The organizers of this weekend's inaugural Sony Ericsson City of Oaks Marathon got what they were wishing for: sunny weather, a healthy roster of 3,800 runners and no major problems during the race.

The marathon's participants, area merchants and local running enthusiasts said it was a good start, if not exactly perfect.

"I think they can make this into something," said Lisa Glosson of Cary, who ran a marathon in Washington, D.C., last weekend and brought her family out to cheer on the runners Sunday.

That's certainly the hope of the Triangle's economic boosters and the event's organizers. The 26.2-mile race was expected to boost the coffers of area hotels, restaurants and other businesses over the weekend.

Figures on the event's economic impact won't be available for a few weeks, said Scott Dupree, director of sports marketing for the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau. However, Dupree's preliminary analysis showed the race would bring about 1,600 visitors who live more than an hour away from the Triangle.

If all of those visitors spend an average of $159 a day for lodging and food, the race will bring $254,400 to local merchants.

"And we do things very conservatively," Dupree said. "Lots of people will stay two or three nights."

Supporters waving signs and shaking cowbells lined the route, stopping into nearby businesses for refreshments and supplies. Many were there to support a favorite runner, but others came just to watch the race and cheer them all.

Business doubled at the Olde Raleigh Village Starbucks, and the nearby Harris Teeter saw a small boost in business from customers who wanted items such as cameras and drinks. At the Crabtree Marriott hotel, a big event can increase hotel occupancy by as much as 20 percent, said Marriott area director Karris Deis. She said she wouldn't know how many marathon-related visitors stayed at the hotel until today.

For smaller businesses, the impact can be bigger. The Oakwood Inn Bed & Breakfast on Bloodworth Street rented two of its six rooms to people visiting for the marathon.

"It does help," said owner Doris Jurkiewicz. "We would have rented the rooms on Saturday, but they stayed Sunday, too. If we didn't have them Sunday, let's put it this way: We wouldn't have anybody."

A bumpy past for marathons

Sunday's event marked a fresh start for marathons in Raleigh, after three previous events under a different organizer ran into problems. In 2000, a prediction of heavy snowfall postponed the race for a week, but the snow never came. The second year, some runners were directed down the wrong street, and in the final year organizers had to scramble to clear the route of tree limbs felled in an ice storm.

"It ran into some rotten luck," Dupree said.

City of Oaks organizer and Raleigh Running Outfitters co-owner Jim Micheels said he didn't feel jinxed.

"It was just something that was missing," he said. "People will travel all over a couple of times a year to do other marathons, so it's not like people aren't running the races. But we were like, 'We might as well keep it all here.'"

The timing was right to try again, said Luis Fondacci, a Raleigh runner sidelined Sunday by an injury who came out to support friends instead, armed with a foghorn, noise-makers and a jester's hat.

An electrical engineer for Raleigh-based North Carolina's Electric Cooperatives, Fondacci said his employer encourages his travels to other cities to participate in races.

"They are very supportive of my running," he said. "We have enough big companies that care about their employees' health to support this."

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