Top 100 Road Races 2018 Analysis

We have assembled the Top 100 Road Races in a consolidated list and will be maintaining this along with our RaceTrends Report and bi-annual Registration Market reports on a continuing basis. This helps us understand the market better, and we hope it helps others as well. Since this is our first time, we are sure we have some mistakes – so let us know! Just send an email to eric@runsignup.com to get in touch with Eric Cone, who works with the top races in the industry. You can also contact Eric for a spreadsheet with more data, including 2016 numbers.

The full list is at the bottom of this blog. We have some summary findings and summary lists based on this full list.

3% Decrease – If we exclude the top race, the Disney World Marathon Weekend due to the 2017 weather based 81% decline, the number of finishers fell 3%, or about 59,000 from a total of 1.7 Million. Including the Disney race, there was still a decline of 1.6%. You will see a fair amount of red numbers in the overall chart below.

In comparison, the RaceTrends report for 2018 showed races held on RunSignup in 2017 and 2018, where we have complete data, decreased 0.1% on a total population of 4.2 Million. We also see 6% of races over 500 people held in 2017 not being held in 2018.

Of the Top 100 using RunSignup, there were a number of success stories, such as the Philadelphia Marathon and The Great Pumpkin Run virtual race. There were also challenges, for example the California fires that lowered the number of participants in the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot this year.

In general, the data shows there is at least a flattening and most likely a general decline in road race participation. Races and industry vendors need to keep this in mind as they plan for the future – we are not riding an underlying wave of growth that we were in years past. On the positive side, we see lots of success stories and really amazing stories every day of personal goals being met by participants and great nonprofit organizations being helped in significant and powerful ways. We at RunSignup continue to feel happy and lucky we are a growing part of this wondering community.

Biggest Movers – A number of races had great moves up the ranking list in 2018. There are a variety of reasons for these successes, and we continue to highlight some of those success stories at our annual Symposium as well as on our Customer Success pages and blogs over time so others may learn.

2018 Rank 2017 Rank Race Location
59 Not ranked The Great Pumpkin Run Virtual
77 Not ranked McGuire’s St. Patrick’s Day Prediction 5K Run Pensacola, FL
78 Not ranked Hot Chocolate 15K/5K – San Francisco San Francisco, CA
72 93 Air Force Marathon Dayton, OH
73 94 NYRR Staten Island Half Marathon and 5K(dropped in 2017) Staten Island, NY
56 71 Fargo Marathon Fargo, ND
84 98 Spring Lake 5 Miler Spring Lake, NJ
69 81 Austin Marathon & Half Marathon Austin, TX
28 39 United Airlines NYC Half New York, NY
54 65 Richmond Marathon, Half Marathon, and 8K Richmond, VA
75 86 Falmouth Road Race Falmouth, MA

Biggest Growth – Growth in % terms from 2017 was over 10% for the top 10 growth races.

Race Location Growth
The Great Pumpkin Run Virtual 245%
McGuire’s St. Patrick’s Day Prediction 5K Run Pensacola, FL 32%
Flying Pig Marathon Cincinnati, OH 19%
Philadelphia Marathon, Half Marathon, and Rothman Institute 8K Philadelphia, PA 16%
Hot Chocolate 15K/5K – Chicago Chicago, IL 16%
Hot Chocolate 15K/5K – San Francisco San Francisco, CA 13%
United Airlines NYC Half New York, NY 13%
Air Force Marathon Dayton, OH 11%
Hot Chocolate 15k/5k Columbus, OH 11%


Missing Races – Again, Disney has a big impact here since DisneyLand in California did not have races in 2018 due to construction.

2017 Rank Canceled Races Location
24 Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend- The Light Side Anaheim, CA
38 Tinker Bell Half Marathon and 10K Anaheim, CA
50 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend Anaheim, CA
64 Avengers Half Marathon Anaheim, CA
103 Rock ‘n’ Roll Brooklyn Brooklyn, NY

New Races – This left room for some new races, and there is always some natural turnover or superstar races that rise rapidly. The creme of that list in 2018 was The Great Pumpkin Run’s virtual race.

2018 Rank New Additions
59 The Great Pumpkin Run Virtual
77 McGuire’s St. Patrick’s Day Prediction 5K Run Pensacola, FL
78 Hot Chocolate 15k/5k – San Francisco San Francisco, CA
91 Hot Chocolate 15k/5k – Columbus Columbus, OH
95 Hot Chocolate 15K/5K – Scottsdale Scottsdale, AZ
97 BAA 5k Boston, MA

Registration Provider – Well, since this is how we make our money we need to track this :-). This stat changes relatively slowly, although there will be some changes next year as a number of races switched providers after their 2018 race. This chart shows the 2018 race stats. Active is still the largest. RunSignup, Haku and RaceRoster all have positive momentum over the past couple of years and continuing into 2019.

