Marathon runners travel a considerable amount to participate in events. These sport tourist generate economic and social activity within the host community which has led even some of the smallest cities and towns to host these type of events. Running USA reports there are more than 34,000 running events each year in the United States. While a large portion of these are local 5k or 10k races, the marathon and half marathon events have the potential to increase tourism to the area.
It is one thing to attract runners to your city via a marathon or half marathon event, and another, to ensure they are as active as possible within your city. To determine this level of activity, we partnered with a a large running festival in the Midwest United States. The data were collected via a post-race survey. We used analytics to determine people’s activities once they arrived at the destination, and if their travel party or immersion within the running community impacted these behaviors.
The analytics indicated there were differences in running community immersion in terms of the distance the individuals completed. Not surprisingly, marathon runners were more immersed in the running community compared to half marathon runners. In addition, those who traveled with non-runners (e.g., family members) engaged in more activities within the community compared to those who traveled alone or with other runners.
Based on our results, we strongly encourage event managers to identify those who are highly immersed in the sport or event before the visit the destination. In doing so, they would be able to cross promote to these individuals as well as potentially engage these individuals in pre-event marketing efforts. This level of co-creation of experience will lead to greater satisfaction and potential loyalty with the event.
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