The 2024 World Indoor Tour is posted here: https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-tour
17. The RAK Half Marathon is now managed by #PACEEvents, founders and managers of #DubaiMarathon. The #RAKHalfMarathon is being held February 27, 2024, https://www.therakhalfmarathon.com/,#AreYouReadyToRun
18. One final thought, most brands do little to promote track spikes and cross country spikes. Over 700,000 pairs of specialty shoes sold in 2023, and entry level are for junior high and youth, the expensive spikes are part of the dreaming of a 5 minute miler, and 12 second 100 meter runner. Let them dream, inspire them, and build on that communication!
See you tomorrow on #CoffeeWithLarry.
