Menu
Events and Attractions

Virgin Sport Announces Fitness Festivals In S.F., Outside London As First Events

More than 18 months after its founding, Virgin Sport is announcing its inaugural series of events: Four fitness festivals designed to appeal to a wide range of experience and enthusiasm levels. The first will be in the London borough of Hackney on April 30, with the first American event slated for Oct. 14-15 in S.F. The Hackney event will include a half marathon, a 5.5K fun run and an outdoor fitness bootcamp, along with a post-race festival for all attendees. Virgin Sport Global CEO Mary Wittenberg said the company will continue to experiment with the festival concept, adding other distances, fitness events or sports -- cycling is a goal -- as more are developed. Wittenberg, the former N.Y. Road Runners CEO, said she has learned first hand how large group fitness events can inspire people, but they are too often targeted to a relatively narrow group of participants. “Instead of having a situation where one person among a group of friends or a family participates, why not create a weekend where people who love distance running can run their event, and people who love doing bootcamps or boxing, can come be a part of that?” She said. “And how about a fun, shorter distance that’s more about just getting people out?” Pricing for the Hackney event starts at $58 (all figures US) now and will increase to $70 by registration close, with the 5.5K at $30 and the bootcamp at $108. A package of all three is $108. Virgin has set a target of 15,000 participants.

NOT EXPECTING PROFIT AT FIRST: Creating multi-tiered events in far-ranging cities will be cost-intensive, but the company does not expect its early races to be profitable. The entry prices may vary substantially by city, Wittenberg said, and local sponsorships will prove crucial in more costly locales. “We need to build a viable and strong company over time to do what we need to do,” Wittenberg said. “We’re looking at this with very much a long-term view.” Virgin will look to contract with local vendors for the fitness classes and will also try to cooperate with local clubs that might already be running their own events. Virgin will attempt to develop roots and sustainable partnerships in its target markets. She described the vision as somewhere between a NYRR, which is focused exclusively on local events, and The Competitor Group’s Rock n Roll Marathon series. Wittenberg left NYRR in May '15 to help Virgin Group Founder Richard Branson develop the concept, and had been laying the groundwork and researching options until now. Details for the S.F. event will not be released until the spring. Two other U.K. festivals are planned: Westminster on July 9 and Oxford at a date to be determined.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL's historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2017/01/17/Events-and-Attractions/Virgin-Sports.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2017/01/17/Events-and-Attractions/Virgin-Sports.aspx

CLOSE