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Introduction: The athletics races take place in the heart of public space and enjoy high levels of visibility. Race organizers benefit from connecting with sponsoring companies that want results in promoting and selling their brands. Objective: The aim of the research was to test a conceptual model to explain the effects of sponsorship on runners. It used running involvement, perceived altruistic sponsor motives, brand recognition and perceived congruence between sponsors and running as the determining constructs. Methodology: This research shifts the focus from spectator-based sponsorship to participant-based sponsorship. A sample of 736 runners from one of Portugal’s most popular athletics races completed a questionnaire. A Structural Equation Modeling analysis was carried out to test the model and the hypotheses. Results: The model explained that 49% of attitudes toward sponsors and 15% of runners' purchase intentions. The strongest effects were the effect of brand recognition on perceived congruence and the effect of perceived altruistic motives on attitudes toward the sponsor brand. However, running involvement had no significant effect on attitude towards the sponsoring company. Discussion: This research demonstrates the role played by perceptions of sponsors' altruistic motivations in shaping favourable responses to sponsoring companies and runners' intention to buy sponsors' products. Conclusions: The effects of sponsorship of athletics races on runners have been demonstrated, particularly the significant role of brand recognition and perceived altruistic motives. This study offers important implications for race organizers and sponsoring companies.