http://www.asahi.com/sports/spo/TKY200901280085.html translated by Brett Larner Let's put corporate logos on our marathons! Rikuren is planning to change its regulations to allow marathons and ekidens in Japan to begin adding sponsoring companies to their race names and to increase the amount of advertising along the course. The move comes during the current recession in hopes of making the events more attractive to potential sponsors. The decision to make the change took place in December last year. Until now, track races were permitted to advertise their sponsor's names but road races were prohibited from such promotion. Looking at overseas marathons such as the 'Flora London Marathon' and the 'ING New York City Marathon,' the inclusion of the sponsoring food maker or financial institution in the race name is simply a given. "We've made some changes to come into line with IAAF guidelines, not because of the recession" a Rikuren marketing executiv...
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