Marathons match big-league sports with ₹800 crore sponsorship inflow

For decades, big-ticket sports sponsorship in India has meant one thing: cricket. But a different sporting economy has been taking shape on city roads and training tracks, built not on television spikes, but on participation, habit and community. Today, distance running is attracting close to ₹800 crore in sponsorship, putting marathons in a rare league outside cricket-led properties.

Once a specialised pursuit for a handful of athletes, distance running now captivates millions and anchors a rapidly expanding running economy. Unlike high-glamour, television-led sports properties such as the IPL that deliver intense but momentary visibility, marathons unfold over months.

According to a 2025 KPMG report, India hosts 1,200+ running events a year, creating an annual local business impact of ₹200-250 crore from participant-related spending and attracting intense competition among brands for sponsorship rights.

Globally, too, the momentum is unmistakable. Brand Finance’s ‘Marathons 50 2025’ report shows the world’s top 50 marathons contributed $5.2 billion to local economies and raised $425 million for charities.

Brands are reimagining marathons as long-term platforms for engagement, community and identity-building, using on-ground, experiential and integrated activations to connect more deeply with runners and spectators.

At marathons, the course itself becomes a mobile billboard for brands. Key branding assets include barricades, arches, kilometre markers, flags and LED screens placed along the route, elements that both participants and spectators see repeatedly as the race unfolds.

Runner kits, bibs and medals also serve as wearable brand assets. Logos on jerseys, bibs and goodie bags deliver close-range visibility and continue to generate impressions long after race day, especially as runners share photos on social platforms.

Many brands go beyond passive signage to create interactive zones on race day. These include hydration points, recovery lounges, warm-up areas, medical support stations, and fitness experiences where runners and their support networks spend real time. For example, Bisleri sets up cooling points along the race track, reinforcing functional value while forging positive brand associations.

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In 2024, Puma India partnered with Bumble to explore new ways of blending fitness and social connection. As part of the collaboration, the brands hosted a singles-only running event in Bengaluru ahead of Singles’ Day, followed by the Rundowner run in Mumbai as the partnership’s next activation.

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Last year, Nike turned the marathon route into a motivational corridor, using OOH messaging to speak directly to runners at key moments of the race. With striking red hoardings and punchy lines like “It won’t be easy, but it will be epic” and “This is why you got up so early,” the brand tapped into the mental grit of runners.

These activations reveal why marathons have become fertile ground for brand storytelling. From momentary exposure to sustained participation, it is this shift, that is reshaping how brands, organisers and marketers evaluate the marathon platform.

Below, voices from across the ecosystem shed light on how running has reshaped sporting culture and commercial strategy.

From competitive running to brand platform

Marathons in India began as modest participant events a couple of decades ago. For example, in the early years of the Tata Mumbai Marathon, the full marathon field counted only a few hundred runners. Over time, it has grown into a spectacle attracting tens of thousands of runners and sponsors alike. That very marathon now attracts over 50,000 participants annually, while satellite races, sponsorships, merchandise, travel and allied services have turned the country’s running calendar into a multi-crore ecosystem.

The exponential growth of running enthusiasts, going up from 10,000-odd registered runners in 2004 to 2.5 million now, has given brands an avenue to engage with a captive audience.

Vijayaraghavan Venugopal, Co-Founder & CEO of Aeronutrix Sports Products Ltd (FAST&UP), explains why this transition matters for brands. 

He says, “Marathons, by their very nature, attract a highly participative audience, people who practise the sport consistently over a long period, eventually turning it into a habit. That’s precisely what makes the property attractive to brands.” 

His point cuts to the heart of participative sport as more than a logo on a banner but a habit territory. According to Venugopal, brands that want to integrate into wellness mindsets “have to show up on the ground, engage with consumers repeatedly, and build relevance over time.”

Similarly, Vivek Singh, Joint Managing Director of Procam International, the promoter of marquee races like the Tata Mumbai Marathon, underlines the extended brand presence that marathons enable. Singh shares, “Registrations begin six months in advance. From that point on, there is continuous virality. The race itself may be just one day, but for six months, the brand gets continuous activation.” 

He illustrates that runners train with the products they expect to encounter, from hydration to energy supplements, fundamentally pre-conditioning their brand experiences. 

