Running event participation is in decline for the first time in years – Runner’s World (UK)

Although nearly half a million runners entered the ballot this year for the 2020 London Marathon, according to new research, running event participation is in decline. The study by RunRepeat, analysed 107.9 million race results, including participants from over 209 countries at over 70 thousand events between 1986 and 2018.

When analysing the data, researchers found that over the past two years there has been a decline in runners in Europe and the US participating in races. On the other hand, participation in Africa and Asia is on the rise, although not enough to compensate.

According to the research, running event participation peaked in 2016, with a total of 9.1 million race results. In 2018, this had fallen by 13% to 7.9 million results. That said, when looking at the difference in race participation between 1986 and 2018, there is an increase of 57.8%, from 5 to 7.9 million participants.

Despite the popularity of some of the marathon majors, 5K and half-marathons are still the most popular distances to run. Yet despite 2.9 million runners taking on a 5K race in 2018 and 2.1 million finishing a half marathon, these two races have also suffered the biggest decline in participation over the last two years. Half marathons have declined by 25% in the last two years and 5Ks have declined by 13%.

Whilst 10Ks and marathons have a more modest following, participation rates haven’t fluctuated much in the last two to three years.

The researchers also found that a lot of the runners data showed they had a slight preference for the larger races. For the purpose of the study, they classed a field of less than 5,000 runners as a ‘small’ race. Participation in bigger races with more than 5,000 runners continued to rise until 2015, with participation in smaller races rising until 2016. That said, the decline in smaller races has been more dramatic, with a decline of 13%, compared to the 9% at larger races.