Running popularity still booming, fuelled by adventure runs

Participation numbers for running events and overall health of the sport are still breaking records after a decade-long growth in popularity of the sport.

Although based on the running industry in the United States, Running USA’s second State of the Sport report of 2014 has shown that the growth is still going on as races continue to sell out in record time and running companies experience sales growth.

Over the past decade the number of participants in running events across the U.S. has grown by 70 per cent, a huge boom that has pulled the industry out of obscurity with it. Last year in the U.S., 42 million people went out for runs at least six times. Although the bar is set pretty low for what the survey considers a runner, the number was still up 2.5 per cent from 2012.

The demographics of the sport are also shifting, with women ages 25-34 making up the largest portion of the participants. Demographics are slowly shifting younger and becoming more dominated by women. In 2012 , for the first time, more women participated in running events than men and in 2013 the gap had grown.

Still, a lot of the recent boom isn’t being fuelled by traditional road races, as adventure runs and other non-traditional running events have seen huge booms in the last two years, pushing a large portion of the sport’s growth. These races include colour runs and obstacle course races. Over the last five years, participation has more than tripled with most entrants competing for the first time.

Retailers are also feeling the boom, with running shoe sales up in total dollars by two per cent in 2013 to USD$3.09 billion over 2012 and sales by units sold up four per cent, with an even larger forecast for the coming year.