haku Customers Exceed Industry Benchmarks for Retention and Repeat Participation

January 28, 2026

Miami, FL (January 28, 2026) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ — New data from haku, the global leader in technology for endurance events, shows that organizations using haku outperform industry benchmarks for runner retention and repeat participation.

According to aggregated platform data, haku customers achieve retention rates almost 18% higher than endurance industry benchmarks, indicating stronger long-term engagement and a greater likelihood of participants returning for future events.

Industry research consistently shows that repeat participation remains a significant challenge across the mass endurance races market, with fewer than one in five participants returning to the same event. Repeat participants tend to engage more deeply, spend more over time, and contribute to more predictable revenue streams than first-time customers. It is also less expensive to retain participants than to acquire first-time participants.

“Endurance events have historically been built around single moments, not long-term relationships,” said Jackie Levi, Chief Strategy Officer at haku. “What we see in the data is that when organizations are given the tools to own their brand, understand their participants, communicate in contextually relevant ways, and develop best-in-class loyalty programs, retention focused strategies are more profitable and sustainable long-term.”

The haku platform enables organizations to promote relevant follow-on experiences through built-in cross-selling and upselling tools, helping teams convert a single registration into ongoing participation. Fully white-labeled experiences ensure that organizations maintain complete control over branding and customer relationships, without competing promotions or shared marketplaces.

haku has found that by tailoring outreach based on participant behavior and preferences, teams can increase engagement while reducing manual effort. haku’s AI-powered CRM and automation tools allow organizations to deliver personalized communication at scale. Because the platform also supports the creation of customizable loyalty and rewards programs, organizations using haku can incentivize repeat participation with personalized offers and experiences.

As acquisition costs continue to rise across the industry, the ability to retain and re-engage participants has become increasingly important. haku’s data suggests that organizations investing in personalized, brand-owned customer experiences are better positioned to drive repeat participation and long-term growth.

About haku
haku is the global leader in endurance management technology. Its all-in-one platform for endurance events goes far beyond registrations to manage every part of the event lifecycle, memberships, fundraising, e-commerce, marketing, and more. With haku event organizers, race directors, and their teams can cut out busy-work, deliver a better experience, and generate more profit. It brings everything together in one intuitive solution. With the industry’s only native CRM, innovative AI capabilities baked in, and a powerful suite of capabilities, haku unlocks the full potential of your data, driving revenue growth beyond registrations, increasing efficiency, and enabling smarter, data-driven decisions. Fully customizable, scalable and built for security, haku adapts to your workflow so you can focus on what matters most: running a successful event.