THE MANY BENEFITS OF ENDURANCE EVENTS IN HAPPY VALLEY

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - With Rothrock by UTMB™, a new stop on the UTMB™ World Series, coming to Happy Valley on May 16-17, 2026, it’s important to understand and recognize the value of endurance events within the Happy Valley region. Endurance events have several benefits to the community and the residents within those communities. Examples of these events not only include UTMB™, but also IRONMAN®, which was the first race introduced to Happy Valley through the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau and the Happy Valley Sports & Entertainment Alliance. In fact, after a successful three years of hosting the event, Happy Valley has been selected as the location for the North American Championship, happening June 14, 2026. 

SportsETA says, “Cities that successfully host endurance events see measurable returns.” These returns can be either short-term or long-term, and they generally create overwhelmingly beneficial developments for Happy Valley and everyone who resides in it. 

Long-term community values: 

Endurance events boost health and wellness culture within communities. When these types of events enter Happy Valley, there is an increased local participation in various physical activities, including cycling, swimming, running and several others. Due to this, there are typically improved outcomes in public health that can be tied directly to active lifestyles encouraged by endurance events. 

That’s not the only benefit to these events, however. Endurance events create a justification for trails, bike lanes and other public spaces for the community to access. And on top of that, pre-existing public spaces such as these become better maintained and used. This type of infrastructure benefits community members every single day, not just on event days, and has a long-standing purpose within Happy Valley.  

With the emergence of Rothrock by UTMB™ coming to Happy Valley, the community will see great improvement in the Rothrock area after hosting the event. The organizers are planning to give back over $40,000 to the greater Rothrock community over the next three years, as they are dedicated to serving the region and all it provides for the event. In order to do so, the organizers will give out community grants to local nonprofits that have goals of protecting trails and nurturing outdoor recreation, which will greatly improve the Rothrock community, and the entire Happy Valley region, for years to come. 

Endurance events also contribute to destination branding and identity. They frame the Happy Valley community as active, healthy and endurance-capable, which has several positive implications. In the long run, these adjectives can help influence business relocation decisions and resident pride. As a result, community engagement also tends to increase, meaning the development of stronger volunteer networks can occur. This can lead to repeated civic engagement across several events within the community, and even further collaboration between parks, schools, nonprofits and tourism.  

Short-term gains in tourism: 

While some effects are temporary, they are just as impactful to the Happy Valley region. These effects appear both during and immediately following the event window. For example, endurance events can bring an increase in hotel room nights for anyone participating or viewing the event. In fact, IRONMAN® itself brings, on average, over 5,000 room nights on race weekend. Since the region typically experiences a slow period following the close of Penn State’s academic year, it is able to draw visitors into the area at times that were previously considered to be off-season.  

IRONMAN® also had competitors from 43 states and 15 countries in its first year alone. Many of these athletes travel into the area throughout the year in order to train on the racecourse, making Happy Valley a highly visited location throughout the year Similarly, UTMB™ is permitted to have around 1,100 racers over two days of racing, who will also travel to Happy Valley from all over the globe.  

As a result of hosting these events, there’s an increase in media and destination exposure, which increases the visibility of Happy Valley. The 2026 North American Championship is anticipated to bring over $4 million in economic impact, while also gaining over 14 million reach in media. This puts Happy Valley on a huge global stage. 

Endurance events bring so many positive developments to the Happy Valley region and help to improve the entire community in various ways. As we continue holding these events, the infrastructure improves and community support grows, giving us more opportunities to host in the future.