Race sponsorships and expos for running stores

This guide is for running stores sponsoring races. If you’re a runner looking for a sponsorship, see the FAQ below, then go meet your local store at its group run.

What is a race expo?

A race expo is the event where runners pick up their bib and race packet before a race, usually the day or two before. Bigger races add vendor booths, brand displays, nutrition samples and talks. Smaller races may skip the expo and hold packet pickup at a running store.

For a store, both are the same opportunity: every registered runner has to show up somewhere before race day. Your job is to make that somewhere your store, or your booth.

Why should a running store sponsor races?

Because races gather your customers in one place on a known date, and they plan their training, shoes and race week around it. Race participation is moving the right way too. Running USA’s report on 2025’s top races found growth across all major race distances, including the 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon, and RunSignup’s list of the 100 largest US road races found the average race on that list grew 6.5% in 2025.

A sponsorship also puts you next to the people runners already trust: the race director, the local club, the pacers. A big box or Amazon can’t buy that.

What should I ask for in a race sponsorship?

If you’re working out how to sponsor a local race, start with what you get, not the price. Many races sell tiers: title or presenting sponsor, gold, silver, and smaller in-kind spots. Ask for these, in order:

1. Packet pickup in your store. Every registered runner walks in, often with a friend. Ask for the full pickup window, not a single evening.
2. A mention in the race’s own emails. Race emails reach every registrant. Ask for your name, a line about fit sessions, and your race code in the pre-race emails.
3. An expo booth, if there’s an expo. Ask for a spot near packet pickup, not in a back corner.
4. Your logo on the shirt, bib, website and finish area. Nice to have, last on the list.
5. A training group. Offer to run the official training group for the race out of your store.
6. Pace teams or a cheer station. Your staff and run club in store shirts, on course.

Sponsorship tiers: what each one is usually worth to a store

What you get	Brings runners in?	Can you measure it?	Priority
Packet pickup in store	Yes, every registrant	Yes: door count, sales, new names	Ask first
Mention in race emails with your code	Sometimes	Yes: code redemptions	Ask second
Expo booth	At the expo, not the store	Yes: sales, names, fit bookings	Ask if there’s an expo
Official training group	Yes, every week for months	Yes: sign ups, sales from members	Offer it
Logo on shirt and finish area	No	No	Only if it’s free with the above
Cash only title sponsorship	Depends on what comes with it	Only if it includes the above	Negotiate for the above

If you can only afford one thing, take packet pickup.

How do I know if a race sponsorship worked?

Decide before race week what you’ll count, or you’ll end up guessing. Three numbers are enough.

1. A race-only discount code. Create a code just for this race and put it in the race emails, the packet and the expo booth. Shopify lets customers redeem discount codes online and in person with Shopify POS, and the Sales by discount report shows how often each code was used.
2. Packet pickup traffic. Count people through the door during pickup and compare sales with the same days last year, or with a normal week.
3. New customer names. Count customers added during pickup and the expo who weren’t in your system before. In Shopify POS, staff add the customer to the cart by name or email. This is the number that keeps paying after race day.

Measure	How to get it	When to check
Code redemptions	Shopify Sales by discount report	Race week and 30 days after
Pickup day sales	Shopify sales by day and location	Pickup days against last year
New customer names	Customers created during pickup and expo	The week after the race
Fit appointments booked	Your booking tool or a paper list	30 days after

Write the three numbers next to what you paid. That’s your decision for next year.

How do I plan a race expo booth?

Treat the booth as a small store with a fit station, not a sale table. The best race expo booth ideas all come back to that: let runners try shoes on, and leave with your name.

Booth size and layout

Expos sell booths in set sizes, with bigger spaces going to top sponsors. Check the expo’s sponsor packet for what’s included: table, power, carpet, wifi. Plan the space in three zones:

• Fit station at the front: a bench, a measuring device and one fitter who only fits.
• Wall behind: your best sellers in a deep size run, plus demo shoes.
• Checkout and sign up at the side, so the line doesn’t block the fit.

What to bring

Item	Why
Deep size run in your 2 or 3 best sellers	Runners buy what they can try on in their size
Demo shoes from your reps	Lets runners feel a new model without you holding stock
Race week essentials: socks, gels, anti-chafe, hats, sunglasses	Easy sales from runners who forgot something
Card readers, charged, plus spare power	A dead reader costs you the rush
Inventory list by size	Staff can promise a size from the store when the booth is out
Sign up sheet or tablet for names and emails	Your measurement, and your next customers
Cards with your race code and fit session booking	Something to take home
Store banner and staff shirts	People find you in a crowded hall

Who to staff

Bring your best fitters, not your newest hires. Expo crowds come in waves, so plan for the peak (usually the evening before a morning race). One person on checkout, one on fit, one on the wall and names.

Never fit someone into a brand new model the day before a marathon without saying so. Tell them to race in what they trained in and come back next week. That honesty sells more shoes than the sale.

How do I work with brand reps on race sponsorships?

Bring your reps in before you sign, not after. Brands care about races too, and a rep may help with things a store can’t buy alone.

What to ask your rep for:

• Demo shoes or a demo van at the expo or packet pickup.
• Co-op funds toward the sponsorship or the ads around it.
• Product for the race, such as prizes or pacer gear.
• A rep or tech at the booth on the busiest night.

Co-op and demo programs vary by brand and by account, so ask your rep what applies to you. How brand co-op works explains the paperwork most brands want afterward: proof of the activity, what it cost and what it sold.

Send the rep a short recap within 30 days: the race, what you spent, code redemptions, new names and the brand’s sales during race week. That recap makes next year’s ask easier.

Which races should a running store sponsor?

Not every race. Pick the ones whose runners need what you sell and who will come to your store. Use this table to score each race you’re asked to sponsor.

Question	Good sign	Bad sign
Who runs it?	Local runners, training for months	Mostly travelers or one-time walkers
How far is it from your store?	Within your normal customer area	Across the metro or out of state
Will they give you packet pickup?	Yes, in your store	No, held at a venue
Will the race email your code?	Yes	Logo only
Is there a training period?	12 or more weeks of training before race day	Sign up the week before
Does it fit your stock?	Road race you’re stocked for, or trail you carry	A race type you don’t serve
Can your rep help?	Demo shoes or co-op available	Nothing from brands

As a starting point, a single store can usually do one big local race well each season, plus a few smaller community 5Ks in kind (product or packet pickup, not cash). Grow from there once you have the numbers from your first one.

When should I start planning a race sponsorship?

Earlier than you think. Races lock sponsors months out, and training groups need to start 12 to 20 weeks before a half or full marathon. For fall marathon season, talk to race directors in late winter or spring. For spring races, start in the fall.

Put the races into your seasonal calendar. The 12-week marketing plan includes a calendar by season. For the weeks between races, in-store events and run clubs keep runners coming in.

Around race week, runners search the shoes they plan to buy. Our Fill the Store service connects local inventory ads so those shoes show as in stock at your store, and Segments HQ can build and pace a brand-funded Shopping campaign around each store for the weeks before race day.