Running is booming in the United States as more people seek inexpensive ways to manage stress amid economic uncertainty.
Nationally, the number of marathon finishers rose nearly 10 percent between 2008 and 2009 to a record 467,000, according to Running USA, a nonprofit group. The growth of half-marathon finishers was even more impressive, jumping 24 percent from 900,000 in 2008 to 1.1 million in 2009.
U.S. GDP (aka, income) fell 2.4% from 2008 to 2009. The income elasticity of marathon finishing is about -4. The income elasticity of finishing a half-marathon is -10.
