December’s Honolulu Marathon generated an estimated $100.1 million in spending and produced $5.1 million in tax revenue for the state, according to a report released today.

Compared with the 2008 event, the spending total was down slightly from $100.7 million, but the tax revenue was up from $4 million, according to the report compiled by Hawai'i Pacific University professor Jerry Agrusa.
The number of marathon participants edged up slightly to 23,469 in 2009 from 23,232 in 2008. Of the 2009 total, 14,402 were from Japan, 1,327 from the Mainland and 704 from countries other than Japan.
The Japanese runners spent an average of $314.60 per day in 2009, up 5.5 percent from the year before, according to the report. Agrusa said the increase in spending by Japanese runners apparently caused by a strengthening of the yen, which hit a 15-year high against the dollar last year.