The PaceUp Herald
The Challenge
In an environment dominated by fleeting digital content, the cultural weight and prestige of the London Marathon are often lost in the noise of social media feeds. We identified a gap in how the "world's greatest Major" was documented: a tangible, curated piece of content that captured the expansive community spirit of marathon season in the capital.
The Strategy
To celebrate London as (in our humble opinion) the world’s greatest major, we created The PaceUp Herald, a free, physical-only newspaper. By intentionally avoiding a digital version, we created a "moment in place and time" that demanded physical presence, turning a piece of sports media into a collectable item for runners and fans alike.
The Execution
We assembled a "who's who" of running culture to provide authentic insight into the city’s running scene:
- Editorial Leadership: Edited by Paddy Maddison, the paper featured guest writing from influential voices, including Tayler Willson, Grace Cook, Christian Wiegand and Oliver Hooson.
- Local Insight: Features like Oliver Hooson’s "Local Knowledge" provided insider recommendations on running routes and post-run spots in East London.
- Inspiration from Runners: Including an interview with Chris Finill, one of the few ‘ever present’ runners who has run every edition since 1981.
- Physical Distribution: Thousands of copies were circulated during the fortnight leading up to the race. We targeted the "runner's journey," placing papers at key retail hubs, popular coffee spots, run clubs, brand activations, and outside major train stations.
The Results
- Community Engagement: Provided a physical touchpoint for thousands of runners, from "sub-3ers" to first-timers.
- Partner Brand Success: Secured high-impact brand exposure through traditional full-page ads and product placements.
- Cultural Authority: Established PaceUp Media as a prominent voice in running culture by proving that high-quality, long-form editorial still has a vital place in the sporting landscape.
- Courier Skills: We discovered the maximum capacity for 1 human on 1 Lime Bike is about 200 newspapers
- Reconnecting With Print: It’s easy to wax lyrical about how ‘print ain’t dead’, but the human connection afforded to us by this physical medium was extraordinary. Whether retail partners, brands, advertisers, or anyone who picked up a copy and read it… We appreciate it.
