In this episode of Big Ideas, Small Business, host Doreen Milano talks with the creator of the Irving Marathon, and the Irving Marathon running series, Lazaro Alvarez. Lazaro moved to Irving when he was 13 from El Salvador. His love for running began with middle school track, and he pursued it throughout high school and college. He moved back to Irving after college with a passion for running and community.
Lazaro tells Doreen that after running the new tracks around the area he realized that he could go hours without seeing another runner. He got together with a friend and fellow runner to figure out a way that they could give back to the community, encourage people to get out and run in the Las Colinas area, as well as serving as a charity to help bring awareness to childhood obesity. They came up with the Irving Marathon. Their call to action is Irving Marathon - Join the movement. #JointheMovement #RunIrving
The Irving Marathon is an LLC instead of a typical non-profit. Lazaro wanted to do things differently. Running the Irving Marathon as a business has allowed them to consistently give a total of 40% of their proceeds to charity. Lazaro believes that there is no reason a running organization cannot be an LLC, and still have a charity aspect.
In 2019, Lazaro introduced the Irving Marathon Running Series, now offering seven races in total throughout the year in Irving. As qualifiers for the Boston Marathon, runners from more than 20 countries have taken part so far in these races. The Irving Marathon had added a virtual option in December of 2019, so when COVID hit they were able to switch over very easily. The Irving Marathon was the first running organization to offer virtual marathons and is now the model for many others, including the Boston Marathon.
“ In the next 5 years, I want Irving to become the preferred running location in North Texas for everyone.”- Lazaro Alverez
Lazaro explains to Doreen how a business benefits from partnering with the Irving Marathon. They have an in-house ad agency with lots of marketing for each event. They have very good community engagement via social media and a very active website, with over 600,000 visitors. They have partnered with several amazing small businesses in the Las Colinas areas and are truly pioneering a new way to run in North Texas.
Big Ideas, Small Business is sponsored by:
dabow(R) Payment Solutions, 972-542-1297
Jerry A. Wells, 214-802-9100, Jerry@TaxLawDFW.com
Worksuites.com, 469-310-6268 (DFW)
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