Sunday 14th April saw the much-anticipated return of the adidas Manchester Marathon, the UK’s second largest marathon known for its flat course and friendly atmosphere. With over £29 million spent in the city centre and Greater Manchester last weekend, the event generated a spectacular boost for the local economy.

Over 100,000 spectators descended on the city centre and Greater Manchester on event day, cheering on the record-breaking 32,000 participants who signed-up to take on the challenge. Overall, provisional economic spend amounted to £29.2, resulting in an increase of over £8 million compared to last year’s event. This will subsequently huge economic benefits to local vendors, the hospitality sector, and retail businesses.

On event day itself, record-breaking tram use was witnessed across the city centre and Greater Manchester. 175,000 journeys were made on Metrolink, the highest number of journeys ever recorded on a single day. This was a 20% increase on than last years event, which set the previous record of 145,000 journeys.

In total, the event has raised over £3.5 million allocated to charities such as Alzheimer’s Charity, Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation and The Christie.

Over £32,000 was also raised for the Trafford Active Fund into which £1 from every paid entry into the adidas Manchester Marathon and Manchester Half is donated. Working alongside the Trafford Council, the initiative provides local clubs and organisations with the opportunity to receive a special allocation of funds to build a long-term sport and physical activity legacy in greater Manchester.

What’s more, this year the adidas Manchester Marathon elected the community forest charity, City of Trees, as it’s Green Runner charity. This formed part of the challenge’s eco-friendly Green Runner initiative where upon registration, 7% of participants chose to participate as a Green Runner, opting out of receiving either a finisher t-shirt, medal or both items. The money saved in production will be donated to City of Trees, who create and maintain woodland for the people and wildlife of Greater Manchester.

With the 2025 adidas Manchester Marathon confirmed to be taking place on Sunday 27th April next year – and 12,000 places already sold – the city can already look forward to reaping the economic and social benefits of hosting one of Europe’s largest and friendliest marathons.

2025 entries will close tomorrow, 23 April at 23:59, after the first and second entry allocations sold out in record times of 24 and 48 hours respectively. Further allocations will be opened later during the year, following the announcement on the event’s various communication channels. A highlights video of the 2024 is available to give future participants a taste of the event.

Finally, the Manchester Half, the biggest half marathon in the North West of England, returns on Sunday 13th October this year. 14,500 people have already signed up to take on the 13.1 mile challenge.

Commenting, Andrew Smith, CEO of adidas Manchester Marathon event organiser Human Race, Andrew Smith, said: “It’s fantastic to see that this year’s adidas Manchester Marathon has had an overwhelmingly positive impact on the Greater Manchester region.

“Each year, we see tens of thousands of people lining the streets, cheering on their friends and families and spurring them on to the finish line. A record 32,000 people signed up to take part in this year’s event, which shows what an inclusive and supportive city Manchester is.

“It’s so important that we can return the favour to the brilliant people of Manchester by generating income for local businesses and giving back to the community through our charitable partners and social initiatives.

“We’ve already doubled the number of places sold in comparison to this time last year, so we’re looking forward to a bigger, better marathon in Manchester in 2025!”