Rodale Inc., the owner of Runner's World, has acquired Running Times magazine and runningtimes.com branded media properties, from Fitness Publishing, Inc. based in Wilton, CT. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Running Times will continue to operate under the Running Times brand, and will be independent of the Runner's World.
“This acquisition creates the largest multi-media platform for runners and further strengthens Rodale's leadership position in the rapidly growing running marketplace,” said Steve Murphy, president and CEO of Rodale. “Runner's World has experienced tremendous growth over the past few years by providing relevant content for both the serious and more casual fitness runner in the magazine and on runnerswold.com. With this acquisition, we will further expand our reach in both print and online to serve the audience of highly dedicated and competitive runners and offer this expanded audience to advertisers who look to Rodale to reach consumers interested in health and fitness.”
Running Times and www.runningtimes.com will continue to operate under the Running Times brand, and will be independent of the Runner's World and runnersworld.com brands. Runner's World and Running Times, however, will combine their respective databases of race events to provide a single source for racers.
Running Times, founded in 1977, currently has a rate base of more than 105,000 and a readership of more than 400,000. Running Times advertising revenues increased 38% in 2006, with pages rising by 24%. Running Times circulation has increased 117% since 1998. The magazine covers the racing culture, explores the science and health effects of training and the training philosophies and practices of top athletes and coaches, provides race reports and results, rates and profiles elite runners and provides stories and commentary that reflect the dedicated runner's world view. Its online property, runningtimes.com, provides an extensive database of races and other relevant information.
Running Times and www.runningtimes.com will continue to operate under the Running Times brand, and will be independent of the Runner's World and runnersworld.com brands. Runner's World and Running Times, however, will combine their respective databases of race events to provide a single source for racers.
Rodale, based in Emmaus, Penn., will bring additional resources to the Running Times editorial and design teams, as well as its experience in producing successful, award-winning magazines.
“This is a terrific opportunity for Running Times and the dedicated running community,” said Carol Lasseter-Rice, publisher of Running Times. “Rodale brings added investment, a wealth of publishing experience and a longstanding allegiance to the running community.”
Runner's World will continue to be co-led by Andy Hersam, vice president and publisher, and David Willey, vice president and editor-in-chief. Carol Lasseter-Rice will remain publisher of Running Times during a transition period and will report to Hersam. Jonathan Beverly will remain as editor-in-chief of Running Times and will report to Willey.
“We are very enthusiastic about the running marketplace,” added Murphy. “2006 was Runner's World's best year ever. The running community continues to grow, as more women participate and the sport gains popularity internationally. With running's biggest stage – the Olympics – slated for 2008, Rodale through Runner's World and Running Times is uniquely positioned as the definitive source of information for runners and fans of running.”
Runner's World finished 2006 with its fifth consecutive record year, up 6% in ad pages and 14.8% in revenue. The title also added 91 new advertisers, including American Express, Infiniti, Toyota Prius, The North Face, BP British Petroleum, Pentax, Eddie Bauer, Timberland, Fila, Ecco, Columbia and Keen, and broke 700 ad pages. The title raised its rate base for the eleventh straight year in January to 630,000, and in 2006 received its third National Magazine Award nomination in the past two years with a nomination for General Excellence (among titles with 500,000 to 1 million circulation). Runner's World also was on Ad Week's Hot List in 2004 and 2005, and in 2005 won Ad Week's “Creative Team of the Year” and was on Ad Age's “A List.” In February 2006, Runner's World launched a new international edition in Italy, in partnership with Edisport Editoriale, bringing its worldwide reach to nine editions in 11 countries.
Rodale's other titles include Men's Health, Prevention, Women's Health, Best Life, Bicycling, Backpacker, Mountain Bike and Organic Gardening. It is also the largest independent book publisher in America with a collection of international titles, including The South Beach Diet and The Abs Diet franchises, and most recently Al Gore's New York Times bestseller An Inconvenient Truth.
