Threshold Sports is on a mission to engage 500+ first-time female ultra runners to join its Race to the Stones and Race to the King events in 2025.
According to the event organiser… ‘Women are largely underrepresented at running events and only 30% of ultra runners are female. Threshold’s Ultra 50:50 Initiative seeks to set new industry standards to inspire, empower and enable women to take part in ultramarathon events.’
Threshold is aiming taking things one step further with its 500 Trailblazers Campaign, which aims to give women the confidence and knowledge to tackle their first ultramarathon.
As part of the 500 Trailblazers, Threshold is looking for females who have never completed an ultramarathon to become 2025 Ultra 50:50 Challengers and take on their first ultra by tackling either 50km or 100km.
‘All challengers will receive free race entry for themselves and a training partner, comprehensive training plans, dedicated coaching calls and kit and clothing from their event partners. Applications are open now and will close on October 25th 2024. To qualify for nomination athletes must be female or non-binary and a first-time ultrarunner.’
Alongside this, a new white paper was recently published by Threshold and advocacy group SheRACES to evaluate the impact of the Ultra 50:50 Initiative and share the benefits of investment in gender parity in ultra-distance trail running events.
Penny Welch, CCO at Threshold Sports, said “In 2025 Threshold Sports will continue to invest in female participation, with a focus on first-time ultra runners. The Ultra 50:50 campaign illustrates a clear case for making events more inclusive and attractive to female participants.
“By diverting marketing spend from paid advertising to a more purpose-led campaign and making reasonably modest investments in service provisions to accommodate the needs of female participants, we have been able to significantly increase participant numbers and the profitability of these events.”
Sophie Power, Founder of SheRACES, said “We are excited to have partnered with Threshold on first-of-a kind research into the commercial value of inclusivity for women and commend their foresight in this area.
“Threshold were one of the first adopters of the SheRACES guidelines and are active advocates for female athletes of all backgrounds. We hope that this analysis encourages more discussion of the significant value of female participation, as well as wider adoption of SheRACES guidelines in all mass participation events globally.”
www.thresholdtrailseries.com
www.sheraces.com
