WOMEN'S-ONLY EVENTS GAINING IN POPULARITY.(Nike Women's Marathon )

Byline: Michelle Dalton Tyree

LOS ANGELES -- Days before the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco last month, tickets for the half-marathon portion of the sold-out race were being scalped on eBay.

The race, in its second year, mushroomed from 9,000 participants in 2004 to 15,000 this year, and reflects the rise and popularity of women's-only athletic events.

The runners represented a growing crop of sports enthusiasts to which athletic companies are eager to market: women seeking to uncover their inner athlete. Female-centered events are gaining in popularity as a marketing tool for companies to help not only nurture new enthusiasts but new customers.

"One of the approaches we have taken the past year [with marketing] is really micro-segmenting the business," said Darcy Winslow, general manager of fitness at Nike. "We're looking at specifically what [sports] women are doing, understanding their motivation and then researching products from a performance perspective and figuring out how to bring it to a retail environment that is inviting."

The key to wooing this woman is in the details, said Winslow, adding, "We're learning each time what women are drawn to."

Services and products are pretty sure bets, many firms are finding. At the Nike Expotique set up at Union Square before the race, lines snaked out the tent for free marathon services ranging from foot massages to gait analysis and manicures. Runners could buy Nike shoes and accessories at the booths and at the overflowing Niketown store across the street, which had dressing room waits of 20 minutes.