New report suggests race participation has hit a plateau

There were some surprising, and not so surprising, findings from a new report from Running USA which compiles data on race finishers and trends in the United States and can often reflect similar patterns in Canada.

The report shows that there were 18.75 million finishers in U.S. running events in 2014, down just slightly from the record high 19 million from 2013. This is however the first time in over a decade that the number of race finishers has decreased (with the exception of 2012 when the NYC Marathon did not take place).

The number of total events is also down slightly. Still, there were about 28,000 races in the U.S. last year. The 5K accounts for 54 per cent of these followed by the 10K (13 per cent), the half marathon (9 per cent), 8K/5M (5 per cent) and the marathon (4 per cent). All other races account for the remaining 15 per cent.

In terms of total finishers, the 5K remains the most popular race distance with 44 per cent of all finishers, which is virtually unchanged from previous years. The half marathon however continues to increase in popularity, growing by an incredible 4 per cent and accounting for 11 per cent of all race finishers. By comparison, the 10K declined by 5 percent but is still the third most popular distance accounting for 7 per cent of all finishers. The marathon represents just 3 per cent of finishers (about 550,000 in 2014) but nonetheless saw a small 2 per cent increase from 2013. All other events (5M, 8K, 15K, 10M, etc.) account for the remaining 34 per cent of race finishers.

Women continue to dominate most races accounting for 57 per cent of all race finishers. They represent 58, 59 and 61 per cent of 5K, 10K and half marathon finishers respectively. The lone exception to this is the marathon, where men continue to make up a majority of the field, accounting for 57 per cent of finishers.