The 2017 Running Awards are back and the independent awards ceremony will take place at indigo at The O2 London on April 20.
With winners decided purely by nominations and votes from runners this is the place to be recognised for running brands.
Previous years have seen winners range from the always popular brands such as adidas (Men’s Clothing 2016), Nike (Women’s Clothing 2016) and Shock Absorber (Women’s Sports Bra 2016) through innovative nutrition brands (SiS 2016) right through to individual Apps (Strava 2016), blogs (Fat Girls’ Guide to Running) and online communities (Virtual Runner UK 2016). In fact, the best books (The Mock Olympian, in 2017, parkrun – More than just a run in the park, in 2016) were announced in December to offer runners an early suggested Christmas list, and it’s all on the website for anyone in need of a small February gift to themselves.
Following feedback from the industry the Running Shoe categories have been tweaked for 2017, with the new categories now being Best Lightweight, Neutral, Cushioned and Support shoe whilst keeping the favourite Shoe Brand category (ASICS 2016).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, a poll conducted by the awards found that a Neutral Shoe was most popular with runners (32 per cent), with Support and Cushioned shoes an equal second (24 per cent) while Lightweight Shoes are falling slightly out of favour comparatively with 20 per cent of the votes.
With this in mind it will be interesting to see if the 2015 and 2016 Best Shoe winner, the Brooks Adrenaline, which could be classed as a Support or a Cushioned shoe, can again see off competition from the many new Neutral models out there. Now in its fourth year there is a renewed focus on charities with a second, Small Charity, category introduced to recognise the work of charities with a revenue of less than £5m annually, meaning there are now 24 charities in the new look shortlists.
Visit the website – therunningawards.com – to view who runners have already voted as the top charities to support. You may find a new, smaller local charity to support.
The Running Awards Editor, Sam Corrick said: “With the reach we now have, of over 60,000 runners in our B2C newsletter alone, a further 500,000 with our community partner and the sheer number of companies that reach out to their fans to support them with a free vote, we are expecting to double our votes this year.
“With this the show has of course grown and we will be showcasing running fitness technology and brands before the ceremony, if any other Sports Insight subscribers have got anything they want to shout about let me know.”
The event is set to be the biggest ever and following responses from the trade, with so many of the guests participating in The Virgin Money London Marathon, winner of Best Marathon 2016, the decision was made to give the participants an extra day’s rest before the big day.
It is not just the networking event for the industry, but a celebration of running and turns into quite the party for many. It is these networking opportunities that makes the event essential to attend, as the top across the industry mingle over reception drinks and move through to their VIP bars early in the evening, before the three-course dining, all-important ceremony and after-party.
As many of last year’s attendees found, this is the place to find the right connections for your sports brand. Overseeing the evening is TV sports presenter Mike Bushell, who has been a popular host in recent years with his humour and knowledge of running, though this year he will be assisted by some surprise celebrities from the running world. For ticketing information click the dropdown menu ‘Nominee Zone on the website. If you haven’t been before, take a look at the video of last year’s ceremony in the 2016 video here too.
For those that are in the top 12 in their categories, make sure to push for votes and get the recognition you deserve.
A selection of shortlisted nominations in the 2017 Running Awards categories
SHOES
Shoe Brand: adidas, ASICS, Brooks, Hoka One One, inov-8, Karrimor, Mizuno, New Balance, Nike, On, Salomon, Saucony.
Categories also in shoes include Shoe Cushion, Shoe – Lightweight, Shoe – Neutral, Shoe – Support.
CLOTHING
Men’s Clothing: 2XU, adidas, ASICS, Brooks, inov-8, Karrimor, Nike, Ronhill, Salomon, Saucony, Tribesports, Under Armour.
Women’s Clothing: 2XU, adidas, ASICS, Brooks, Festival Running, Karrimor, Lululemon, Nike, Ronhill, Shock Absorber, Sweaty Betty, Tribesports.
Categories also in clothing include Underwear and Socks and Women’s Sports Bras.
NATIONAL RETAILERS
National Retailer: adidas, Cotswold Outdoor, Decathlon, Intersport, JD Sports, Runners Need, Sports Direct, SportsShoes.com, Sweatshop, Sweaty Betty, The North Face, Up & Running.
Categories also in Sports Retailers include Customer Service, Independent Retailer, On-Line Retailer.
The remaining shortlists are: Charity (Large Charity, small Charity), Technology (Wearable Tech Product, App), Nutrition and Hydration (Hydration Brand, Nutrition Brand, Well-being Brand), Accessories, Running Events (10k sponsored by the Runningbug, Child-Friendly Event, Endurance, Event Series, Fun Run, Half-Marathon sponsored by Runningbug, New Event sponsored by Eventbrite, Obstacle Race sponsored by Eventbrite, Triathlon).
Too see the full lists of nominees and vote for your favourite go to https://therunningawards.com/
