City extends contract for St. Pete Run Fest

Brothers Ryan and Keith Jordan, the creators of the annual St. Pete Run Fest, will continue to bring the community running event to the city streets this November. 

During a March 23 St. Petersburg City Council meeting, the councilmembers unanimously voted to add a one-year extension to the city’s contract with the Jordans’ company, EndorFun Sports LLC. 

City Development Administrator Joe Zeoli acknowledged the brothers’ work on introducing the St. Pete Run Fest, which has since become a popular race for residents and others within the state, in 2017.

“When we put this event on in 2017, we had three main missions: Drive wellness and participation across our community; create economic impact with people coming to our amazing city and staying in our hotels; and contributing to charities,” Ryan Jordan said. 

He reminded the council about the immense growth of the event, initially attracting 3,500 attendees in 2017, to more than 6,000 participants in last year’s race. 

He said 25% of the 6,000 participants traveled over 100 miles, yielding 3,000 hotel nights and helping generate a $1.5 million economic impact. 

Additionally, in partnering with the St. Pete Free Clinic since the race’s inception, the brothers contributed over 30,000 meals to the clinic through the “Miles for Meals” mission. The company also has a partnership with the St. Pete Youth Farm in sporting its environmental sustainability efforts. 

The November 2023 St. Pete Run Fest will continue to feature a St. Pete Half-Marathon, 10K and 5K runs, and a youth fun run. 

The city will provide $30,000 as an in-kind sponsorship for this year’s event, according to the approved agreement. 

EndorFun Sports first entered into a contract with the city in 2016, giving them the exclusive right to produce and conduct the runninge vents and a Health & Fitness Expo for a three-year term with renewal options.

The agreement was amended three times, extending the term through Nov. 30, 2022.

Zeoli said the city will be issuing a new request for proposals (RFP) to select an organizer to plan future race events, and said the RFP process is needed as it follows the city’s transparent procurement policy.

“While EndorFun has delivered on all their commitments under the current agreement in a professional and superior way, it is city administration’s intent to issue a new RFP for the city’s signature running event to allow other local and national race organizers the opportunity to submit proposals,” city documents read. 

Ryan Jordan told the Catalyst that EndorFun Sports plans to submit a bid.

“It’s been a labor of love,” he said. “We intend to participate in the RFP process and continue working with city and our community partners.” 

The city will issue the new RFP this May, and plans to enter an agreement in December. The selected organizer will start producing a running event in fall 2024.

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