By Jay Holder, Executive Director, Running USA
What will tariffs, an uncertain economic outlook and a marked dip in international travel to the United States mean for the running event industry? Across the country and at event businesses big and small, for-profit and not-for-profit, there is a definitive sense that industry leaders need to prepare for a wide range of scenarios for budgeting, forecasting and vendor choices.
“I’m exasperated,” said one race director. “There’s never been anything like this.”
In conversations with more than a dozen members of Running USA, we attempted to understand what changes and preparations are being made to handle anticipated operational cost increases. We found a mix of frustration, confusion and even some optimism as race directors and business owners hope for the market to stabilize. We have anonymized the names and companies of many we spoke with to protect relationships with vendors, staff, sponsors and participants.
The Impact of Tariffs
The most immediate result of the new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration in April is the cost of medals and garments. When this article was published, the base tariff on goods imported from China was 125% and as high as 245% on some products. One prominent U.S. medal vendor told us they are including a tariff surcharge on their orders based on the current tariff percentage, but the customer will see an adjustment of that surcharge if the tariff rate changes within their billing cycle.
Ashworth Awards estimates the current cost of a diecast medal from their factory in China is up by $0.33 per unit. Today, the Massachusetts-based company says the cost of purchasing dimensional steel medals from its American production line is cheaper than ordering from overseas. They also say the turnaround time is quicker.
While experts say dimensional steel is more durable and environmentally friendlier than die-cast, there are limitations on creativity as it pertains to moving parts within the medal.
Many race directors told us they have changed or are strongly considering changing medal vendors to those with lower prices or domestic production options. No one said they’re considering eliminating medals. However, several race organizers said that if costs continue to rise or fail to stabilize, they will likely remove other participant and volunteer swag that they normally provide from their budgets
“We are known for our swag,” one multi-event race director told us. “But we may have to give less swag.
With orders for medals and T-shirts being placed as many as nine months in advance, the true new cost of the products may not have been realized yet. One race organizer with more than a dozen races each year said the supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic (2020-2022) caused them to order volunteer shirts for the entire year so they aren’t caught empty handed on race day.
Still, tariff fees have begun to appear on invoices. While companies like Ashworth say they will reduce a tariff fee on an outstanding invoice if the tariff percentage drops prior to payment, many race directors told us they are being charged tariff fees that seem arbitrary at best and predatory at worst.
On the other hand, companies that rely heavily on imported goods warn to watch out for those claiming they can avoid tariffs completely.
“I recently heard from a respected international trade compliance expert and lobbyist who confirmed what we’ve been seeing for months—factories and freight forwarders have been tempting USA suppliers to cut corners on customs declarations to reduce tariffs,” said Leslie Jordan, president of Leslie Jordan Inc. “What may sound like a deal can easily result in delayed shipments, seized goods, or legal trouble—right before race day.”
Jordan, whose company produces apparel items and medals for some of the country’s largest events, said that its basic apparel tariff on t-shirts and quarter zips was $49.50 prior to the tariff increases. Now it’s $184.50. While the bulk of their manufacturing is in China, they have worked to diversify their suppliers and are specifically working with a factory in Egypt where the tariff imposed by the Trump administration is currently only 10%.
Other companies in the space are reducing prices in other areas or offering long-term guaranteed pricing regardless of the tariffs. Scimitar, a global apparel vendor, has told potential customers they will match or beat any tariff adjusted prices from their competitors.
Budgeting and Forecasting
For nearly every race director we spoke with, increasing the cost of registration is not an immediate strategy they are considering offsetting rising prices. A small number did say they would likely impose incremental increases on the opening registration costs, likely in the $5 to $10 range.
“We are not looking at passing along costs at all right now,” said one director of one of the nation’s 10 largest marathons.
“We’re not London or New York. We can’t charge $250 for an entry,” said another race director of a large marathon. “I don’t mind being a little higher than your neighborhood 5K, but there is a limit.”
Registration platforms like RunSignup don’t anticipate rising operational costs due to tariffs but they have instructed their customers how to add a tariff surcharge to a race registration flow.
