TCS renews New York City Marathon sponsorship, to invest up to $40 million annually to sponsor global running events

A large wave of runners heads into the last few miles of the 2015 TCS New York City Marathon at Central Park, New York on november 1, 2015.

India's largest software exporter TCS has renewed its sponsorship for the TCS New York City Marathon through 2029, weeks after announcing that it will be the new title sponsor of the London Marathon, beginning 2022, as it seeks to cement its brand identity in key markets such as North America and the UK.

TCS will invest $30 million to $40 million annually in global running sponsorships and related community programming from 2022 to 2029; that's about $240m to $320m between 2022 to 2029.

It had first signed an 8-year deal to be the title sponsor of the New York City marathon in 2013, replacing ING.

"We sponsor running events across the world because we want to inspire local communities to live healthy and active lifestyles, and also because of the obvious parallels between marathons and the growth and transformation journeys that we help our customers undertake," Surya Kant, Chairman, North America, TCS, said.

"Running a marathon makes you believe that there is nothing you can't do. You're building on belief," he added.

TCS' effort to connect with local communities in geographies such as North American and the UK also makes business sense. These are its biggest markets in terms of revenues and software companies have been increasingly stepping up local hiring in these regions.

That apart, TCS and Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran is a passionate long-distance runner and has finished marathons in Amsterdam, Boston, Chicago, Berlin, Mumbai, New Delhi and Tokyo. He completed his fastest marathon or personal record (PR) at TCS New York City Marathon (2014) with a finishing time of 5 hr 00 min 52 sec.

Chandra had also invoked his passion for marathons in his address to Tata Sons employees a few years ago. "Our job is to run our marathon — not to be distracted by somebody else’s sprint," he had said in his 2018 letter to employees. ​

As part of the sponsorship, TCS will launch a new version of its TCS New York City Marathon App that will have augmented reality (AR) features that became popular for virtual races during the pandemic.

The new version will include features to support both in-person and virtual runners along with surprise-and-delight AR experiences.

TCS will also donate $4 million to NYRR’s youth and community programs including  Rising New York Road Runners, a free, nationwide NYRR program that incorporates physical education into the school day.