Privacy Policy: Running Industry Alliance Limited
1. Who we are
Running Industry Alliance Limited is the data controller for the personal information described in this policy. We are a private limited company registered in England and Wales (company number 13718197, VAT number 402 3726 34), with our registered office at 2 Station View, Rhino Court, Bramhall Moor Lane, Hazel Grove, Greater Manchester, SK7 5ER.
This policy covers all of our brands, events and websites:
Brand and Website:
Running Industry Alliance (RIA): www.runningindustryalliance.com
The Running Conference (TRC): www.therunningconference.com
Running Industry Awards: www.runningindustryawards.com
Triathlon Industry Alliance (TIA): www.triathlonindustryalliance.com
Triathlon Industry Conference (TIC): www.triathlonindustryconference.com
Wherever this policy says “we”, “us” or “our”, it means Running Industry Alliance Limited, whichever brand you deal with.
Contact us about your data: membership@runningindustryalliance.com, or write to the Data Protection Lead at the address above.
2. Information we collect
What we hold depends on how you deal with us. We collect most of it directly from you, through forms, emails, event registrations and calls.
If you are / We may collect:
A member or applicant (RIA or TIA): Name, job title, organisation, company number, business address, email, phone, sector, membership type, billing and VAT details, renewal and payment history, marketing preferences
An event delegate, speaker or guest (TRC, TIC, Spring Gathering, Gala dinner, online events): Booking details, ticket type, attendance, dietary and accessibility needs, emergency contact where needed, hotel booking details, session and activation sign-ups, photos and video taken at the event
A nominee or voter in the Running Industry Awards: Nominee name, organisation and nomination details; voter name, email and votes cast (collected through our voting platform)
A sponsor, partner, supplier or speaker contact: Name, role, organisation, contact details, contract and invoicing details
A survey or research respondent (for example the Endurance Sport Survey): Your answers and any contact details you choose to give
A newsletter subscriber: Name, email and the topics you want to hear about, plus whether you open our emails
A website visitor: IP address, device and browser type, pages visited and time on site, through cookies where you allow them
We sometimes receive details about you from your employer or a colleague, for example when an organisation books tickets for its team or nominates you for an Award. We may also use public business sources such as company websites, LinkedIn and Companies House to keep contact details accurate.
3. How we use it and our lawful bases
UK data protection law requires a lawful basis for each use of your information. These are ours.
What we do / Lawful basis
Process membership applications, renewals and member benefits: Contract
Take event bookings, run events and manage attendance: Contract
Take payments, issue invoices and keep financial records: Contract; legal obligation (tax and accounting records)
Run the Running Industry Awards, including nominations, public voting and checks for duplicate votes: Legitimate interests (running a fair awards programme)
Send members service messages, event information and member news: Contract and legitimate interests
Send newsletters and marketing to non-members: Consent, which you can withdraw at any time; legitimate interests for business contacts, where the law allows
List member organisations in our online member directory: Legitimate interests (showing the membership of the alliance)
Introduce members to each other and to partners, where both sides agree: Legitimate interests
Photograph and film events for promotion: Legitimate interests; you can ask not to be filmed (section 4)
Produce industry research and reports: Legitimate interests; published results are anonymised or aggregated
Keep our websites secure and understand how they are used: Legitimate interests for essential functions; consent for analytics and marketing cookies
Meet legal, regulatory and insurance requirements and deal with disputes: Legal obligation; legitimate interests
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have weighed our interests against yours and you can object at any time (section 10). We do not make decisions about you by automated means that have legal or similarly significant effects.
4. Health and accessibility information, and event photography
We only ask for health-related information when it helps us run a safe and accessible event, for example allergies, dietary needs linked to a medical condition, mobility or accessibility needs, and emergency contacts.
Giving it is optional. We use it only for the event you booked, and share it only with the venue, caterers or first-aid providers who need it.
Our lawful basis is your explicit consent, given when you provide it, or our need to protect someone’s vital interests in an emergency.
We delete it within 3 months after the event, unless it relates to an incident we must keep records of.