RAM Racing / Enmotive is doing well with the Hot Chocolate series as well as continuing to acquire timing businesses.  GetMeRegistered is now part of StackSports. Both Stack and Enmotive are taking an approach of doing timing and technology. It will be interesting to see how that progresses in the future, as RunSignup pursues a pure technology strategy and an open platform approach relative to timers.

Registration Platform Top 100 Races for 2018
Active 17
RunSignUp 16
Custom 9
Enmotive/RAMRacing 9
Haku 8
imAthlete 7
GetMeRegistered 6
RaceRoster 6
Athlinks 5

 Top 100 Road Races in the US – Overall List

2018 Rank 2018 Finishers Name Location 2018 Jump Rank 2018 % Growth Growth 17to18 Spot 2017
1 54,804 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Lake Buena Vista, FL 10 81% 24,559 11
2 54,626 AJC Peachtree Roadrace 10K Atlanta, GA -1 -1% -696 1
3 52700 TCS New York City Marathon New York City, NY -1 4% 2,059 2
4 44,580 Bolder Boulder Boulder, CO 0 2% 668 4
5 44543 Bank of America Chicago Marathon Chicago, IL -2 0% 196 3
6 38,068 Lilac Bloomsday Run Spokane, WA -1 -3% -1,275 5
7 36,726 Flying Pig Marathon Cincinnati, OH 3 19% 5,943 10
8 36,222 Blue Cross Broad Street Run Philadelphia, PA -2 -2% -736 6
9 33,185 Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Orlando, FL -1 2% 628 8
10 30548 Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV -3 -10% -3,345 7
11 29653 Hot Chocolate 15K/5K – Chicago Chicago, IL 9 16% 4,036 20
12 27,450 Cooper River Bridge Run Charleston, SC -3 -16% -5,080 9
13 27145 Marine Corps Marathon Washington, DC 1 0% -136 14
14 26793 Honolulu Marathon Honolulu, HI 4 2% 622 18
15 26,682 Gasparilla Distance Classic Race Weekend Tampa, FL 0 -2% -450 15
16 26,329 Star Wars – The Dark Side Weekend Orlando, FL -4 -6% -1,632 12
17 25,831 Boston Marathon Boston, MA 0 -2% -569 17
18 25,378 Brooklyn Half Marathon Brooklyn, NY -5 -8% -2,067 13
19 24845 Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend Orlando, FL 3 1% 189 22
20 24808 Army Ten Miler Washington, DC -1 -4% -980 19
21 24,572 Bay to Breakers San Francisco, CA -5 -8% -2,154 16
22 23,857 Oneamerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon Indianapolis, IN 5 5% 1,164 27
23 23,784 12th Annual Pat’s Run Tempe, AZ 2 0% 37 25
24 23572 Philadelphia Marathon, Half Marathon, and Rothman Institute 8K Philadelphia, PA 9 16% 3,209 33
25 23,283 Los Angeles Marathon Los Angeles, CA 3 3% 779 28
26 23,176 Chevron Houston Marathon / Aramco Half Marathon / ABB 5K Houston, TX 0 0% 7 26
27 22923 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon & Medtronic TC 10 Mile Minneapolis, MN 2 4% 778 29
28 21,957 United Airlines NYC Half New York, NY 11 13% 2,576 39
29 21,304 Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K Richmond, VA 1 -3% -661 30
30 21,283 San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon San Diego, CA -9 -14% -3,541 21
31 21,135 Pittsburgh Marathon Pittsburgh, PA 1 3% 626 32
32 20,892 Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle Chicago, IL 2 4% 895 34
33 20,828 St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Nashville Nashille, TN -10 -14% -3,277 23
34 19406 St. Jude Memphis Marathon Memphis, TN 2 -2% -417 36
35 19,188 Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Washington, DC 0 -4% -773 35
36 18,906 Lifetime Miami Marathon, Half Marathon & Tropical 5k Miami, FL 4 -2% -321 40
37 18,751 Statesman Capitol 10K Austin, TX 10 9% 1,625 47
38 18639 Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon and Half-Marathon San Antonio, TX 10 9% 1,583 48
39 18,116 Yuengling Shamrock Marathon, Half Marathon, and 8K Virginia Beach, VA 6 -1% -202 45
40 17752 Baltimore Running Festival Baltimore, MD 4 -4% -692 44
41 17,621 San Francisco Marathon San Francisco, CA -10 -16% -3,442 31
42 17568 Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank Marathon Detroit, MI 0 -8% -1,551 42
43 16749 Across the Bay 10K Annapolis, MD -2 -12% -2,384 41
44 15,908 Arizona Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Phoenix, AZ 2 -11% -2,015 46
