IInvitation for sponsorship 2018 - WordPress.com · IInvitation for sponsorship 2018 On Spartathlon… “That start, at 7am in the morning ... Vassos Alexander (above pre-race with

IInvitationforsponsorship2018

OnSpartathlon…

“Thatstart,at7aminthemorning,undertheAcropolis,this2,500monumenttocivilisation,democracyandfreedom…I’lltellyouwhat…thatnervousenergy,thathistory.Itwasdifferentgravy.

“Peoplewerefocussedandnervousandtheplacewasfullofenergy.Peoplehavecomeallovertheworldforthis...TherewereacoupleofJapaneseguyswhocouldn’thelpbutemitprimalroarsbeforewegotunderway.“Itreallywasthemostspectacularthing…”

VassosAlexander(above)reportinglivefromSpartathlon2017ontheBBCRadio2ChrisEvansRadioBreakfastShow,29September2017

Thetoughestraceonearth?•  Spartathlon,a153-mile(246km)race

fromtheAcropolisinAthenstothestatueofKingLeonidasinSparta,iswidelydescribedasthetoughestfootraceonearth.

•  Itsrootstracebacktothe490BCBattleofMarathonwhenAthenianmessengerPheidippideswassenttoaskforSpartanhelpagainstinvadingPersianforces.

•  AccordingtotheancientGreekhistorianHerodotus,PheidippidesarrivedinSpartathedayafterhisdeparturefromAthensandpassedoverthesummitof1,000mMountParthenionontheway.

•  Fast-forwardto1983whenagroupofBritishRAFofficersledbyWingCommanderJohnFodendecidedtotryandreplicatePheidippides’journeybyrunningfromAthenstoSpartainlessthan36hours.

Lessthanhalfwillfinish•  SoimpressedweretheGreekswiththis

restagingofakeyhistoriceventthatanannualracewasfoundedtocommemoratetheRAFofficers’effort…themodernSpartathlonwasborn.

•  RunwiththepurestofOlympianideals,SpartathlonpitsparticipantsagainsttheearlymorningAthensrushhour,soaringheatinthemiddleofthedayandtemperaturesreachingnearzeroovernightonthemountainpass.

•  Alongtheway,thereare75checkpoints–runnerswhomissoneofthestrictcut-offtimesarepickedupbythe‘deathbus’andnotallowedtocontinue.

•  Thefinish,atthefootstepsofthestatueoflegendarySpartanKingLeonidasinSpartaisanemotionalone.Oftenlessthan50percentofthosewhoembarkonthisgruellingeffortwillbecompletethejourney.

Whotakespart?

•  SuchistheextremenatureofSpartathlonthatitattractsinterestfromeliteultrarunners.Butittakesaparticularcharactertocompletetherace,anditisoftenthosewhoarelessnaturallygiftedwhomakethefinishagainstalloddswiththegutsiestofperformances.

•  Thesehighlytrainedathletesallhavearegularinterestinultra-distancerunningandotherextremesports.Theyhavecompetedatthehighestlevelformanyyearsandhaveaninterestinawiderangeofapparel,nutrition,trainingandequipment.

•  Theaverageestimatedspendonsport-relatedthemesisinexcessof€2,000peryearperathlete.

Worldwideexposure

•  Theracingfieldis390,whichtogetherwithsupportersandvolunteers,meanstheraceisfollowedbyadedicatedaudienceofaround2,000peopleovertwodaysoftheraceandseveraldaysbeforeandafter.Theraceisalsoamajoreventalongtheroutewithmanythousandsofpeoplecomingouttosupportandcheertherunnerson.

•  Thisresultsininterest,notonlyinGreecebutalsoaroundtheworld,withmanytelevisionandfilmcrewsfollowingtherace.Exposuretoaworldwideaudienceofextremesportsathletesisguaranteed.

•  InBritain,theracehasneverbeenbetterknownthankstoChrisEvans’sidekickVassosAlexander(abovepre-racewithsomeoftheBSTteam)runningforhisnativeGreecein2017.Heisinthefieldagainfor2018andmoreexposureisexpected.

BritishSpartathlonTeam•  TheBritishSpartathlonTeamrepresents

UKentrantswhohavesuccessfullyqualifiedfortheSpartathlonevent

•  Fortherace,theBSThasadistinctpresencethankstohighqualitykitdesignedandprintedbyourownsuppliers.Theteamwidelygainsplauditsasthebestturnedoutcountryteamoverthecourseoftheevent

•  TheBSTalsohasamediapresenceontheweb(britishspartathlonteam.org)andFacebook.Additionally,membersoftheteamwillbeupdatingthe@SpartathletesUKaccountand#SpartathlonhashtagonTwitterbefore,duringandaftertheevent.

Britishchallengers

•  TheBritishSpartathlonTeamregularlyputsinstrongperformancesattherace.Thisyear,severalrunnershaveagoodchanceofapodiumfinish.

•  NathanFlear(pictured)recordedthefourthbestBritishfinishofalltimeonhisdebutlastyear.HeisalsothecurrentWelshUltraDistancechampion.

•  MarcoConsaniisaninternationalclassultrarunnerhavingrepresentedTeamGBintheWorld24HourChampionshipsandScotlandintheWorld100kmChampionships.In2015hewontheprestigiousBarcelona24Hourrace,breakingthetrackrecord.

•  IanThomasisateamveteranbutconstantlyperformshighlyatSpartathlon,finishingfirstBritin2016.Healsowonthe130mileLeeds-LiverpoolCanalracein2016.

Opportunities

•  TheBritishSpartathlonTeamisofferingsponsorstheopportunitytotakeadvantageoftherace’suniqueexposure.

•  Teamsponsorsfeatureinadedicatedsectionoftheteamwebsiteincludingimages,textandweblinkstoensuremaximumexposurefortheirproduct/donation.

•  TherulesoftheInternationalSpartathlonAssociationpreventthedisplayofsponsorlogosonrunningapparel.HowevertheteamwillhavealargecrewofsupporterswhowillbeissuedwiththeirowndistinctiveT-shirts.Theseareallowedtobearsponsorlogos.

•  Eachsponsorwillbeprovidedwithhighqualityphotosoftheteamdisplayinganyproductsprovided.

Howtosponsor

•  FirstTierSponsorsareinvitedtoprovideacashdonationof£750tohelpprovidetheuniquerunnerandsupporterapparelthatensurestheBritishSpartathlonTeamremainthebestpresentedattheevent.FirstTierSponsorslogosarelargeroncrewkitasrecognitionoftheirdonation.

•  SecondTierSponsorsareinvitedtoprovidegoodsorservicestotheteam.Thesecaninclude:Apparel:shorts,buffs,sweatbands,socks,sunhats&sunglasses;Nutrition:Anyformofhighcalorificvaluenutritioninbarsorgels;Other:Blisterpreventionandtreatmentproducts,firstaid,sunprotectionetc.

•  Totakeadvantageofthisuniqueopportunity,[email protected]