Millennials Bring the “Us” Experience to Modern Running Events

image

I’m a Gen-Xer runner. I’m competitive. I was raised in the era when running events were all about time. The question came down to how fast could we do go and how far could we run. The image of Julie Moss literally crawling across the finish line at the 1982 Ironman sums up how hard-core our generation really was about these things. We were in it, to win it.  Gen-Xers have been described as the me or “I” generation for a reason and it doesn’t only have to do with the little ‘i’ in iPhone.

Millennials are quite different in their programming. Millennials have been characterized as the “us” generation. They were generally encouraged in their early youth to “try” and to “do their best” and they’ve developed an especially strong bong with other members of their generation. They stick together. It’s a really “one for all and all for one,” kind of generation.

I think a lot about how this translates into live running events and triathlons that are produced to appeal to this generation. If these generational differences are true then we should be able to see in their preferences for exercise and social activities that they are more interested in experiences than sheer competition and this does seem to bear much truth.

Take marathon running for example. The most explosive growth over the past decade in marathon running has not be among competitive runners, but among new groups of people interested in the sport for the experience: first timers, walkers, joggers and people training together in large groups that want to “do it together.” The running industry calls this main participants in this latest running boom over the last few years as the “capri pant runner” – that’s as opposed to the “racing flat” runner of the past I suppose.

But even more so, we see this in the explosion of new types of running groups and events that cater to this “do it together” mentality of the Millennial generation. Look around urban centers and you’ll find running groups or “tribes” that do more than just run – they also socialize and even do community volunteer work together in addition to running. 

On the events side the advent of a host of crazy and wacky running events has been hard for industry watchers to miss: mud runs, foam runs, zombie runs. Runs in which you get splashed with paint by spectators. Runs held at night with thousands of neon lights to show you the way.

When you listen to Millennials talk about these events they describe them in terms of experience rather than performance. You will hear things like 'This was a great way to bong with my friends,“ or "so much more fun that just running a regular marathon.’

These new events are popular, and becoming more so, because of the generational attitudes of Millennials. This is a place where we can see their attitudes toward play, collaboration and experience coming together. 

Now the trick for event designers and marketers is to apply this successfully in other areas. Think about how these ideas of collaboration, experience, and socializing can come into play in your experiences. Catering to these core generational values will help connect your events to Millennials in a way that speaks to them and shows you understand their programming.

Do you need help designing great experiences and developing event strategy? Contact us at Event Futurist to apply these and other forward thinking ideas to your events business. Follow us at @eventfuturist and eventfuturist.tumblr.com.

  1. eventfuturist posted this