跑著掙錢正是時候

????接力比賽公司面臨的另一項明顯的挑戰包括：同類比賽競爭。隨著越來越多比賽涌現，已經形成了一個擁擠的市場。部分比賽已經倒閉。去年7月，曾標榜自己是“讓你腹部絞痛、肌肉緊繃、難忍嘔吐感”的障礙風格比賽的Metro Dash向參加者發郵件表示，公司已經停業。

????要避免Metro Dash這樣的命運，關鍵可能是引入著名品牌。但是對于那些沒有足夠資源支持的企業，重要的是真正地在社交媒體形成影響力。Ragnar在Facebook上擁有接近12萬名關注者——超過了波士頓馬拉松或者紐約馬拉松的關注者人數，這個事實可能令部分人感到震驚。此外，Tough Mudder的關注者也接近300萬。拉姆帕說：“泥漿、啤酒和火焰。與這些東西相關的事情更具吸引力。”200英里接力賽仍然有望保持增長，盡管增速可能趕不上泥漿賽跑、火焰障礙賽。（財富中文網）

????譯者：成鵬

????The other obvious challenge for relay companies: each other. As more and more begin popping up, it creates a crowded market. Some have already been killed off. In July, Metro Dash, which billed itself as a "gut-wrenching, muscle-pounding, make you wanna throw up" obstacle-style race, e-mailed runners to say it had gone out of business.

????The key for avoiding Metro Dash's fate may be to pull in big-name brands but also, for those without the resources to do that, to truly rock social media. Ragnar has nearly 120,000 likes on Facebook; that's more than the Boston or New York Marathon, which may seem shocking to some. Tough Mudder, meanwhile, has almost 3 million. "Mud, beer, and fire," says Lamppa. "Something about all that is just more appealing to people." Look for the 200-mile team relays to keep growing, though maybe not as fast yet as the muddy, fiery obstacle races.