- BTMI engages local sports management team, Island Races, to coordinate a repositioned Run Barbados Marathon Weekend -
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados. JULY 10, 2015 - - Run Barbados, which kicks off on the weekend of Dec. 4 - 6, is set to be bigger and better in 2015 with new management, a revised schedule of events and a new website to boot.
During the official press launch officials unveiled a number of significant changes including a new logo bearing the name, Run Barbados Marathon Weekend.
Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) CEO, William Griffith, said a request for proposals (RFP) issued earlier this year resulted in the contract being awarded to local group, Island Races, led by well-known sports administrator, Zary Evelyn.
“The mandate we have given Island Races is to raise the profile of this event as a major sports tourism initiative. Going forward one of our primary performance indicators will be the extent to which we are able to attract visitors to the island through this event.”, Griffith explained.
“We also want to bring back the level of spectatorship that once accompanied this event and will be devising a number of creative ways through which to engage both Barbadians and visitors throughout the race weekend.”
Evelyn announced a number of changes including an earlier start time for the Friday night Fun Mile event and a condensed Saturday schedule that will feature just the 5K and 10K events. He also shared the reasoning behind the decision to reintroduce the Sunday marathon.
“Our research tells us that this is one of the primary reasons why runners take to the global road race circuit and we want to regain our share of that market.” he stated.
Changes were also made to the registration process, which will now feature an earlier deadline.
“Online registration will commence on Aug. 1 at www.runbarbados.org on what will be a totally redesigned website featuring our new brand logo and a more intuitive user interface; all of which, we think, resonates with the new digital marketing era in which we are operating. In the interim, we are asking persons to continue to contact us via our Facebook page, which is also being rebranded”. Evelyn added.
The Island Races team leader reiterated their commitment to Barbados’ sport tourism niche by saying, “We are committed to doing all we can through targeted digital advertising and traditional marketing channels to play our part in bringing visitors to the island.”
