Abstract
To the Editor:
Over the past 10 years, our residency has been hosting a wilderness medicine continuing medical education event in southeast Michigan.1,2 This event incorporates medical challenges into an adventure race format. The result is that it is very popular among medical students and residents, with many schools returning with several teams each year. The concept of incorporating medical challenges into an adventure race has gained popularity, and there are many similar events around the country. A number of years ago we created the North American Educational Adventure Racing Association (NAEAR) to help proliferate and coordinate these events. In 2013, NAEAR generated nearly $18,000 in race registration fees alone, all of which went to expenses surrounding the races. This amount, however, underestimates the total spent by local race organizers as well as by competitors who may be traveling hundreds of miles, camping 1 to 2 nights, buying gear, renting canoes, and eating along the way. The total economic impact, therefore, is much greater. Medical Wilderness Adventure Race (MedWAR) participants, as a demographic, are much closer to the typically younger adventure race participants than to the older, often better funded physicians with a continuing medical education allowance. Therefore, this study has value in that it estimates the impact of an event designed primarily for students. We collected comprehensive data on the spending habits of participants over a weekend associated with the Midwest MedWAR event. We believe these data present a picture of the total economic impact of this type of event on the local and regional economy.
We conducted a survey of all volunteers and participants at the 2012 Midwest MedWAR event in Pinckney, Michigan. The survey questions were modeled after a similar study (an economic impact analysis of the National College Blue Ridge Marathon). 3 The survey was completed during the onsite registration for the event. Participants were asked to provide demographic and travel information, and their best estimation of various costs.
Thirty-five teams of 3 persons registered for the event, and everyone was present at race start. There were 17 volunteers at the event including the race organizers, for a total of 122 participants. Eighty-nine surveys were completed (73% participation). Nearly two-thirds (62%) of participants were male. The average age of participants was 27 years (range 22 to 47). The majority of participants were students (56%), followed by residents (34%). The others were a mix of emergency medical service providers, attending physicians, and nurses.
The participants were asked about their level of income. Most (44%) were living on student loans. That was followed by 39% who had annual income levels between $20K and $60K. Only 6 participants claimed to have an income of more than $80K annually. On average, participants traveled 4.5 hours one way to come to the event, and 52 (58%) spent at least 1 night away from home, with nearly all of those camping in the state park.
Participants spent an average of $135 each (range $20 to $385) on travel, food, and equipment, independent of race entry fees and canoe rental. Equipment was, on average, the highest percentage of this cost. The registration cost was $135 per team. Additionally, each team was required to rent a canoe at a cost of $45. That brings the estimated total spent by a participant in this event to $195 each. For the 105 competitors, that is an estimated total of $20,475. Because volunteers were largely reimbursed for their expenses out of the race entry fees, they were not added to this total.
The amount spent on this event by each participant may be small compared with that spent on a more traditional conference with attendees staying in hotel rooms and eating at restaurants. Nevertheless, it does represent a substantial amount for the participants, considering that most of them were students or residents living on a budget. The race fee of $45 per competitor ($135 per team) is targeted to only cover race costs, which include land use, food for the race banquet, insurance, tee-shirts, and incidentals such as printing and equipment for the volunteers.
It is important to remember that a dollar spent in an economy actually translates into several dollars of total activity as some is spent, some saved, some taxed, and some exported. The spending multiplier formula is stated as: 1 / [{1 − mpc* (1 − t)} + mpm], where mpc is the marginal propensity to consume, t is the income tax rate, and mpm is the marginal propensity to import. A call to the local chamber of commerce placed the spending multiplier between 1.8 and 2.5. That means that medical students, carpooling for half a day each way and camping while undertaking an adventure race, managed to generate between $36,855 and $51,187 of economic benefit to this Midwest region in a single weekend.
The response rate to our survey was quite good, and we consider our estimates of spending accurate. We have had many schools repeatedly send groups of teams to this event and conclude that they consider it worthwhile and of value. Event organizers should understand that students making spending decisions have significantly fewer resources than practicing physicians. Even though students’ spending is more limited, a well-planned event for them can still create a significant economic impact on the community in which it is organized.