RRIC Annual Marathon Report: Tables, Trends and Totals
Marathons Hold Steady in the U.S. and Worldwide

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Posted Friday, 14 April, 2006

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

Median Age

Median Times for U.S. Marathon Finishers

2005 Marathon Snapshot

Year Estimated U.S. Marathon Finisher Total

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

… Slowest Median Times

… Most <4 Hour Finishers

… Most Finishers in certain Age Groups

… Highest Percent Women

… Highest Percent Men

… Highest Percent Masters (40+ yrs)

… Lowest Percent Masters (40+ yrs)

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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