Running Is Good To The City Of Baltimore
The annual festival brings in nearly $40 million to the city.
The annual festival brings in nearly $40 million to the city.
From: Running USA
BALTIMORE — The 12th edition of the Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival contributed an estimated $38.6 million to the city’s economy according to a recent study by RESI, an economic research and consulting firm located at Towson University. This year the event attracted a record 26,100 runners, marking the 10th consecutive year of 10-15% growth from the year prior. In all, 50 states and 24 countries were represented in the 2012 field.
“We are the largest participatory event in the entire state in 2012 to date, so with that comes one big tourism welcome mat” stated Lee Corrigan, the event’s Executive Director and President of Corrigan Sports Enterprises (CSE). “We also received a 95% approval rating in our annual post event runner survey, so we share this glory with the thousands of people who make this event possible including city and state agencies, sponsors, runners, volunteers and fans.”
The charitable proceeds generated by the October 13th event totaled $1.7 million, shattering the event’s previous single-year mark of $1.06 million (2010). Kennedy Krieger Institute, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Sadie’s Gift, The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Cool Kids Campaign, The American Cancer Society, and YouthWorks are some of the area’s benefiting charities. Nearly $10 million has been raised for charity since the Running Festival’s inaugural year.
By comparison, the 2011 Running Festival generated $30.5 million in economic impact and raised a total of $978,000 for charities. This year’s figures mark the event’s all-time high for both economic impact and charity dollars raised.