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Motiv Sports announced the appointment of Wayne Larden, Race Director of the Blackmores Sydney Marathon to the role of GM Asia Pacific.

Preempting some imminent deals to be announced in Asia, Motiv chose Larden to head up the region where he has operated for many years as part of his role as Race Director of the Blackmores Sydney Marathon, where he has successfully negotiated a large number of commercial, strategic and broadcast partnerships.

Under Larden’s leadership the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival has grown from 12,000 participants to over 33,000 every year, it is an IAAF Gold Label marathon, with over 7,000 flying into Sydney from overseas or interstate. It is now one of the most successful events in the region.

Motiv currently operates over 41 events in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Motiv President, Sam Renouf said “Motiv’s strategy is very much focused on Asia, we’ve seen continuing strong growth in participation throughout the Asian region and we intend to capitalize on this through acquisitions in the region, then integration across the entire portfolio.

Larden’s diverse background and experience as a former elite runner and the Race Director of one of the region’s most successful events, and the relationships he’s developed throughout Asia are crucial to our expansion plans.”

“The global recreational running and marathon tourism market has evolved a lot over the last 10 years, and we’ve seen a significant consolidation of major running events internationally. I’m very excited to be given the opportunity to utilize my experience to grow the Motiv business and work with some of the world’s leading events and event organisers. Sharing knowledge and working collaboratively to benefit all of our events around the world will add significant value across the board,” commented Wayne Larden.

Larden will remain CEO of Pont3 (part of Motiv Australia / NZ) and Race Director of all of the Australian events, including the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival.

The Blackmores Sydney Running Festival is an IAAF Gold Label marathon and international competitors compete from all over the world.  The festival boasts over 33,000 runners taking to the streets including the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and finishing at the Sydney Opera House.

“A big part of my job now will be to look for other like-minded event owners and organizers to partner with and expand our portfolio in the APAC region. Then integrate them into the Motiv landscape and deliver value across the portfolio, particularly through destination marketing to grow international tourism.”