He running tourismalso called marathon tourism or “runcations”, involves traveling with the primary purpose of participating in long distance runningespecially marathons 42,195 kilometers. It combines the sporting challenge with the exploration of emblematic urban destinations, allowing runners to experience cities, their culture, gastronomy and atmosphere from a privileged perspective: touring streets closed to vehicular traffic and receiving massive support from the local public.
Although the marathon as a discipline dates back to the legend of Pheidippides (490 BC) and was formalized in the Modern Olympic Games of 1896running tourism as a mass phenomenon emerged decades later. The rise of recreational running occurred in the 70s with the “running boom” in the United States and Europe, driven by publications such as The Complete Book of Running of Jim Fixx (1977) and for the growth of popular careers. During that decade and the 80s, large urban marathons proliferated —New York (1970), Berlin (1974) and London (1981)— that began to attract international participants. Cities quickly identified their tourism potential: These events generate significant income from lodging, transportation, food and local consumption.
The creation of the Abbott World Marathon Majors (2006) —initially six: Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York; with Sydney incorporated in 2025 as the seventh headquarters— consolidated the concept. Amateur runners began planning multi-year trips to complete the series and obtain the medal of “Six Star Finisher”not including Sidney in the official six-star count. By the end of 2025, there were more than 23,260 six-star finisherscoming from 139 countries, with an average age of around 50 years and seven months. In 2025 alone, some 5,570 runners achieved their sixth star, reflecting a sustained growth.
Business. Currently, running tourism generates billions of dollars in economic impact. The Majors concentrate a substantial portion: it is estimated that the seven races contribute around 2.7 billion dollars annually to the global total of marathons, calculated in about 5.2 billion. Concrete examples include the New York Marathonwith about 700 million dollars in impact and a record of 59,226 finishers in 2025; Chicagowith more than 680 million and 54,187 participants; Bostonsurpassing the 500 million; and Berlinwith 48,020 finishers. He post-pandemic growth has been notable, with greater participation from runners from Latin America and Asia, driven by regional recovery.
Eduardo Polzinetti, runner from Buenos Aires, participated in the BMW Berlin Marathon 2025 with the BeNext agency. “It arose in the group where I had the possibility of going there. Then I started to find out how to get into the race. I discovered that there are companies that take you with a package that includes a hotel and transfers within Berlin for four days, from September 19 to after September 22,” he says. “For me it was the first time in Europe, so it was a long and special trip. The company took us to tour the center of Berlin, different points of interest, the race expo and also organized another excursion to the city’s attractions. In addition, on my own, I organized to visit other places in Europe, such as Prague, Milan and Spain. In total I was approximately twenty days“.
Fernando Galiano, also from Buenos Aires, ran the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. “You have to sign up for a raffle that is published on social media. A lot of people sign up and then there is a lottery: 50 percent of the spots are for people from the United States and the other 50 for the rest of the world. From there they choose runners from Argentina, Brazil and different countries until the quota of 60,000 participants. If you are drawn, you pay between 200 and 300 dollars registration and then you take care of the air and the hotel. The stay is one week,” he says. “Preparation for the marathon takes between 12 and 14 weeks of trainingwith group and teacher. In the previous days it is done carb loadingwith the classic pasta dinner. On race day, at five in the morning You’re already at the start.”
Running tourism is not just completing a distance, but Integrate sport into an active, cultural and lasting way of traveling.
