The fifth edition of the National Running Show, which took place on Jan. 21-22 at the NEC Birmingham, saw exhibitor and sponsorship revenues increase by 38 percent this year. Raccoon Media Group, which organizes the show, claimed that the 2023 event recorded the largest visitor audience it has ever attracted. Featured speakers included Colin Jackson, Eilish McColgan, and Dina Asher-Smith, among others.
Environmental concerns were also a focus of the event. Visitors and exhibitors were strongly encouraged to consider the environment with their attendance, in accordance with Raccoon’s mission to be zero-carbon by 2025. According to Raccoon, the average carbon footprint per visitor has been reduced by over 30 percent year-on-year from 23kg to 16kg CO2e.
The organizers also said they would use some of the profits from this year’s show to offer several community grants across the U.K. to running groups to encourage inactive people to start running. The next edition of the U.K. National Running show will be held on Jan. 20-21, 2024, at the NEC Birmingham.
