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The OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon will be losing its title sponsor following this year’s race on May 4.
This year marks Indianapolis-based financial firm OneAmerica’s 20th year as the title sponsor for the Mini-Marathon, which is produced by local not-for-profit 500 Festival Inc.
In a joint statement emailed to IBJ on Thursday, the 500 Festival and OneAmerica confirmed that OneAmerica’s title sponsorship of the half marathon will be ending this year.
“After 2024, OneAmerica will be shifting its support of the 500 Festival into other areas and the event will take on a new title sponsor for the 2025 event and beyond,” the statement said in part.
The statement did not say who the next title sponsor might be. Nor did it include any information about the financial value of the OneAmerica sponsorship deal.
In a follow-up email, 500 Festival Vice President of Marketing and Communications Lindsay Labas said the organization “[does] not disclose specific details of our partnership agreements.”
Labas also said the organizatation “would expect an announcement later this summer on any new partnerships.”
The 500 Festival produces dozens of events and programs annually, some of which have naming rights sponsorships. According to its tax return for 2021, the not-for-profit reaped $1.7 million in total revenue from sponsorships. More recent information was not immediately available.
OneAmerica intends to continue supporting the 500 Festival in other ways once its Mini-Marathon sponsorship ends—including through employee volunteerism and participation in the 500 Festival’s parade, the joint statement said.
This year will be the 48th running of the Mini-Marathon, a 13.1-mile race that attracts tens of thousands of participants from across the U.S. and abroad. In last year’s race, just over 14,200 participants crossed the finish line, according to race results posted on the Mini-Marathon’s website.
More than a million people have participated in the race since its inception, the joint statement said.
The race, with a route includes a 2.5-mile lap around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has been named by Runner’s World magazine as among the “Most Iconic American Races.” In 2023, the Mini-Marathon was named the nation’s best half marathon in a USA Today reader’s choice contest.
The 500 Festival also organizes several other race events including a 5K race that takes place on the same day as the Mini-Marathon. The 5K race has its own title sponsor, Delta Dental. There’s also the 500 Festival Miler Series, a series of three races in February, March, and April, whose presenting sponsor is OrthoIndy.
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