One million per kilometer, impact of the Madrid Marathon in the capital

34,000 runners from 102 countries and an economic impact of 42 million euros. These are the figures that summarize the scale of the Zurich Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series Madrid, the great festival of popular athletics that will be held on April 23 and includes marathon, half marathon and 10 kilometer distances on the streets of the capital which is Spanish.

Few could have imagined, in 1978, with the first edition of the Madrid Marathon, that a 42,195-kilometer race would reach 2023 as a symbol of the city thanks to the international projection that the event had in recent years.

That first edition, held on May 21, 1978, had 7,500 runners, where only 400 women. The participants started from the El Retiro Park car park and only three thousand reached the finish line, less than half.

They are very different from today, where leaving street clothes under the stairs of some portal before leaving is common, today’s wardrobes do not exist, and most of the participants, especially the Spaniards, ran with sneakers or ‘ Chirucas and the pants were long tracksuits or beach shorts.

This change at all levels of the famous MAPOMA (People’s Marathon of Madrid), one of the oldest marathons in Europe, is accompanied by changes in society, more aware of the importance of sportbut also of an organizational strategy of the last decade.

In 2012, following an agreement between MAPOMA and Competitor Group, the main American media and event company in the endurance sports industry, the Madrid race joined the list of Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series events with of other tests in cities such as Washington, Las Vegas, San Diego, Nashville, Mexico City, Medellín or Cancun.

Pedro Rumbao, CEO of the Zurich Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series Madrid, told EFE that “the Madrid marathon is one of the most important events in the city, not only because of his interest in sports but also because, thanks to the tourist appeal . , it causes a high economic impact”.

THE CAREER IN FIGURES

The 34,000 numbers available for this year will be worn by runners from 102 countries divided into 9,000 for the marathon, 17,000 for the half marathon and 8,000 for the 10 kilometers, with 27,342 national athletes and 6,658 foreigners, which grew by almost 1,200 foreigners compared to last year. The most are the French (1,248), followed by the Italians (614) and the British (599).

Of the total number of runners, 33% were women and 67% were men.. For the second consecutive year, in the 10k test, the percentage of women (52%) is higher than that of men (48%).

Foreign runners, with an average of 3.7 participants, had 24,634.60 visitors. Their average stay is 5.66 days and their average daily expenditure is 244 euroswith a total of 34,021,367.98 euros.

It is also a number to highlight the 8,707 Spanish runners from outside Madrid who visited the city for an average of 2.20 days to participate in the marathon. Their average daily expenditure dropped to 139 euros compared to foreigners, putting their total contribution to the economy at 7,721,541.74 euros.

“The great economic impact of the Marathon affects both the public treasury and the tourism sector of Madrid, which increases its income every year thanks to the race.. The touristic and economic value is growing every year and we hope to continue this growth which clearly shows the profitability of sport not only for the health of the citizens, but also for the economic health of the city, ” the City Council Sports delegate told EFE, Sofia. Miranda.

The attractiveness of this race for the capital can already be seen in the impact report commissioned by the Sports Area on the events of the ‘Madrid World Capital of Sports 2022’. That report placed the Marathon “among the five sporting events of greatest interest to the people of Madrid,” Miranda underlined.

TOURIST TOUR

Much of the appeal of the Madrid Marathon lies in its route, the most monumental in its historywith a touristic and historical layout that will allow runners to cross the most emblematic sites of the city such as Gran Vía, Plaza de España, Preciados street or Puerta del Sol, where athletes will run three distances.

“The race allows you to enjoy a wonderful city that sells itself to the world. We need to change the saying and say that from heaven to Madrid. The marathon is a mirror in which to look at ourselves. There is no marathon with such a variety of routes in the city, where we welcome all the runners from other countries”, confessed the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida.

Commitment to the environment, something that is highly valued by runners, especially Europeans, is something that also has an impact on MAPOMA. The event will officially certify, and for the first time in the international arena, its carbon footprint at AENOR in accordance with the international standard ISO 14064. In this way, fifteen measures are applied to promote sustainability, such as digitization of paper elements (tour, regulations, final instructions, etc.), the replacement of plastic for recyclable materials in refreshment bags, the inclusion of bicycles and skaters as auxiliary vehicles in the race or the use of electric racing car.