State of the Sport - Part III - Road Race Growth Trends and Largest Races
Posted Tuesday, 18 July, 2006
By Running USA's Road Running Information Center
The typical road race grew by about 2% in 2005, while the 100th largest timed race had 4,238 finishers in 2005 compared to 3,923 in 2004 and 2,968 in 1991. When all related events such as walks are included (see the Largest Festivals lists), the 100th festival had an estimated 11,000 entrants and 9,400 finishers. There were a total of 2.3 million participants in the top 100 running festivals in 2005 compared to 2.1 in 2004. It would appear that there was extraordinary growth in races and festivals with at least 5,000 participants (296 in 2005, up from 194 in 2004), but at least some of that increase can be attributed to improved solicitation of race results to build the rankings produced by Running USA and the Active Network.
As the tables in the linked report indicate, the 5K is still the dominant running event distance in terms of number of events (52.9% of all U.S. certified courses) and estimated number of finishers (38.3% in 2005), but the typical 5K is low key and will probably not last as long as its longer distance cousins.
Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director
(805) 696-6232
Ryan@RunningUSA.org | www.RunningUSA.org
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