When Ben Rosario sees the Hansons-Brooks Original Distance Project, he sees no reason why that success cannot be replicated in Flagstaff.
Individual endurance athletes have long sought out the mountain town for training purposes, going back at least as far as Jim Ryun preparing for the 1968 Olympics, but financially sustaining a successful distance-running team is no easy task.
“I absolutely think Northern Arizona Elite can be, and will be, on par with the top professional groups in the country,” said Rosario, who started the NAZ Elite team in January.
Rosario’s venture coincides with another just-established squad, Team Run Flagstaff Pro, which is an extension of the non-profit Team Run Flagstaff organization. With two professional teams in Flagstaff, it raises the question of whether sponsors will spend dollars on them and what sponsors expect to get out of those partnerships.
Business relationships in track and field in this country are notoriously fickle. Adidas had sponsored the McMillanElite team in Flagstaff, coached by Greg McMillan, but that funding dried up at the end of 2013. Even the Center for High-Altitude Training at Northern Arizona University, which had backing from the United States Olympic Committee, closed its doors in 2009. Hypo2 Sport stepped into that void and provides support services for visiting athletes from around the world, and now for professional teams as well.
But finding a primary sponsor for a professional running team is a different task. Few athletes are compensated well in distance running. Most aspiring runners make do with meager income plus some gear from sponsors. A team infrastructure can provide athletes more training, as well as social support.
“Our first priority is covering access for the track and facilities,” said Vince Sherry, TRF Pro coordinator, adding that TRF Pro athletes will provide their expertise to other TRF programs as part of the community.
Rosario says Adidas’s seven-year run with McMillan already proves that a team sponsorship can be done here.
“It’s simply a matter of proving to a company, and its decision-makers, that not only can you produce results, but that you can also be a long-term marketing tool for their brand,” he said. “I believe we’re off to a good start on both those fronts.”
There is no question both TRF Pro and NAZ Elite sport talented rosters. Olympians Janet Cherobon-Bawcom and Ryan Hall are with TRF Pro, which has a greater mix of up-and-comers to go with established stars. Initial funding for TRF Pro comes from Team USA Arizona, which disbanded but left the TRF Pro team money allocated for promising young runners. TRF Pro wants to secure grants and donors to develop runners to get to the point where they can secure their own sponsorships.
“We are really grateful to Team USA Arizona for entrusting us with the remaining assets to carry the torch here,” said Interim TRF Executive Director Erin Strout. “We are really honored to uphold a Flagstaff tradition of supporting our best runners who call Flagstaff home.”
NAZ Elite boasts Ben Bruce, Stephanie Rothstein Bruce and Kellyn Johnson Taylor, who just won the NACAC Cross Country Championship in February.
One can see how Rosario, who used to run for the Hanson brothers, Keith and Kevin, draws inspiration. The Hansons partnered with Brooks 10 years ago to sponsor and train elite distance runners as an extension of their chain of Detroit-area running stores. Since then, the team has featured Olympians and national team representatives. Last year, Brooks added a new middle-distance team based in Seattle.
Rosario and his wife, Jen, started RunFanShop.com, an online running store, in 2013, and already has a roster of elite runners. He sees social media as an important component for sponsors because they want to support athletes who are engaged with their fans. Through his website, his athletes blog and introduce themselves via video clips. Rosario hosts podcasts that have well-known guests who speak on hot topics. Last month, the same day that Gabe Grunewald had her 3,000-meter indoor national championship reinstated after a controversial disqualification, Rosario’s podcast included Grunewald’s coach, Dennis Barker, in a roundtable discussion.
“We’ve also been in the news each and every week in various magazines and websites, and our athletes have spoken at race expos and running industry conferences from New Orleans to San Diego,” Rosario said. “We’re everywhere.”
Rosario says he is currently considering sponsorship proposals, and already has support from local eateries such as Diablo Burger, Fratelli’s and MamaBurger.
TRF also receives local support for its events, and in February it even had Brooks-sponsored prizes for a “Batman and Robin” run.
“Investing in running and supporting athletes is part of the DNA at Brooks,” writes Jesse Williams, Brooks’ sports marketing manager, on the Brooks website. “Our hope is to inspire people to run longer, faster, farther and in order to do that we must help provide opportunities for athletes to practice and develop their talent. We hope that our professional athletes will help inspire other runners to set goals, push themselves and keep running.”
Sponsors may be turning to teams rather than individuals, as this provides a greater comfort level with how those dollars are being spent. Plus, it allows them to spread the risk – and reward – across more people.
“The group model is where corporate dollars are going to be spent,” Rosario said. “It’s no different than any other sport. Americans like team sports.”
Beyond the branding that a corporate sponsor looks to gain from partnering with a pro running team, both new Flagstaff teams want the locales in their team names to provide a source of regional branding for their running-crazed town.
“I don’t think people realize how many high-level people are here all the time,” Rosario said. “With the exposure we want to create, it will only increase that kind of [economic development]. It’s tough to quantify, but we know it happens.”
“It really is going to be a community-based team,” Sherry said. “Very few teams exist that put the town name in the title. Any time we line up, everybody’s going to know where we’re from. When this team is successful and the town name is on the front, it’s only going to raise awareness of Flagstaff.” FBN
By Myles Schrag
Flagstaff Business News