Dietary choices that are not health-related, such as vegetarian or vegan, are treated as ordinary booking details.
Photography and filming. Our events are photographed and filmed by us and our official partners, and the images are used on our websites, social media and promotional material. If you do not want to appear, tell us in writing before the event or speak to the team on the day. We will do our best to keep you out of shots and will remove identifiable images of you from our own channels on request.
5. Marketing, cookies and analytics
You can unsubscribe from our newsletters and marketing emails at any time, using the link in every email or by contacting us. Members will still receive service messages about their membership and booked events.
Our websites use cookies. Strictly necessary cookies keep the sites working and are always on. We only set analytics cookies (such as Google Analytics and our website platforms’ own visitor statistics) and marketing cookies (such as the LinkedIn Insight Tag and Meta Pixel) if you accept them in the cookie banner. You can change your choice at any time through the cookie settings link on each site, or by clearing cookies in your browser.
Our Cookie Policy lists the cookies each site uses and how long they last.
6. Who we share it with
We do not sell personal information. We share it only as follows.
Service providers who work for us, under contracts that require them to protect it and use it only on our instructions: website hosting and platforms, CRM and membership systems, email marketing, event registration and ticketing, awards voting, payment providers, accounting software, IT support, and our official event photographers and film crews.
Event venues and hotels, with the details they need to host you, such as names, dietary and accessibility needs, and hotel bookings made through our room allocation.
Other members. Our online member directory shows member organisations’ names, logos and website links. At events, delegates may see your name, job title and organisation on badges, delegate lists and the event networking platform. Tell us if you would rather not be listed.
Sponsors and partners, only where you have agreed, for example by opting in to hear from a sponsor or by visiting an activation that scans your badge.
Awards partners. The Running Industry Awards are run with partner organisations. Where they help to run nominations or judging, they see nomination details, not voters’ contact details.
Professional advisers, such as our accountants, lawyers and insurers, and regulators, the police or courts where the law requires it.
A buyer or investor, as described in section 9.
7. International transfers
Some of our service providers store or access data outside the UK, for example in the European Economic Area or the United States. When they do, we make sure your information is protected by one of the safeguards UK law allows: a UK adequacy decision for the destination country, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum, or another approved mechanism. You can ask us for details of the safeguard that applies.
8. How long we keep it
Information / How long
Membership records: Length of membership plus 6 years
Financial and invoicing records: 6 years from the end of the financial year they relate to
Event bookings and attendance: 3 years after the event
Health, dietary and accessibility details: Up to 3 months after the event
Awards nominations and voting data: 2 years after the Gala dinner; winners and finalists stay on our websites as a public record
Newsletter subscriptions: Until you unsubscribe; we then keep your email on a suppression list so we don’t contact you again
Enquiries through website forms: 2 years, unless they lead to membership or a booking
Photos and video: Kept in our media archive and used for as long as they remain relevant
When the period ends we delete the information securely or anonymise it.
9. If the business changes ownership
If we sell, merge or reorganise all or part of our business, or are considering doing so, we may share personal information with the prospective buyer or investor and their advisers. We do this only under a confidentiality agreement and only as far as needed for them to assess the business.
If the change goes ahead, your information will pass to the new owner, who may use it in the ways described in this policy. We or the new owner will tell you about the change.
10. Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to:
ask for a copy of the information we hold about you
have inaccurate information corrected
have your information deleted, where we have no reason to keep it
restrict how we use it
object to our use of it where we rely on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time
receive information you gave us in a portable format
withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on consent
To use any of these rights, email membership@runningindustryalliance.com. We will reply within one month and may ask you to confirm your identity.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please contact us first. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or 0303 123 1113.
11. Security, children and changes
Security. We use access controls, multi-factor authentication where available, encrypted connections and reputable service providers to protect your information. If a breach puts your rights at high risk, we will tell you and report it to the ICO where required.
Children. Our membership, events and activities are for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect information about children.
Changes. We review this policy at least once a year. The latest version is always on our websites, and we will tell members about significant changes.
This policy was last updated on 29 October 2026