Partner With Us

 

Great Southern Runs has built a strong brand, particularly with the South Australian running community, for organising fun, professional events on outstanding courses. Our events are held throughout the McLaren Vale and Fleurieu Peninsula region of South Australia and we have developed good relationships with our local councils, the tourism and hospitality industry and local communities.

Great Southern Runs is now growing rapidly and adding to our calendar of events.  We will hold 5 races in 2022 , increasing to 9 races in 2023, including the McLaren Vale Marathon, Great Southern Half Marathon, Granite Island Run, Great Southern Bolt and Victor Harbor Half Marathon.

A typical, non-Great Southern Runs race experience is for runners to drive there on the morning of the race, run, wait for their friends to finish, grab a coffee then leave. At Great Southern Runs, we want the experience to be much more than that, so design our events to include amenities, activities and entertainment for participants to hang around and enjoy after their run. Our events are family-friendly and normally finish with a free kids run where the juniors get to run and finish under the big inflatable arch just like mum or dad did. We have featured massage, food trucks, expo stands, full markets, live music, kids zones and an outdoor cinema at different events, providing an exceptional post-race experience for our runners and spectators to enjoy.

Great Southern Runs is looking to develop long term partnerships that will benefit our event deliver through:

•   Contribution of cash, products or services towards staging events
•   Promotion of GSR events to partners' audiences / database
•   Enhancing runners' event experience

In return, Great Southern Runs' partners will benefit through:

•   Positive brand exposure to participants, families, spectators, media and local residents
•   Opportunities for activations and product sales at events
•   Complementary race entries to share with your employees and customers
•   Promotion through our social media & marketing channels

 

The Running Company
Pirate Life Brewing

Great Southern Runs organises races providing a premium experience for its runners with spectacular courses, professional race delivery and making the race about more than just the run.  We live by our strapline of “Putting Runners First”.  Our events attract a variety of participants from casual runners and active families through to competitive athletes. Participants come from within the local community, wider Adelaide, every corner of SA and, increasingly, interstate.

The McLaren Vale Marathon will soon become the jewel in the South Australian running calendar which will grow to be a significant destination race, attracting 5000+ runners from across Australia and internationally. The McLaren Vale Marathon will be supported by a range of other Great Southern Runs events each year, with attendances ranging from 250 to 1500 runners.

Major Sponsors

The Running Company
Pirate Life Brewing
Leconfield and Richard Hamilton Wines
Premax Performance Skincare

Partnership Options

Specific features/benefits for each partnership will vary depending on the nature of your business and aims, but may include:

  • Event naming rights (major partners), including branded bibs/medal ribbons/finish arch signs/race singlet/podium
  • Joint branding on event team Ts
  • Joint branding on marquee walls
  • Logo on media screen
  • Logo on Great Southern Runs apparel
  • Logo in watermark on event photography & videos
  • Logo on website
  • Complementary race entries
  • Expo stand and collateral around start/finish areas

What Our Runners are Saying

Great Southern Runs events are all about putting runners first and giving them the best possible experience. We conduct a post-race survey after every event to hear from our runners what we are doing well and should keep doing, and if there is anything we could do better or should stop doing at future races. We get a really good response rate (20%+) and heaps of great feedback. Overall it is clear that runners love their experience at Great Southern Runs events, but don’t just take our word for it, read a few of the testimonials below directly from the runners.

Trish S – Great course, beautiful scenery, well organised

Marianne D – Everything was really well done from keeping us well informed beforehand to the day. I was blown away by the realisation how huge the organisation was. Buses, road closures, volunteers, the finish line set up….. I still get a buzz thinking about it. And I’m sure I’m not alone – on 2 runs this week I’ve gone past people who were talking about The Bolt. Lastly, keep up that good relationship with the weather gods! Can’t wait until Granite Island.

Maddie K – Love the massage at the end and the free Red Bull

Fiona S – The route was stunning and the event was a well-oiled machine. Loved the point to point. It was the funnest fun run I’ve done in a looooong time

Tayla H – Loved it all! Great fast track, friendly volunteers on the track, good atmosphere at the end. Great to have coffee, fruit, massages available after the race! And the random prize draw was cool!

Lynn M – The course, the finish line vibe, the start line vibe, the…. oh heck all that you do is good!

Sarah H – Brilliant organisation. Super flexible covering last minute changes to registration, bus tickets, medals etc and super-fast response to any queries. Awesome stuff, vans, fruit, merch etc at the finish. Bloody good job with the weather too

Anonymous – Great vibe, really encouraging, very inclusive. Love it that Matt is there all day involved and encouraging everyone. Free photos are great too. Well organised

Natalie B – Great atmosphere and set up with drink stations and directions very clear and easy to follow. Finish hub had a great range of products.

Social Media / Marketing Reach (as at May 2022)

4400+ Facebook Followers
3900+ active email Subscribers
400+ Instagram Followers
Recently launched YouTube Channel

Sponsorship & Event Expenses

The organization of running events has many moving pieces and is the cumulation of months of effort, planning and work to bring it all together on race day. There is a great deal of financial risk undertaken in staging an event as budget needs to be committed long before we know how many runners will sign up. Cash, services, products and discounts so generously provided by our partners all go to covering the multitude of expenses involved in delivering events to the standard our runners have come to expect from Great Southern Runs, including

  • Event permits
  • Event insurance
  • Drink station supplies (food/water)
  • Traffic management
  • Start/Finish line equipment
  • Medical Services
  • PA hire
  • Race bibs
  • Course signs & flagging
  • Timing services
  • Awards & prize money
  • Medical services
  • Equipment hire
  • Portable toilet rentals
  • Event team costs
  • Transportation & fuel
  • Registration system fees
  • Promotional materials
  • Advertising
  • Waste & recycling service
  • Website hosting & development

Next Steps

Ready to be a part of an awesome race experience at Great Southern Runs events?

Contact Matt on 0415 883 117 or hello@greatsouthernruns.com to discuss partnership options or complete the contact form below.

Thank you for your support. We look forward to building a long term relationship with you to deliver some exceptional events that are WIN – WIN – WIN for you, for our participants and for Great Southern Runs