London Marathon Events: Inspiring Active Lifestyles

London Marathon Events (LME) have always had a clear goal: to inspire more people to be active. Through their iconic events like the London Marathon and Ford RideLondon, they have created opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people to engage in running and cycling. However, to expand their reach and inspire even more individuals to be active, LME revived their channels on Strava, the social network for athletes. This partnership leveraged Strava's platform and wide-ranging activations to enhance LME’s events, amplifying their message and driving engagement in unprecedented ways.

Major Events activating Strava

Strava provided best-practices guidance and support to LME to ensure the best set-up on the platform for the events. This included embedding the Strava Routes on the event sites, creating dedicated Strava clubs and partnering with creators active on Strava.

👉 Start Your Event Presence on Strava

London Marathon on Strava

The London Marathon, one of the world’s most renowned races, saw massive engagement on Strava. The platform became the go-to place for participants and fans alike, with the London Marathon route becoming one of the largest embedded routes on Strava for both impressions and clicks, driving engagement and accessibility. The numbers speak for themselves:

• More than 34,000 total marathon activity uploads on Strava, with 14,000 of those uploaded by women, resulting in over 65% of the finishers uploading their activity to Strava

• 12,000 athletes saved the event route through the embedded route on the London Marathon site, and the embed had a 11.3% engagement rate

• The London Marathon Club on Strava has over 45,000 members, with 1,100+ community posts, and 10,000 new members joining in five months alone

• By partnering with top female creators who shared their marathon experience, including Sophie Grace Holmes, Lucy Davis, Zahra Rose and Mariah Dyson, Strava generated high reach and engagement for LME, particularly among women runners

"This year, we saw an incredible opportunity to revive and strengthen our link with Strava," says Jimmy Stone, Marketing and Acquisitions Manager for the London Marathon Events. "With the help of their UK Partnerships Team, we’ve been able to leverage its platform to enhance participant experience and build an even bigger online and offline community around the TCS London Marathon and Ford RideLondon. We're really excited about the potential this collaboration holds for the future.”

Strava amplified the event through its own channels, including the Strava UK Club, the Global Strava Club, and its editorial platform Strava Stories, which reached millions of members and garnered hundreds of thousands of interactions. 

The Strava Stories articles themselves were a hit, with six of them related to the London Marathon:

• ‘Running Saved my Life’: Sophie Grace Holmes on Living with Cystic Fibrosis

• Zahra Rose: Inspiring the Next Generation of Muslim Runners

• The London Marathon: The Hidden Story Along the Race Route

• Runners to Follow at London Marathon 2024

• Anya Culling: Running with the London Marathon Elite Field

• Running the Boston & London Marathons…In a Week 

Ford RideLondon on Strava

Ford RideLondon, another flagship event of LME, benefited significantly from Strava’s platform. It became the biggest ride event on Strava with nearly 12,000 total ride uploads and 71% of the total field uploading their 100-mile race route. All three of its race routes were embedded from Strava onto its website, adding easy visibility and engagement. The Ford RideLondon Strava Club saw impressive growth, with an increase of 5,000 members since its inception this year. 

• Essex 100 Mile Race

• Essex 60 Mile Race

• Essex 30 Mile Race

The presence on Strava of the London Marathon Events has been a resounding success this year. Through strategic activations on Strava, LME were able to enhance their events, reaching broader audiences and inspiring more people to participate in sport. The engagement metrics highlight the effectiveness of Strava's platform in bringing communities together and promoting an active lifestyle. By amplifying key events like the London Marathon and Ford RideLondon, Strava has not only supported LME in achieving their goals but has also created a thriving digital community of athletes who motivate and inspire each other.