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Shalane Flanagan is an Olympic medalist and an accomplished distance runner, but she made herself a legend in the five boroughs in 2017 after becoming the first U.S. woman to win the New York City Marathon in 40 years.
Now she’s helping Mastercard and its small business partners stay ahead of the pack.
The New York Road Runners (NYRR), the nonprofit group that organizes the marathon each year, added Mastercard as a sponsor in 2020. In 2021, Mastercard brought Flanagan on board to offer cardholders virtual training sessions for the marathon and a Priceless Start that allows 25 marathon-running cardholders to buy the chance to run with Flanagan ahead of the field at the beginning of the race.
“I’m now in active service and I’m a coach, so I very much understand what marathoners are going through in training because I did it for years,” said Flanagan, who’s an assistant distance and cross-country coach at the University of Oregon. “All the nuances and little idiosyncrasies of getting ready for race day can be overwhelming, and sometimes a nice voice of reason and knowing someone’s been in your shoes kind of helps.”
From Tata Consultancy Services affixing its name to the TCS New York City Marathon and powering its app, to United Airlines providing interactive maps while New Balance sponsors live mobile feeds of runners from fans’ smartphones, multiple brands leave their mark on the event during race day. For Mastercard to stand out, it has to draw cardholders, small business partners and spectators into the mix by making them part of the experience.
That means handing out free radios, giving people markers and poster board for signs, setting up cheer zones along the marathon route or placing their partners in the race itself.
“New York Road Runners is able to make this the biggest and boldest race in the world because of our partners like Mastercard,” said Rob Simmelkjaer, CEO of the NYRR. “Together, we are constantly looking for ways to build community and bring the event to life for participants and spectators.”
Runners’ high
When Anne Valentzas was at the beginning of her career in marketing in New York in the early ‘90s, she became a member of the New York Road Runners. In the years that followed, she ran two New York City Marathons and hundreds of other races, with a wall of medals to prove it.
Admitting that she’s “not fast, but I am passionate,” Valentzas has remained active as a runner and remained close to the New York City Marathon as Westchester-based Mastercard’s svp of consumer marketing and sponsorships.
