Run Bentonville Revamped With Rebrand

BENTONVILLE -- Anyone who has visited the Run Bentonville website probably has noticed some changes.

The Parks and Recreation Department rebranded its race series and half marathon to bring cohesion to the marketing and promotion of the events, staff said.

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Run Bentonville

To see the new logo and new look of Run Bentonville, visit www.runbentonville.….

When the Bentonville Running Festival was created five years ago, it was the only running race operated by the Parks and Recreation Department. The department has added six more races since then to encourage people to stay active for more than one race a year, said David Wright, director.

Individual events were added to the Bentonville Running Festival website as the race series grew, but it wasn't clear the festival and race series were related, he said.

The new website was launched Sept. 1 and ties it all together. The Bentonville Running Festival also has been renamed the Run Bentonville Half Marathon.

The main page promotes the half marathon training program, has a motivational definition of Run Bentonville, lists this year's sponsors and links to social media. At the top are five tabs that direct visitors to the half marathon, race series, questions, training and contact pages.

The race series page provides an overall schedule for the season and information about each race.

"I think it's a better branding and a better message for what we're trying to promote," Wright said. "It's less confusing."

Anytime anyone posts to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #RunBentonville, that post will be visible at the bottom of the homepage.

The new logo and look of the rebranding also will provide more uniformity with posters, T-shirts and other materials, said Layne Moore, Parks and Recreation specialist.

Adair Creative Marketing executed the rebrand campaign. Instead of being charged the estimated $25,000 value, the department paid $10,000 and gave Adair Creative a sponsorship, Wright said.

The new website also includes information about 5K and half marathon training programs.

The half marathon training program is open and caps at 250 participants. There were 156 people registered Sept. 18 -- the 17th day registration was open, Moore said.

The program starts Dec. 6 with a 1-mile group jog. Participants follow a weekly running plan and gather at 7 a.m. Saturdays to run together, adding a mile each week. Rush Running administers the program.

It costs $165 and includes running gear, registration to the Run Bentonville Half Marathon on March 28 and registration to the Valentines 8K and Kiss Me I'm Irish 10K race series events, Moore said.

"It gives the participants the experience of racing those longer distances before the big race day on March 28," she said.

The training program also includes several educational classes on topics like nutrition and proper stretching, said Lee Farmer, recreation program supervisor.

Mike Rush, owner of Rush Running, "is not only getting you to where you can run a half marathon, but really overall (to live) a healthy lifestyle," Farmer said.

NW News on 09/22/2014

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