Skechers to Sponsor Los Angeles Marathon

                                        

Shoe and apparel company Skechers announced today that its SkechersPerformance division will become the title sponsor of the Los Angeles Marathon starting with the 2016 race. The deal replaces two-year sponsor Asics and changes the race’s official name from the Asics LA Marathon to the Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon.

“As a Los Angeles-based business, we have always wanted to be a part of this iconic race since we began developing our performance footwear division,” Michael Greenberg, the president of Skechers, said in a press release.

The marathon, which will be on February 14, 2016, coincides with the U.S. Marathon Olympic Trials, held the day before, also in Los Angeles. While the Trials will use a spectator-friendly looped course, the Los Angeles Marathon will keep the same “Stadium to Sea” route, which takes runners from Dodger Stadium to the Santa Monica Pier.

The multi-year sponsorship with the Los Angeles Marathon adds toSkechers’ growing influence in the running community. It is the company’s first title sponsorship of a major race. The SkechersPerformance division also serves as the shoe and apparel sponsor for the Houston Marathon, and sponsors elite runners Meb Keflezighi and Kara Goucher. 

Skechers entered the running market in 2011 when it launched its Performance division, signing Keflezighi that year. SkechersPerformance gained attention in 2014 when Keflezighi, wearing Skechersapparel including shoes with his namesake—the GOmeb Speed 3—won the Boston Marathon.

Keflezighi plans to run in the 2016 Olympic Trials. 

According to Jolene Abbott, a company spokesperson, SkechersPerformance is in the process of designing Los Angeles-themed apparel and shoes to be released in the coming months. The company will also design the finishers’ shirts for the race.

The marathon is one of the nation's largest, with nearly 22,000 finishers this year. Record heat was a factor during the race, with temperatures reaching 88 degrees.

Registration for the 2016 race opens September 1.

Correction: This story was updated to reflect that Skechers Performance, a division of Skechers, will be the title sponsor. The previous version incorrectly indicated Skechers will be the title sponsor.