The race no longer begins at the start line

For decades, the road race model was fairly simple: open registration, promote the event, hand out race kits, set up the course and put on the race.

That model is still necessary, but it no longer seems sufficient.

Sports watches, training apps, artificial intelligence and online communities are expanding the runner's journey. Preparation starts months before race day, generates data every day and continues after the finish, with recovery, sharing results and choosing the next challenge.

This shift creates an important opportunity for organizers, sponsors, running clubs and companies across the industry: to stop treating the race as a one-day product and turn it into an ongoing platform for development, relationships and business.

The signs of change are already clear

The American College of Sports Medicine's worldwide fitness trends survey ranked wearable technology No. 1 for 2026. Between 36% and 44% of adults reportedly already own a device in this category, which includes watches, heart rate monitors, GPS units and sensors that can track heart rate, distance, speed, skin temperature and other variables.

The same survey points to three other relevant signals:

• exercise apps rank fourth;
• data-driven technology comes in eighth;
• adult sports and recreational clubs made the top 20 trends for the first time.

More than 70% of wearable users said they use the data collected to guide decisions about exercise or recovery. In 2024, according to data compiled by the ACSM, more than 345 million people used fitness apps, which racked up more than 850 million downloads. ACSM – Fitness Trends 2026

These shifts aren't happening in isolation. Runners are connecting device, training and community into a single routine.

Runna, now presented as part of Strava, offers personalized plans of six to 26 weeks for distances from 5 to 50 kilometers. Workouts can be synced with Garmin, COROS, Fitbit, Suunto and Apple Watch. Runna

Garmin, for its part, now offers premium features in Garmin Connect+, including personalized insights and expanded tracking tools. Its 2026 corporate materials highlight training readiness, training status, health monitoring and adaptive plans. Garmin Connect+ Garmin 2026 Press Kit

Here's the strategic signal: the market is moving from simply logging activity to recommending what the athlete should do next.

Organizers could lose the most valuable part of the journey

Today, many organizations only know the runner at a few moments:

• when they register;
• when they pick up their race kit;
• when they cross the finish line;
• when they get an offer for the next race.

Between registration and the start, though, there are weeks or months of decisions: training, nutrition, sleep, recovery, gear purchases, joining groups and seeking guidance.

It's in that window that apps, running clubs, watchmakers, stores, communities and influencers build recurring relationships.

While the event sells a registration, other platforms follow dozens of workouts, struggles and small wins from the same athlete.

There's a real possibility that organizers will keep running the race but gradually lose the most frequent relationship with their own audience.

This is a strategic inference based on the convergence observed among devices, personalized plans, apps and communities. It doesn't mean apps will replace events. It means the ability to influence choices and generate value could become concentrated in the platforms that stay with the runner all year long.

Major events are already moving into race prep

The TCS London Marathon website isn't limited to registration, course and results. It offers content on strength, breathing, nutrition, safety and preparation, and it presents Coopah as its official training app, a “coach available 24 hours a day.” London Marathon Events

It also offers 16-week plans and practical race-day guidance. Recommendations include adapting goals to temperature and humidity, testing hydration on long runs and not running if the participant isn't feeling well. Training plans Safety guidance

This reveals a broader role for the organization: beyond producing the race, it starts helping participants arrive prepared.

In Brazil, this shift could be especially valuable. The ecosystem brings together athletes of different experience levels, coaches, running clubs, nutritionists, physical therapists, stores, gyms, brands and organizers. Yet these players often operate in a fragmented way.

The race organization can act as a point of coordination, without necessarily replacing the specialists.

What would a race look like as an ongoing service?

Imagine that, after registering, participants could voluntarily opt into an official digital journey.

In the first step, they share their experience, goal and weekly availability. Next, they choose to connect their watch or app — always with clear consent and the option to revoke it.

From there, they receive:

• training tracks suited to their stated level;
• content organized by training phase;
• in-person meetups with partner running clubs;
• general guidance on hydration, strength and recovery;
• reminders about the course and logistics;
• consistency challenges;
• perks from partners;
• recommendations for the post-race week;
• an invitation to their next athletic goal.

Artificial intelligence can help organize communication, summarize the history the runner has authorized and select relevant content. However, it shouldn't be presented as a substitute for medical evaluation or professional prescription.

On August 6, 2026, the U.S. Government Accountability Office published an assessment of wearable technologies. The report recognizes that the devices can expand personalization and remote monitoring, but stresses that accuracy and reliability vary from device to device. There are also challenges around integration, data protection and defining responsibilities. GAO – Wearable Technologies

So watch data can inform athletic and educational experiences, but it shouldn't automatically be treated as a diagnosis.

The advantage isn't in piling up data

It's tempting to believe the solution is to import as much athlete information as possible. That approach increases risk, cost and liability without guaranteeing usefulness.

The smarter principle is to work with the minimum necessary.

To offer content on preparation, for example, it may not be necessary to store a participant's entire history of sleep, heart rate or location. It may be enough to know their target distance, experience level and voluntarily reported progress.

In Brazil, health-related information can be classified as sensitive personal data. Any initiative needs to consider purpose, necessity, security, transparency and the rights of the data subject, in line with the LGPD (Brazil's General Data Protection Law) and the regulations of the National Data Protection Authority. ANPD – Regulations

The most valuable asset won't necessarily be the database. It will be the trust to coordinate a useful experience.

Sponsorship needs to cross the finish line too

When the journey becomes continuous, sponsors stop buying just exposure on the arch, the T-shirt or social media.

They can fund something concrete:

• a food brand can support sports nutrition content;
• a tech company can offer progress tracking;
• a clinic can support preventive education;
• a gym can offer strength classes;
• a store can organize product tests;
• a mobility company can make it easier to get to the event;
• a hotel can create a journey for out-of-town athletes;
• a recovery brand can step in after the race.

The difference is context. The offer shows up when it solves a real need, not just because there's ad space available.

It also enables more useful metrics for sponsors: program sign-ups, challenge participation, content consumed, perks activated, qualified visits and repurchase intent.

A brand goes from simply being seen to being associated with the athlete's progress.

A workable path for regional events

There's no need to build a complex app right away. A pilot project can be carried out in four steps.

1. Define a goal

Choose a concrete problem, such as better preparing first-timers, boosting turnout or keeping the relationship going after the race.

2. Create a 12-week journey

Organize content, challenges, meetups and communications around the training calendar.

3. Bring in selected partners

Invite running clubs and companies to deliver specific services. Each partner should solve an identified problem, not simply fill a promotional slot.

4. Measure behavior and perception

Compare participation rate, communication open rates, start-line turnout, satisfaction, intent to return and perk activation.

Only after that validation would it make sense to invest in deeper integrations with devices or artificial intelligence.

The next competition will be for continuity

The future of racing won't be defined only by the fastest course, the prettiest medal or the biggest field.

The contest will also be about the ability to stay with the athlete in a way that's useful, responsible and relevant.

Watches know the workouts. Apps organize the plans. Communities offer belonging. Running clubs deliver guidance. Brands offer products and services.

The organizer has something none of these players can reproduce alone: the combination of goal, date, community and in-person experience.

When that combination extends beyond race day, the race stops being just an event. It becomes a platform that can develop athletes, strengthen partners and build a community that stays active all year long.

The question for the industry is no longer just “how many registrations can we sell?” It's: how much value can we deliver between one start line and the next?

Sportslandbr invites organizers, athletes, running clubs and companies to join this conversation. The next big leap in racing may come precisely from connecting those who train, those who organize and those who help each runner improve.
Celio Bernardi