A look at the Wilmington Marathon’s economic impact on the Cape Fear region

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Starting bright and early on Saturday morning, the 16th annual Wilmington Marathon kicks off at Wrightsville Beach.

Thousands of runners will methodically make their way towards downtown Wilmington.

In the days before and after the event, the more than 5,400 runners, like Katherine Vellios, alongside their family and friends who have traveled to support them, take in all that the Port City has to offer.

“So I can go to local restaurants, places that I wouldn’t may be get to experience at home,” Vellios said. “Also, I love to come to the race and go to the expo, see like the businesses that are there, small businesses and support. Like my first thing I wanted to do when I got here today was buy something.”

Race director Tom Clifford said the event brings in nearly $10 million to the region every year, helping out during the slower winter months.

“We get about 60 percent of the people coming from out of town, so we have a huge tourism in a shoulder season of, you know, Southeastern North Carolina. February is not, like, a season for where a ton of people come to the beaches.”

Something Meredith Harden, an employee at Slice of Life in downtown Wilmington, agrees with.

“It’s just really cool to see the community all come out together and support local businesses cause during these slow times, it’s a little hard,” Harden said. “So I do like these marathons because it does bring in business.”

Mouchine Guettabi, an associate professor of economics at UNCW, said events like this can also help bring a spotlight on the area.

“People like to get involved in all sorts of social events,” Guettabi said. “This is a social event, it gets people out of their homes, as you said. It gets people to potentially discover neighborhoods they wouldn’t otherwise go to, and it gets the city, national, and international recognition.”

And the Wilmington Marathon has just that type of recognition due to being a qualifier for both the Boston Marathon and the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Runners began picking up their packets Thursday evening, which will continue on Friday at the Wilmington Convention Center.