The growth of running organizations in Türkiye contributes to the accommodation, transportation, food and beverage, retail and service sectors, while also creating new opportunities for international sports tourism.
While the expenditures of foreign athletes and their accompanying visitors increase economic mobility in the cities where marathons are held, it is aimed to strengthen Türkiye's position in the international running calendar, especially Istanbul.
Turkish Athletics Federation President Ahmet Karadağ told AA correspondent that the main factors that determine the economic size of a running organization are the number of participants (athletes, companions and spectators), accommodation, transportation, food and beverage expenses, registration fees, sponsor-advertising revenues, organization expenses (security, health, logistics, equipment, personnel), the promotional effect of the city and the additional income provided to local businesses.
Karadağ said, "We see that the interest in road running and organizations of different distances has increased significantly in recent years. We evaluate this increase extremely positively. The spread of running culture, more people turning to sports, and the support of local governments and the private sector to the organizations play an important role in this development." he said.
Pointing out that there has been an increase in the number of road running, public running and thematic running organizations organized in Istanbul in recent years, as in Turkey, Karadağ said, "Especially events at 5 thousand, 10 thousand, half marathon and marathon distances have shown a significant development in terms of both the number of participants and the diversity of organizations. As the Athletics Federation, we support the increase of safe and high-quality organizations in accordance with national and international standards." he said.
Karadağ made the following assessment:
"According to the economic impact studies conducted in large marathons and road races, the contribution of the organization to the city economy is calculated by measuring the accommodation, food and beverage, transportation, shopping and touristic expenses of the participants coming from outside the city and abroad. As a brief indicator, it is evaluated that in large organizations in Türkiye, the average total expenditure of a participant coming from outside the city and his/her entourage in the city economy is 5 thousand-15 thousand liras, and for foreign athletes, it can be much more than this, depending on the length of stay. Therefore, today, not only the number of participants, 'Economic contribution per athlete' and 'visitor expenditure' indicators are also among the important criteria that measure the success of the organizations."
Emphasizing that improving the organization quality through sports tourism, sponsorship investments, international participation, digital recording and measurement systems is of great importance for running organizations in Türkiye to create a larger sports economy, Karadağ said that their priorities as a federation are to ensure the participation of more people in running sports, to increase the number of organizations at international standards, to strengthen the sports tourism potential of cities and to create a sustainable running ecosystem.
Ahmet Karadağ, President of the Turkish Athletics Federation, said, "Our goal in the coming period is for Türkiye to host more prestigious races in the international calendar and to increase the economic and social impact of running organizations." he said.
"These organizations make a significant contribution to the promotion of the country and the city."
Marmara University Faculty of Sports Sciences Deputy Dean Dr. Lecturer Member Serap Mungan Ay stated that running organizations have increased in Istanbul as well as throughout Türkiye and that they have direct and indirect contributions to the city's economy.
Pointing out that the number of participants is the most important factor in unit terms, Ay said, "Because the more the number of participants increases in private organizations organized by the federation or directed by the federation, the more the interest increases and the brand value of that race increases. For example, the awareness of these runs such as the Istanbul Marathon or the Istanbul Half Marathon increases day by day. It is necessary to make this global. Compared to runs such as the London or New York Run, these organizations are ranked a little lower, but there is an increase in the number of participants every day." he said.
Regarding the 48th Istanbul Marathon held in Istanbul, Ay said, "Approximately 46 thousand participants from approximately 143 countries took part in the last run in 2026. As the number of participants increases, the fees paid for participation in the organization also increase. In addition, these organizations make a significant contribution to the promotion of the country and the city. Participants have accommodation and transportation expenses. There are many people employed within the scope of the organization, especially security. As the race becomes popular, both costs and revenues increase before the race. At the same time, as the organization grows, sponsors "The interest is also increasing." he said.
Serap Mungan Ay continued as follows:
"We think that the total impact of marathons, road runs and local-regional runs on the economy will be around 8-9 million dollars by the end of 2026. Last year, more than 100 runs were organized in Turkey. It is known that more than 200 runs will be held this year. Last year, the total economic impact of these organizations was approximately 4-5 million dollars. This year, there was a huge increase in both the number of runs organized and the contribution to the economy. We say that this increase continues day by day and the economic impact of the runs "We observe that it is growing exponentially."
Pointing out that the races held in regions such as Antalya, Izmir and Cappadocia outside Istanbul are of great value, Ay said that these organizations held in other seasons and months of the year instead of the peak periods of tourism are important for the economic cycle.
Ay stated that the occupancy rate of hotels in the city was approaching 100 percent due to a running organization recently held in Cappadocia.
"The indirect economic impacts of organizations are great"
Assoc. Prof. from Marmara University, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Department of Sports Management. Dr. Arif Çetin stated that road running has become popular recently in Türkiye as well as in the world.
Çetin said that according to research conducted abroad, there were demands much higher than the normal quota in the London Marathon, while there was a demand of 840 thousand in 2025, it increased to 1 million 130 thousand this year, and that there is a population in the world that wants to run the marathon.
Explaining that the increasing running organizations in the world and the interest in them are also reflected in Türkiye, Çetin said, "In fact, our running market is dominated by the Istanbul Marathon and Istanbul Half Marathon. There were 14 thousand participants in the Istanbul Half Marathon this year and 12 thousand in the previous year. There is an increase of approximately 15 percent. Again, there are approximately 46 thousand participants in the Istanbul Marathon. Therefore, these are good scores by Turkish standards." he said.
Çetin stated that these runs should not be considered only as a sports event and said, "For example, approximately 9 thousand people participated in the Istanbul Marathon. In addition, there are sponsors and they provide significant support to the events. The indirect economic effects of the organizations are also quite large. In addition to the participants coming from abroad, their companions also come. These people spend on accommodation, transportation and other areas." he said.
Pointing out that running organizations have increased in Türkiye and their economic reflections have begun to be seen, Çetin said, "131 special road races were held in Türkiye in 2025. This year, 106 activities were held in the January-September period. According to a research, the Istanbul Marathon is among the top 50 marathons in the world. Therefore, we actually have a brand. In order to further expand this brand and increase the number of foreign guests, a joint study should be carried out, especially with the participation of all our institutions." need." made his assessment.
