RRIC Annual Marathon Report: Tables, Trends and Totals
Marathons Hold Steady in the U.S. and Worldwide
Posted Friday, 14 April, 2006
Untitled Document
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - (April
13, 2006) - With the 110th edition of the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 17,
it is an appropriate time for Running USA's Road Running Information Center
annual marathon report. The following tables and commentary show the evolution
and impact of the marathon from the First Running Boom to the ongoing Second
Running Boom as well as the distance's overall status.
Gender and Age Group Breakdown
|
1980 |
1995 |
2000 |
2004 |
2005 |
| Women |
10.5% |
26% |
38% |
40% |
41% |
| Men |
89.5% |
74% |
62% |
60% |
59% |
| Masters (40 yrs+) |
26% |
41% |
44% |
43% |
44% |
| Open (20 to 39 yrs) |
69% |
57% |
54% |
55% |
54% |
| Juniors (under 20) |
5% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
Median Age
| |
1980 |
1995 |
2000 |
2004 |
2005 |
| Males |
34 |
38 |
38 |
39 |
40 |
| Females |
31.3 |
35 |
35 |
34 |
35 |
| Median Age Overall |
|
|
37 |
37 |
38 |
Median Times for U.S. Marathon
Finishers
|
1980 |
1995 |
2002 |
2004 |
2005 |
| Males |
3:32:17 |
3:54:00 |
4:20:01 |
4:23:35 |
4:20:29 |
| Females |
4:03:39 |
4:15:00 |
4:56:46 |
4:55:21 |
4:51:19 |
2005 Marathon Snapshot
In the U.S., there was a 2.2% increase
in finishers for the same 234 marathons for 2004 and 2005, while outside the United
States, after years of steady race growth, the same 79 marathons in both years
showed a slight decline of 1.5%.
Year Estimated U.S. Marathon Finisher
Total
| 1976 |
25,000 |
| 1980 |
120,00 |
| 1990 |
236,000 |
| 1995 |
312,000 |
| 2000 |
389,000 |
| 2001 |
366,000 |
| 2002 |
388,000 |
| 2003 |
400,000 |
| 2004 |
423,000 |
| 2005 |
432,000 |
Over the past decade, large inaugural
marathons such as the Rock 'n' Roll Marathons in San Diego and Phoenix have
fueled the marathon's mainstream appeal and reach, and in 2005, the New Las
Vegas Marathon with 8,159 finishers continued that trend of excitement and growth.
However, unlike recent years, 2005 had only one inaugural marathon - out of
over 20 - with over 1,000 finishers.
Last year, there were 58 U.S. marathons
with at least 1,000 finishers which tied the 2004 record (the old record was
54 in 2001 and 2002). Twenty years ago, there were only 25 U.S. marathons with
1,000 finishers or more. In addition, 2005 set a record as those 58 aforementioned
U.S. marathons totaled 322,142 finishers surpassing the 2004 total of 306,689.
2005 U.S. Marathons (> 1000 finishers) with the…
… Fastest Median Times
|
1995 |
2000 |
2004 |
2005 |
| Citizen's Bank Philadelphia |
3:41:47 |
4:01:19 |
4:04:38 |
4:02:57 |
| Rite Aid Cleveland |
3:55:51 |
3:57:04 |
4:05:47 |
4:05:38 |
… Slowest Median Times
|
1995 |
2000 |
2004 |
2005 |
| City of Los Angeles |
4:50:30 |
5:14:33 |
5:53:01 |
5:26:49 |
| Honolulu |
5:50:19 |
5:49:23 |
5:42:41 |
5:39:40 |
… Most <4 Hour Finishers
|
1980 |
1995 |
2004 |
2005 |
LaSalle Bank Chicago |
2256 (62%) |
4286 (50%) |
8868 (27%) |
10740 (33%) |
| Boston |
6591 (72%) |
6467 (68%) |
5490 (33%) |
10260 (59%) |
… Most Finishers in certain
Age Groups
|
Event 2005 |
Subtotals |
| Female Juniors |
City of Los Angeles |
1123 |
| Male Juniors |
City of Los Angeles |
1480 |
| Females 20-29 |
LaSalle Bank Chicago |
5464 |
| Males 20-29 |
LaSalle Bank Chicago |
4022 |
| Females 30-39 |
LaSalle Bank Chicago |
4880 |
| Males 30-39 |
ING New York City |
8484 |
| Female Masters 40+ |
ING New York City |
4726 |
| Male Masters 40+ |
ING New York City |
13265 |
| Females 50+ |
Honolulu |
1926 |
| Males 60+ |
Honolulu |
1552 |
… Highest Percent Women
|
2005 |
| Nike Women's |
91.3% |
| Portland |
55.5% |
| Rock'n Roll San Diego |
53.2% |
… Highest Percent Men
|
2005 |
| Rite Aid Cleveland |
69.7% |
| ING New York |
67.3% |
| Toyota Prius Miami |
67.2% |
… Highest Percent Masters
(40+ yrs)
|
2005 |
| Boston |
54.8% |
| Big Sur |
52.4% |
| Toyota Prius Miami |
52.0% |
… Lowest Percent Masters (40+
yrs)
|
2005 |
| Honolulu |
18.3% |
| Nike Women's |
27.6% |
Who's #1?
For 2005, the ING New York City Marathon
with 36,856 finishers kept its largest marathon title - which again made it
the largest marathon ever bettering its 2004 mark of 36,562 finishers. For the
second time ever, four marathons - ING New York City, Flora London, LaSalle
Bank Chicago and real,-Berlin - surpassed the 30,000 finisher total; in 2003,
the same four also did the same. 2006 could see for the first time five marathons
with 30,000 finishers or more as this year Paris had a record 30,739 finishers.
Finally, like past years, the U.S.
again had 6 of the 10 largest marathons in the world. For the largest marathon
lists, see the below.
2005
World's Largest Marathons (finishers):
1) ING New York City, NY 36,856 (largest ever)
2) Flora London, GBR 35,260
3) LaSalle Bank Chicago, IL 32,951
4) real,-Berlin, GER 30,382
5) Paris, FRA 28,765
6) Honolulu, HI 24,261
7) City of Los Angeles, CA 20,638
8) Marine Corps, DC 18,841
9) Boston, MA 17,528
10) Olympus Hamburg, GER 17,488
11) Coca-Cola Zero Rock 'n' Roll, CA 17,113
12) Naha, JPN 14,882
13) Chosun Ilbo Chunchon, KOR 14,681
14) Stockholm, SWE 12,700
15) Ford Cologne, GER 10,922
U.S. Largest Marathons (finishers):
1) ING New York City, NY 36,856 (largest ever)
2) LaSalle Bank Chicago, IL 32,951
3) Honolulu, HI 24,261
4) City of Los Angeles, CA 20,638
5) Marine Corps, DC 18,841
6) Boston, MA 17,528
7) Coca-Cola Zero Rock 'n' Roll, CA 17,113
8) New Las Vegas Marathon, NV 8,159 (inaugural)
9) Twin Cities, MN 7,753
10) Walt Disney World, FL 7,730
11) P.F. Chang's RnR Arizona 7,365
12) Portland, OR 7,191
13) Grandma's, MN 6,888
14) Citizen's Bank Philadelphia, PA 5,861
15) HP Houston, TX 5,712
Source: Road Running Information
Center - www.RunningUSA.org
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