Skechers Performance, which is a division of Skechers USA Inc., entered a multi-year partnership to become the official title sponsor of the Los Angeles Marathon.
Asics had been the title sponsor for the last three years. American Honda Motor Co. Inc previously held the spot.
The event will now be called Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon. The next race will be held on Sunday, February 14, 2016. Registration for the race opened on Tuesday, September 1, 2015.
As title sponsor of the race, Skechers Performance will have a prominent presence at all marathon week activities including the Los Angeles Marathon Health & Fitness Expo. Additionally, Skechers Performance will outfit course volunteers and staff, and provide finishers’ shirts for all runners. Comprehensive and integrated Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon marketing and communications initiatives leading up to and during the race will include the Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon website (lamarathon.com) and app.
“Partnering with the Los Angeles Marathon is a strategic step forward for our company and the Performance Division,” said Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers. “As a Los Angeles-based business, we have always wanted to be a part of this iconic race since we began developing our performance footwear division and we could not be more thrilled to join the Los Angeles Marathon as title sponsor.”
“Much like the City of Los Angeles itself, Skechers is an iconic, global, and stylish brand and we are extremely pleased to announce this new partnership on the Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon,” said Tracey Russell, chief executive of LA Marathon LLC. “Skechers has achieved prominence across the global endurance sports market and we look forward to delivering a world-class marathon experience together here in Los Angeles and to collaborating on exciting new initiatives across the U.S. and around the world.”
The Skechers Performance title sponsorship comes on the heels of the 30th edition Los Angeles Marathon in 2015. Not only did registration sell out for the third straight year, but the race also played host to the 2015 USA Track & Field Marathon Championships, where top American elite athletes vied for a record prize purse of $150,000. The iconic “Stadium to the Sea” course attracts runners from all 50 states and more than 55 countries all over the world, ranking as one of the five largest marathons in the U.S. and one of the 10 largest worldwide.
Currently, Skechers Performance serves as the official footwear and apparel sponsor for the Chevron Houston Marathon and sponsors elite marathon runners Meb Keflezighi and Kara Goucher. Keflezighi has raced in several high-profile events wearing Skechers Performance footwear, including his monumental win at the 2014 Boston Marathon racing in his namesake shoe, the Skechers GOmeb Speed 3. Next year, Keflezighi will compete in Los Angeles wearing the new Skechers GOmeb Speed 3 – at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Men’s and Women’s Marathon on Saturday, February 13, 2016, the day before the Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon.
