Blue Ridge MarathonThe 6th annual Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon, half marathon and the Anthem Star created $556,175 in economic impact in 2015. That’s up 6.7 percent over 2014. Organizers say the impact was the result of an increase in registrations as well as an increase in the average amount of money spent by travelers. Over the past six years, the event has contributed more than $2.6 million to the local economy.