Venturing Beyond the Marathon: The Entrepreneurship of Ultrarunning and the IAU World Cup in Korea

This article describes the entrepreneurial development and professionalism of ultradistance running (ultrarunning) in South Korea, culminating with the hosting of the IAU World Cup 100K in 2006. This case study-based research provides evidence of various macro-environmental and individual drivers of a grassroots entrepreneurial process, contextualised in Korea’s sporting culture. Macro-environmental factors include the economic crisis and Korean cultural values of comradery, emotional expressiveness and entrepreneurial spirit. At the individual level, self-leadership, focus, persistence, team dynamics and access to resources explain the growth of ultrarunning and the commitment to hosting the IAU World Cup. Implications for sports entrepreneurship and grassroots-initiated mega-sporting events in Asia are discussed...<br<