Marathons are not just good for the health of the runners – they’re also good for the economic health of their host cities and the bottom lines of company sponsors.

Demographics show why: Runners have a leg up on other Canadians when it comes to education, income and health consciousness. Well-heeled runners turn their hobby into a series of mini-vacations, often with family in tow.

“What we’re finding is that they come a day or so before the race, and stay a day or two after,” says Rob Reid, race director of the Royal Victoria Marathon, which runs Thanksgiving weekend.

“It’s like helicoptering in 10,000 runners to the downtown core on one weekend. It has an effect on hotels, restaurants, retail and the conference centre.”

Bayne Stanley photo, Business Edge
Karen Stark of Sunrise Soya Foods says the company likes to make a campaign around each event it’s connected with.

The 6,805 participants at the 2001 event spent $1,238,186 – 40 per cent by the society organizing the marathon and 60 per cent by runners, officials, volunteers and spectators, according to an economic impact assessment.

The assessment focused entirely on direct spending – monies paid out by participants for meals, hotel rooms, transportation, souvenirs, etc.

When indirect spending – extra jobs or employment hours created by that spending – is counted, the impact is multiplied.

“It has a huge impact,” says Janet Anderson, event manager of the 33rd Adidas Vancouver International Marathon (AVIM), which attracted 13,500 runners earlier this month.

The numbers haven’t yet been crunched from 2004, but in 2003, with just over 12,000 runners participating, it’s estimated the event brought $6.6 million in business to the city.

More than $3 million was spent by the 7,000 or so overnight visitors, whose spending generated 78 jobs and $1.9 million in wages and salaries.

Non-tourism businesses also profit.

“Visitors spend the smallest portion of their budget on accommodation,” says Stan Martindale, chairman of the Kelowna Hotel-Motel Association.

Runners in their families “shop in grocery stores, they buy sports drinks in the corner stores, they shop for souvenirs, put gas in their cars . . .”

Chambers of commerce also claim long-range tourism benefits, for once runners get a taste of the host city they often come back for seconds, and encourage family, friends and co-workers to visit, too.

The 2001 Victoria marathon attracted runners from Canada, the Caribbean, the United States, Europe, Mexico and the South Pacific. Eight hundred came from Alberta.

Some runners develop a permanent appetite for the host city.

“Most of us who live here came from someplace else,” says Reid, adding event sponsors love to showcase their cities for visiting participants.

The smaller the host community, the more keenly, and immediately, marathon benefits are felt.

Melissa’s Mini-Marathon in Banff “has a tremendous impact for Banff and Canmore,” says Deb Boutilier, race director and owner of Melissa’s Restaurant and Bar.

Although it’s capped at 4,500 runners, accompanying friends and family swell the crowd to 7,000 – in a town with 7,600 permanent residents – during the fourth Saturday in September.

Due to Parks Canada restrictions, few special events are allowed in Banff, and the marathon is the biggest. So big, in fact, that the Saturday night following the race is the biggest single business day of the year for Banff’s restaurants and bars.

In 2003, sales increased 30 per cent over the Saturday before, and were 35 per cent greater than the following Saturday, said Donna Wilson, general manager of the Rose and Crown restaurant, who declined to give dollar amounts.

Hotels in Banff and nearby Canmore also fill up. “We’ve found half of those who come will spend Friday night and the other half spends Saturday night,” says Boutilier.

Marathons no longer just appeal to the athletes who want to clock the best time over the 42-kilometre endurance course.

Wise event managers capitalize on this. “We try to keep every demographic in mind when we put the event together,” says Reid.

Marathon events are designed to appeal to the widest possible audience and often include half-marathons, courses open to walkers, wheelchair events, kids’ runs and fun runs.

But organizers also keep the non-running participants in mind with programs that include expositions with displays, speakers and social events – something for every member of the family – and for every company that wants to reach monied, health- conscious consumers.

Enter sponsors and business partners.

More than 40 companies paid between $5,000 and $25,000 each to be identified with the AVIM marathon (Anderson declined to reveal how much Adidas paid for the right to be included in the name of the event). Such sponsorships go a long way to defraying the cost of event organizing.

Even with some 1,500 volunteers, it cost about $1 million to produce the Vancouver marathon, Anderson said.

Depending on the size of payment, sponsors’ names were publicized on event posters and registration forms, and in press releases and announcements. Some had their logos or names emblazoned on T-shirts or event banners. All were listed on the AVIM website, with links to their corporate websites.

And they gained the right to directly market to the participants and spectators at the event by providing samples, coupons or promotional material.

Sunrise Soya Foods expected to distribute 20,000 samples of its featured product, Pete’s Tofu, during the event.

The sponsorship attracted Sunrise because a marathon “attracts a lot of women, which is our market,” says Karen Stark, consumer event marketing manager.

Women marathon registrants often outnumber men – and women are still the chief grocery shoppers and feel responsible for providing their families with good nutrition. In addition, soy products are particularly attractive to health-conscious women, who use them to reduce their risks of breast cancer and heart disease, and soften the effects of menopause and other hormonal imbalances.

Stark organizes about 40 events throughout the year, including a variety of 10-km, five-km and fun races. “We like to make a campaign around each event,” she says.

Prior to the Vancouver marathon, Sunrise had an athlete demonstrating how to make tofu smoothies at local grocery stores, handed out samples to each marathon participant and many of the spectators, sponsored an eight-expert panel for the marathon’s Healthy Nutrition and Wellness Expo, and ran an online contest tied to the marathon.

The payoff? Sunrise Tofu experiences a spike in sales of the featured product immediately after every sponsored event.

That, in turn, makes it easier for marathon organizers to attract sponsors the next year.

It’s a cycle now set to run full-circle, year after year.