Running the Numbers: Economic Impact and Demand Drivers of U.S. Marathon Events

Marathon races have a significant impact on local economies. They can give the host city a big economic boost, directly impacting employment and tourism. For example, the 2022 Chicago Marathon generated $386 million for the city of Chicago, almost 3,000 jobs were created, and tourism sent $163 million into the local economy. Because of the importance of a marathon to a local economy, it is important that races optimize demand. This analysis uses a cross-sectional demand model with 31 observations to identify the factors determining a marathon event's impact across the United States. The effect of a marathon event depends on the number of participants, which is a measure of demand. Results suggest that the average price of entry fee, quarter of the year, and number of Instagram followers have a positive and statistically significant effect on the number of marathon participants. The inclusion of a 10k race and the number of Facebook followers have a negative correlation with the number of marathon participants.