The attention focused on runners of the Chevron Houston Marathon on Sunday won't just be coming from spectators along the route.

Grocery chain H-E-B will serve them breakfast, water company Watermill Express will make sure they have plenty of fluid, and doctors from the Roger Clemens Institute for Sports Medicine and Human Performance will treat their injuries.

All free of charge.

The marathon, which has gone from the corporate names of Tenneco, Methodist Health Care and HP to Chevron, has long had sponsors. But this year, event organizers say the demand is particularly high.

"This is our greatest year ever with the amount of sponsors wanting to affiliate themselves with our event," said Steven Karpas, the Houston Marathon's marketing and race development director. He did not offer financial details.

With more consumers using technology, from TiVo to satellite radio, to steer clear of commercials, marketing observers say more companies view sport sponsorship as an effective way of getting their message across and establishing a bond with consumers.

The marathon and the other races held Sunday are expected to draw about 20,000 runners, not to mention the friends, family and fans.

"You just cannot avoid the message when you are part of the event," said Kirk Wakefield, chair of the marketing department and head of the sports sponsorship and sales program at Baylor University.

"It's important because the segment they are reaching is very well defined with consumer characteristics."

Wakefield noted that with so many businesses competing for the attention of consumers, finding a way to make a positive impression is a "huge issue" for advertisers.

Amparo Flores, marketing director of the Watermill Express, the marathon's official water sponsor, said for the past two years her company has shifted its marketing strategy from radio advertisement to sports sponsorships and promotions.

"We see an opportunity to reach that person who is running, someone who is goal-oriented, conscious about their health," Flores said. "Hopefully we can pick up some additional customers."

While the effectiveness of the sponsorship is hard to measure, some runners say they are paying attention.

"I do get a good feeling toward the company that sponsors the event that gives the sense of accomplishment," said Jim Murphy, a high school football coach from Houston who won't be in the marathon this year because of an injury.

Murphy said he still remembers the sponsor's name of a race he ran in the 1980s.

"The thing I like about this is that they are investing in the event that I enjoy," said marathon runner Jenny Oliver, a doctoral student at Rice University. "It's much more personal than a TV commercial."

Betsy Gelb, professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at the University of Houston's Bauer College of Business, said consumers are especially health-conscious after the holidays. That's why more businesses want to affiliate themselves with a positive, "health-affirming event."

Generate some buzz

For some corporate sponsors, such as JetBlue Airways, which last year began service between Houston's Hobby Airport and New York's JFK Airport, the Houston Marathon is a chance to generate some buzz. On Sunday, the participants will be able to relax in actual plane seats. The company is trying to convince them its seats are more comfortable than the competition's.

"It's like killing two birds with one stone," said Mark Roger, JetBlue's promotions coordinator. "Not only are we attracting customers flying to the marathon, but we have an opportunity to reach the local community."

The new Roger Clemens Institute, the health and fitness sponsor, will also spread the word about its grand opening inside Memorial Hermann on Monday. The institute's doctors will offer free fitness consultations and provide medical assistance to the runners during the race.

"It's one of the core mechanisms that we are relying on to announce that we are born and to launch our business," said Troy Wenzel, the institute's executive director. The institute will offer a wide range of services, including sports research, education and nutrition as well as surgery and sport-specific treatment for patients.

The promotions have already begun. On Friday, when runners picked up the packets with the numbers they'll wear in the race, they also received a variety of promos and discount coupons.

The target audience at the Houston Marathon goes beyond the runners to the thousands of people attending the event. The marathon expo at the George R. Brown Convention Center, which is near the start and finish line, features exhibitors selling the health and fitness products.

"The expo definitely helps with the name recognition," said Jim Braden, owner of the Fleet Feet Sports running stores, which are affiliated with the official shoe sponsor of the Houston Marathon, New Balance.

Giving back

But not every sponsor sees it that way.

"It's another way to give back to the community; a number of people involved are our customers," said Cyndy Garza-Roberts, director of public affairs at H-E-B. The supermarket chain is planning to bring a moving kitchen to the site and serve healthy breakfasts to the runners after the marathon.

But one runner says the commercial message is not that important.

Omar Garcia, a contractor from Sugar Land, said he wants to know the name of the sponsor only when it comes to the Komen Houston Race for the Cure or other events with a charity cause.

"I run this marathon because it's a marathon, not because of who is sponsoring it," Garcia said.