Brooks no longer exhibits at most major marathon expos, and Saucony has left several, according to a report published October 8, 2026 by RUN, Outside's running site. The report, based on interviews with nearly a dozen people including people with the Boston and New York Marathons, says the convention-center expo is losing ground as a place where brands meet runners.
Ed Riegert, director of event marketing at Brooks, told RUN: "There's value in the traditional expo, but historically it's very transactional." He also said: "You can only do so much in the four walls of a convention center."
We only had access to excerpts of the article, so the full reporting may contain more detail than is summarized here.
Title sponsors push rivals off the expo floor
In some cases only title sponsors are allowed space on the expo floor, RUN reports. That pushes other brands outside the convention center, where they build pop-up booths and other hands-on activations.
The Boston Athletic Association (BAA) had already begun limiting exhibitors to vendors that did not compete with its major sponsors. Around 2020, the pandemic "forced us to have a really small expo, and forced our hand in making the transition to just having partners," said Katie Hawkes, BAA director of brand and experiential marketing.
The result, per RUN: most major running brands had to make their presence known outside the convention center walls.
What a $10,000 booth buys compared with a weekend pop-up
RUN gives one concrete budget comparison. In 2015, Tracksmith was a new brand with a limited budget and considered exhibiting at the Boston expo. It found that for about the same money as a $10,000 booth during expo hours, it could rent a temporary space for the whole of marathon weekend.
This is a single example reported by RUN, not a market-wide figure.
The article also says expo booths are becoming more expensive and that races like Boston limit participation. According to the piece, small brands are being shut out and usually cannot afford elaborate pop-ups outside the expo. A person identified as Hitchcock has stopped exhibiting at most expos because of rising costs and because she sees fewer runners interested in walking the floor. The excerpts we saw do not give Hitchcock's full name or company.
Marathon weekends become marathon weeks
Race weekends have stretched into race weeks, RUN says, with shakeout runs, activations, panels, live podcasts and parties. The expo is still essential for bib pick-up but is no longer the only pre-race event.
The article's standfirst adds that runners now connect with brands on social media. Garmin, a large exhibitor at or sponsor of many races, launched its own marathon series in 2025.
Some expos still sell out, according to race organizers
Not every race is seeing the same pattern. The Little Rock Marathon said its 2026 expo exhibitor space sold out, citing 52 exhibitors last year and attendees spending an average of $145, according to marathon officials quoted by Yahoo Sports on June 17, 2026. Those are organizer-reported figures.
"Following a sold-out 2026 Expo, we're excited to open registration for 2027 earlier than ever," said Geneva Lamm, the race's executive director.
The Houston Marathon says its two-day expo at the George R. Brown Convention Center welcomes over 61,000 people. That number comes from the race's own marketing page and is self-reported.
These race-reported numbers are not directly comparable with the large-city cases in the RUN article.
What to watch: who pays, and where
| Pressure | Who is affected | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Sponsor exclusivity | Rival brands, notably at Boston | Only title sponsors get floor space in some cases; BAA limits exhibitors to non-competing vendors |
| Cost | Small brands | Tracksmith's $10,000 booth comparison; Hitchcock has stopped exhibiting at most expos |
| Alternative formats | Brands that left the floor | Brooks no longer exhibits at most major expos; Saucony has left several; Garmin launched its own marathon series in 2025 |
| Counterexamples | Races with full expos | Little Rock reports a sold-out 2026 expo; Houston reports over 61,000 visitors |
Much remains unknown. We found no figures on overall race revenue or exhibitor budgets beyond the Tracksmith comparison, so the effect on race income cannot yet be measured.
For related race economics, see what a marathon is worth to its city, the title sponsor change at the Berlin Marathon and Chicago Marathon's economic impact.
Sources
- RUN | Powered by Outside: You Can Only Do So Much in the Four Walls of a Convention Center." The Marathon Expo As We Knew it Is Dead.
- Yahoo Sports: Registration opens for 2027 Little Rock Marathon Expo
- Chevron Houston Marathon: Marketing & Sponsorship | Chevron Houston Marathon
This article was written with AI by the Hopone Newsroom, from the sources it cites. Figures marked “Hopone calculation” are our own arithmetic from those sources. Nothing here is investment advice.