78
WORTHWHILE
MAY 2OO5
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t all began with a simple declaration:
“I amgoing to get a corporate sponsor.”I was on the Wiouwash Trail in Oshkosh, Wis.,where I was playing catch-up with my much fasterrunning friends. We were all training for upcomingmarathons. They laughed, thinking I was just beingfunny. I mean, who would sponsor a middle-aged,doughnut-inhaling, lazy runner?Who indeed?Fast-forward to the 2004 New York City Marathon,where I am posing at the start line for a photographerfrom
Sports Illustrated
. With my running shirt andleggings covered with logos, I look like a lost NASCARdriver. I’ve already been interviewed by
Runner’s World,Her Sports
and WNBC-TV in New York. I’ve appearedon NPR’s
Michael Feldman’s Whad Ya Know?
And morethan 70 media companies picked up a story about mynutty quest for corporate sponsorship including the
New York Times
online and
USA Today
.Like running a marathon, my journey from nonde-script back-of-the-pack marathoner to bona fide corpo-rate-sponsored athlete was long and filled with unex-pected rewards. And lessons for selling The Brand of You. A few thoughts from this nutty ride:
Name your motivation
I’d like to say that my quest for corporate sponsorshipwas born of noble intents. Being a five-hour marathoner,I’d love to say I wanted to give a name and a face tothose runners who will never suffer the agonies of coming in second or, really, in the top half. But I can’t.I had been laid off as the media relations officer andonline magazine editor for a technology company. Andthe fact was, I no longer could justify my $90-running-shoe habit, not to mention the race entry fees and travelexpenses. Although I already had made the lottery forthe New York City Marathon, the idea of spendingmoney for a long weekend in the Big Apple just to run a raceseemed fiscally frivolous.Bottom line, I wanted to be like Mike or Mia or Serena andget corporate swag.My mercenary ways became crystal clear when I told myfriends that I entered a writing contest for free running shoes. I
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had to answer the question: “Why do you run?” My entry read:“So the woman I see in the mirror looks like the woman I see inmy mind.”My friends fell silent, pondering the weighty truth of mywords. Then they chortled with disbelief. One said, “You do not!You run for doughnuts!”
What can we learn from the wacky quest of back-of-the pack marathoner
Grace Lim
?Plenty, including how to sell yourself.
Selling the
Brand ‘You’
I
Photo courtesy of Heinz Kluetmeier/Sports Illustrated
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