Breakdown of the 2011 event.....21,147 registered runners from 79 countries and all 50 states. 34,442 hotel room nights were generated by the race. Among non-local participants, the domestic market increased by 37% to 10,589 and the international market increased 35% to 3,210. International participants spent more in every spending category of lodging, food and beverage, transportation, retail shopping, tourist attractions and entertainment. The 2012 race is expected to get 25,000 entries.
What about here closer to home? What economic impact do the more local races have?
For example, the Dublin City Marathon got 14,000 entries last October. How much is it worth to Dublin and the Irish economy? Or the Cork Marathon to Cork City? Or the smaller Half-Marathons to each of their areas? Or even the smaller races?
Looking through the entry list of upcoming Ballycotton '10' race, there is a large contingent on runners from the UK at the end. Add in the numbers coming from Dublin and further up the country and that adds up to a lot of people spending money in the local economy on accommodation, meals, drinks, etc.
Perhaps it is something that is not given enough credit. Road races are not just about about a bunch of people turning up somewhere to go for a run. It's a sport with obvious health benefits for it's participants and contributes in no small way to many communities throughout the country.
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