Army Ten-Miler

Presented annually in Washington, D.C. by the U.S. Army Military District of Washington (MDW), the Army Ten-Miler (ATM) is the third largest running race of its kind with a mission to support Army outreach, build morale and promote physical fitness. 

Situation/Challenge

In 2015, the Army Ten-Miler engaged Brotman Winter Fried (BWF), a division of Sage Communications, to facilitate production of five feature articles for the race program. As part of our efforts as content developers, we also made several design recommendations to the publication; recommendations the race director both accepted and embraced.  As a result of those recommendations, the ATM issued an RFP the following year to encompass a full re-design of the program in addition to the provision of editorial content. Supplemental to the program production, the project required the creation of a race logo as well as a pocket guide, post-race postcard, a finisher race certificate, print advertisements and a race calendar. BWF won that contract and did so again for the next four years, prior to signing a four-year contract. The scope of services was expanded to also include design of an original logo for the ATM shadow races held on military bases around the world and provision of local media relations services. 

Strategic Approach 

Each year, BWF is tasked with designing new logos, ads and graphics for that year’s race that remains on brand and follow the esprit de corps of the Army. The logos are prominently featured on the official race shirt by participants and volunteers, the youth race shirt worn by kids and the Shadow Run shirt worn by military members at bases around the world. Print and digital ads promote registration in advance and encourage onsite crowds at the event. Our team also handles all elements of production for a program, including graphic design and developing and writing feature stories, a 15-month calendar, a pocket guide and the official Shadow Run video.   

Results

Year after year, the Army Ten-Miler enjoys its well-deserved reputation as one of the premier running races in the nation and a signature annual event in the nation’s capital. The field features up to 30,000 runners consisting of military, civilian, wheelchair athletes and wounded warrior athletes. Since working on the race, our agency has won three major marketing design awards including a Gold MARCOM and a Silver Anvil award.