Race directors largely agreed that they could absorb the rising costs for the remainder of 2025, in hopes that things will stabilize in 2026. “If our margin drops a wee bit, we’re not going to go out of business,” the owner of an East Coast event producer told us. However, if the increase doesn’t subside, “eventually, we will have no choice but to pass them on to the consumer,” said an industry veteran.
A number of other strategies for combating increasing costs were shared. The most frequently mentioned was in sponsorship dollars. Nearly everyone we spoke with was optimistic about continued and increased support from sponsors with many saying they will be pushing their sales teams to chase lower level and value-in-kind (VIK) partnerships.
A race director of one of the nation’s largest half marathons told us they have seen “…wonderful growth in sponsors this year, particularly led by smaller sponsorships. We expect to see significant partnership growth in 2026.“
Vendor audits are another common thread among race directors. Many told us they planned to conduct RFPs (Request for Proposal) on integral services, some for the first time and others for the first time in many years.
Forecasting, as one race director bluntly said, “is Russian roulette.” Anticipating uncertainty, most industry leaders we talked to prepared contingency budgets for the fiscal year and are performing consistent and scrupulous checks on their current trajectory. “We can’t put a balance together that balances on a razor’s edge,” said the leader of a large non-profit organization. Included in the contingencies shared with us were reducing participant items, reusing race day items like signage and in many cases, layoffs.
“It’s never good to feel like you’re going to have to use the contingency,” said one executive. Even with rising costs across all sectors – including footwear and apparel – hitting the budgets of key demographics, race directors are collectively optimistic about participation rates. In 2024, participation across every category increased by double digits. While many say they don’t expect the rate of growth to be the same in 2025, they still anticipate rising interest in running events.
“As long as we can all share in that pain and keep prices reasonable, participation will continue to grow.”
Canadian Participants Expected to Decline
While many of the race directors we spoke with manage local and regional events, races that see international participants, especially from Canada, are prepared to see that category decline. Many popular fall marathons sold out long before uneasiness between the United States and Canada set in, and now some events say they are receiving inquiries from Canadian participants wanting to cancel their registration. Two fall marathons still registering runners said they’ve noticed a marked drop in Canadian registrants. That aligns with a poll out this month that found more than half of Canadians do not feel welcome or safe in the United States.
“My impression on America has soured,” said Paula Roberts-Banks of Ontario in an op-ed about her decision to skip the 2025 Boston Marathon. “If that means giving up Boston, then so be it. It’s not just the entry fee, but the couple of thousand dollars in accommodation that I don’t want to offer up to that country’s economy.”
“There’s not a chance I’d go to the U.S. for any reason now. Their total disrespect for Canadians is unforgivable. It’s been a gut punch,” Janet Goneau, a twelve-time marathon finisher who recently decided not to participate in the World Masters Indoor Championships in Gainesville, Florida told iRun.ca. “I just don’t agree with going to the U.S. now after all the insults and innuendo and I think the ramifications from what the U.S. is threatening toward Canada will have a lasting effect on U.S. races. Many runners feel as strongly as I do about not going there anymore.”
Canadian Olympic marathoner Natasha Wodak, who had frequently been an entrant in the elite field of U.S. races, said on Instagram that she will only be racing on her home soil for the foreseeable future.
One prominent Canadian race director says there’s a stigma among runners associated with traveling to the U.S. and it can be seen on this Reddit thread with hundreds of comments.
Overall, spring and summer travel bookings by Canadian travelers to all major U.S. cities are down anywhere from 15% to 35% with one notable exception: Boston, where bookings were flat year over year.
The political climate and tariff rates will also impact how Canadian races do business with U.S. vendors. One race director told us they are moving away from all American brokers because Canadian consumers are demanding it, and because it will be more cost effective to either use a Canadian company or go directly to the factory.
Optimistic Outlook
The industry has seen turmoil before and recently. The pandemic shutdown impacted events on an exponentially larger scale and while recovery was slow, events have largely surpassed pre-2020 participation levels.
While the tactics may vary, race directors agree that times of economic instability are when runners need them the most. “We are not a transactional business,” said one, highlighting the importance of creating a relationship with participants. The theory is that absorbing a little pain now will lead to gains when the smoke clears.
Said one race director eloquently, “We are going to eat it for a little bit and hope that the craziness goes away.”