The Vologda region is becoming a point of attraction for active leisure enthusiasts
Mass amateur running events have long become part of sports event tourism. Experts note that an increasing number of Russians now prefer races not in megacities, but travel to small, authentic towns. How sport and tourism influence the image and economy of a region was discussed at the National Centre RUSSIA within the educational intensive "Running Across the Russian North: Discovering the Vologda Region".
Organising large-scale sporting events in small towns brings significant benefits to their economies, primarily in terms of developing tourism potential. The founder and organiser of major running events, Vladimir Voloshin, noted that amateur runners have increasingly shown interest in races held in smaller cities.
"In first place is Suzdal, which attracts 99% of tourists. In second place is the half marathon in the village of Paris in the Nagaybak district of the Chelyabinsk region," Vladimir Voloshin said.
He added that the Russian market today includes 110,000 active running tourists who bring with them around 175,000 supporters. The goal should be for one athlete to bring five supporters, as they contribute to the development of the city and regional economy.
"We are actively working on creating marathon routes. At present, thanks in part to teams from Vologda and Gatchina, a project has been launched to unite half marathons across the north-west of the country. This will help meet demand for trips to small towns and generate economic impact. Major events in large cities are not visible from an economic perspective. For example, in Moscow, nine major races account for only 0.02 of the city’s annual budget. By comparison, a single event in a small provincial town contributes 1.7% of its annual budget, while in the village of Paris in the Chelyabinsk region one sporting event alone brings in 6% of annual income," Vladimir Voloshin explained.
The head of the public organisation "Vologda Sports Union", Denis Dolzhenko, spoke about how the marathon movement began developing in the Vologda region. The first "Pokrovsky Half Marathon" in 25 years was held in October 2016 and attracted just 153 participants.
"We were so proud of it. In 2017, the 'Running Vologda' half marathon took place and gathered 350 people, the following year 750, then 1,300. And, as has rightly been noted, there is strong interest precisely in races in small towns. Up to 62% of participants coming to Vologda are from other cities. We are working in line with the trend set by our governor, Georgy Filimonov. In central regions, people run through the cities of the Golden Ring. We want to do the same across the cities of north-west Russia. I am confident this will give an additional boost to the development of tourism appeal and infrastructure," Denis Dolzhenko said.
The discussion was also joined by the Minister of Sport of the Vologda Region, Alexander Murogin, a former professional athlete, Master of Sport of Russia of International Class and three-time world champion in polyathlon.
According to him, regional authorities support and help develop sports event tourism, while also creating comfortable conditions for mass sport. In 2025, 47 sports infrastructure facilities were opened, with a further 21 planned for 2026. In addition, eight sports facilities are scheduled to be built with federal funding.
"At the end of 2024, the Vologda region held leading positions in the North-West Federal District in terms of the share of the population systematically engaged in sport, and ranked ninth nationwide. The results for 2025 have not yet been published, but according to our estimates more than 65% of the population in the Vologda region regularly engage in physical activity and sport," Alexander Murogin said.
The educational intensive "Running Across the Russian North: Discovering Vologda" brought together more than 100 participants, including athletes from Moscow and the Moscow region, students from metropolitan universities, representatives of the Youth Parliament and Youth Government of the Vologda Region, as well as members of the Vologda Region Representation Office in Moscow. The event took place as part of Vologda Region Week, held at the National Centre RUSSIA from 2 to 8 February.
The development strategy of the Vologda region is centred on the individual and their future.
The Vologda region has already ranked among the top three leading regions of Russia by the number of tourists during the winter holidays, second only to Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
