• by Karl Greenberg , October 16, 2007

The number of participants in the New York City Marathon may break records this year. And there may be a record number of runners as well.

The ING New York City Marathon has 36 corporate sponsors for its 38th running, on Nov. 4. Six of them are new: Toyota, Garmin, Andalucia, Zicam and Hugo Boss.*

The race--the only nationally televised marathon--not only has more corporate and brand sponsors than before, sponsors are doing more to activate.

Ann Hinegardner, vice president/sales and marketing for the New York City Road Runners (NYCRR), which organizes the marathon, says the race has become a magnet for marketers because of its combination of professional runners and amateurs, its media coverage, demographic sweet spot, location and sheer size.

She points out that the race is the only nationally televised professional sporting event that puts the competitive athlete on the same stage as recreational athletes. The democratization of the marathon, with all kinds of people running, she says, makes for a huge audience on the sidelines and watching on TV.

"You don't get that with tennis, golf or other sports," Hinegardner says, adding that the boom in interest in marathoning also tracks the fitness craze. "Peoples' interest in staying fit and caring about what they eat is raising interest."

She says the race is also a global property, with five hours of local TV coverage on WNBC, national coverage on NBC, and syndication to 125 territories. Also, says Hinegardner, the participant demographic includes an average yearly income of $90,000 with graduate-school education. "It's a desirable demographic, a dual-audience sport, with both men and women who are goal-oriented."

Hinegardner says last year some 37,900 runners crossed the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at the start. This year brought a record-breaking 100,000-plus applicants.

"We have taken it to the next level over the past seven years in terms of the professional competitors we bring in--the best marathon runners in the world come here. Also, we have five million spectators, and record demand to run properties," she says.

As the Official Business Attire, Eyewear & Fragrance, Hugo Boss will support with signage and an event at its Columbus Circle store along the marathon route

The Andalucía Sports Bureau, as the Official Tourism Sponsor, is engaging in its first sports sponsorship. The group will have a presence at the marathon's Health & Fitness Expo at the Jacob Javits Center as well as the Continental Airlines International Friendship Run on Nov. 3.

First-time sponsor Toyota is giving the first-place male and female finishers each a Toyota Prius and using the race to tout its "Engines of Change" program by linking running and endurance sports to its "Hybrid-Synergy Drive." The health expo will feature hybrid versions of Toyota's Prius & Highlander as well as Toyota's "Highway to the Future" road show. And Prius will carry race clocks for lead male and female and wheelchair athletes.

Garmin, Official GPS Navigation Provider (though it would require a concerted effort to get lost on the course) will roll out a new product, Forerunner 50, at the marathon.

Returning sponsor Dunkin' Donuts is giving away iced coffee at nine Dunkin' Donuts locations along the course and 35,000 cups of coffee at the start to the runners.

Hinegardner says several long-time sponsors are expanding the breadth of race activity. Poland Spring--which two years ago signed a seven-year sponsorship agreement--is not only providing water on the course this year, but executing a recycling program at the "Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff" event on Staten Island, and promoting recycling during the race.

United Parcel Service, the official delivery sponsor, will field 82 delivery trucks that will ferry runners' gear from start to finish. Coors Light, the official beer for the third year, will promote the marathon to the masses with a series of 150 marathon-themed parties in each of the five city boroughs. Also, Coors will distribute over a million commemorative cans of New York City Marathon Light beer in the New York area.

The weekend may get an extra push, since NYCRR is cross-promoting the event with the Olympic marathon time trials, which happen on Saturday. That effort includes an advertising push with TV, print, out of home, and Web, with the theme "Two spectacular races, one spectacular weekend," in New York, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.

*Editor's note: This story was amended after publication.