Why brands are investing

Unlike traditional sponsorship, where visibility is momentary, marathon sponsorships yield stickier equity. Comparing Marathons and IPL, Venugopal says, “Unlike high-visibility formats, marathon sponsorship is typically a long-term brand play. It’s not a TV-led sport or one that is contained within a single moment.” He emphasises that brands looking for quick resonance, akin to an IPL spike, will likely be disappointed.

Adding perspective on the commercial scale, Singh says, “But it is catching up every day. Today, nearly ₹800 crore is coming into sponsorship of distance running. About 60% of that is cash, and 40% is barter. Tell me, which other sport, outside cricket, attracts ₹800 crore in sponsorship? There isn’t one. So yes, it is catching up, and it is already there. Large-scale marathon events today are attracting that level of sponsorship.”

This strategic view is being validated by other brands. Chandrashekhar Radhakrishnan, Chief Business Officer, Amaron, reflects on what the marathon association means for brand ethos. He says, “The brand sees marathons as a powerful way of transforming ordinary individuals into silent heroes, driven by discipline, perseverance and the courage to endure.” For Amaron, the marathon is not a transactional city-day; it’s an anchor experience that gives life to its brand narrative of “lasting long, really long.”

Recent data reinforces this shift from mere presence to meaning. Media reports show that marathon sponsorship revenues in India have been growing at an approximate 15% annual rate, with the Tata Mumbai Marathon alone expected to generate around ₹60 crore in sponsorship revenue in 2025. 

If marathons have become a brand playground, how exactly do sponsors activate meaningfully?

Radhakrishnan tells us about one model: Amaron is not just present on race day but builds narratives through on-ground engagement, “digital and influencer ecosystems” and sustained storytelling. He frames visibility not as the goal, but as a by-product of authenticity .

For six months before race day, runners habituate to brands that feature on course materials, water stations and training gear. This extended exposure elevates brands from logos to partners in personal journeys.

Brands are increasingly recognising marathons as long-term cultural platforms rather than short bursts of reach.

Who is the marathon consumer?

For brands, understanding the marathon audience is critical. Since running demands discipline, training, and community involvement, it naturally draws a highly engaged and health-oriented crowd.

Singh highlights that brands get direct access to what he calls the active living universe. “Brands are targeting people who are empathetic, often running for a cause. They are upwardly mobile, largely SEC A and SEC B audiences, tech-savvy, with disposable income.” 

He highlights that this audience is not just physically present at the race, they are invested in their lifestyle across months of training, forums and community groups.

Procam also releases a special Economic Social Health Impact Report at the end of the Tata Mumbai Marathon each year, offering a deeper look at runners’ spending and behaviour. The findings reveal the purchasing power and engagement potential of this audience

The marathon ecosystem, far from static, also reflects demographic change. Saurabh Sharma, Director - Marketing, ASICS India, notes how running has grown “across demographics,” with post-pandemic fitness culture fuelling participation. “After 2020, the kind of reach that running got in the Indian market went to another level,” he says. “People started getting more serious about fitness. They started learning about fitness culture, understanding their bodies better, and realising that movement doesn’t need to be complicated.”

He highlights running’s social anchor in urban environments, where weekend runs double as community meetups, a phenomenon that deepens brand touchpoints.

The future of marathon sponsorship

As marathons mature, so too will the sponsorship landscape. Venugopal sees this future as segmented and layered, with distinct roles for various categories. “Where once the space was dominated by a handful of players, more brands are now entering, leading to clearer category-specific roles.” 

In hydration alone, he suggests space for energy drinks, clean water, gels and more to co-exist with purpose.

This granularity aligns with how the running ecosystem is diversifying, not just in India’s big metros, but across emerging urban centres and niche formats. The sport’s growth trajectory, with running events increasing year on year, implies that brands investing now are positioning themselves ahead of a broader cultural shift.

Singh explains that the marathon audience today connects deeply with brands that not only back the race but enhance the experience. “Spectators may give me 100 million impressions,” he says, “but what do I do with that? I would rather have 100,000 people actually touch my brand.”

With athletes increasingly sophisticated in how they consume, train, and share their journeys, marathons offer brands a multi-touch ecosystem spanning training, community, digital, and race day,  a model of engagement few other sports marketing platforms can match.