Study: Chicago Marathon kicks big bucks into city

The biggest winner of the annual Chicago Marathon is arguably Chicago itself.

A new economic study has concluded the annual runs of tens of thousands of people through the city's streets help generate around $170 million in economic activity.

The 34th annual Chicago Marathon is on Oct. 9 and 45,000 runners representing more than 100 countries have signed up to take part.

Organizers say 10,000 of those participants will be visiting Chicago for the first time. Many will spend money on hotels, restaurants and other tourist activities.

The new study was conducted by the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The results were announced on Monday by the Chicago Marathon's sponsors.