45 15878 Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot San Jose, CA -2 -15% -2,800 43
46 15,752 Utica Boilermaker Road Race Utica, NY 8 0% -79 54
47 15,483 Grandma’s Marathon – Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon Duluth, MN 10 -1% -147 57
48 15,399 Shamrock Run Portland, OR 4 -5% -882 52
49 15,162 Oklahoma City Marathon Oklahoma City, OK 9 -1% -181 59
50 15031 Drumstick Dash Indianapolis, IN 9 -1% -211 60
51 14992 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon Indianapolis, IN 6 -2% -384 58
52 14,874 Cowtown Marathon Fort Worth, TX -16 -23% -4,565 37
53 14545 Richmond Marathon, Half Marathon, and 8K Richmond, VA 11 -1% -205 65
54 14,113 Gate River Run Jacksonville, FL 1 -10% -1,526 56
55 13,981 Fargo Marathon Fargo, ND 15 6% 803 71
56 13,791 Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Marathon Washington, DC -8 -19% -3,180 49
57 13,729 Crescent City Classic New Orleans, LA -3 -13% -2,053 55
58 13453 The Great Pumpkin Run Virtual 55 245% 9,548 unranked
59 13,418 Santa Cruz to Capitola Wharf to Wharf Race Santa Cruz, CA 9 -1% -152 69
60 13408 Detroit Thanksgiving Parade Turkey Trot Detroit, MI -10 -18% -2,936 51
61 13,360 Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans Marathon & 1/2 Marathon New Orleans, LA -9 -16% -2,516 53
62 13,224 Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon Chicago, IL -2 -12% -1,767 61
63 13076 The Ohio State 4 Miler Columbus, OH 4 -7% -959 68
64 12,618 Surf City USA Marathon and Half Marathon Huntington Beach, CA 12 6% 776 76
65 12597 New Balance Bronx New York, NY -3 -16% -2,392 62
66 12335 Columbus Marathon Columbus, OH 7 -4% -501 73
67 12,107 Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Seattle, WA -4 -18% -2,692 63
68 11,796 Great Aloha Run Honolulu, HI 2 -11% -1,467 70
69 11,669 Austin Marathon & Half Marathon Austin, TX 12 2% 177 81
70 11654 The Giant Race San Francisco, CA -4 -17% -2,444 66
71 11,598 Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon and Half Marathon Champaign, IL -4 -17% -2,442 67
72 11590 Air Force Marathon Dayton, OH 21 11% 1,170 93
73 11477 NYRR Staten Island Half Marathon and 5K(dropped in 2017) Staten Island, NY 21 11% 1,113 94
74 11,446 NYRR Five-Borough Series: Queens 10K Queens, NY 8 0% 1 82
75 11063 Falmouth Road Race Falmouth, MA 11 1% 162 86
76 11057 Buffalo YMCA TURKEY TROT 8 KILOMETER RACE Buffalo, NY -2 -11% -1,354 74
77 10967 McGuire’s St. Patrick’s Day Prediction 5K Run Pensacola, FL 34 32% 2,683 unranked
78 10,870 Hot Chocolate 15K/5K – San Francisco San Francisco, CA 23 13% 1,288 unranked
79 10,868 Fifth Third River Bank Run Grand Rapids, MI -7 -16% -2,126 72
80 10,707 OC Marathon New Port Beach, CA 7 -1% -106 87
81 10335 BMW Dallas Marathon Dallas, TX -2 -12% -1,427 79
82 10323 Long Beach Marathon and Half Marathon Long Beach, CA -4 -12% -1,459 78
83 10303 City of Pittsburgh Great Race Pittsburgh, PA -6 -13% -1,556 77
84 10270 Spring Lake 5 Miler Spring Lake, NJ 14 1% 89 98
85 10238 Thanksgiving Day Race Cincinnati, OH 0 -8% -863 85
86 9,978 Hot Chocolate 15K/5K – Dallas Dallas, TX 6 -6% -619 92
87 9,753 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon Louisville, KY 9 -6% -573 96
88 9687 Hot Chocolate 15K/5K – Seattle Seattle, WA 3 -9% -914 91
89 9,359 Bellin Run Green Bay, WI 1 -12% -1,285 90
90 9244 Manchester Road Race Manchester, CT -7 -18% -2,038 83
91 9039 Hot Chocolate 15k/5k Columbus, OH 21 11% 886 unranked
92 9037 San Jose Rock n Roll San Jose, CA -4 -15% -1,655 88
93 8934 Rock ‘n’ Roll Savannah Marathon & 1/2 Marathon Savannah, GA -13 -24% -2,781 80
94 8908 Crim Festival of Races Flint, MI -5 -17% -1,774 89
95 8748 Hot Chocolate 15K/5K – Scottsdale Scottsdale, AZ 11 2% 190 unranked
96 8712 Hot Chocolate 15K/5K – San Diego San Diego, CA 4 -10% -1,019 100
97 8670 BAA 5k Boston, MA 7 -3% -253 unranked
98 8,664 Lincoln Marathon & Half Marathon Lincoln, NE 1 -15% -1,510 99
99 8522 Rock n Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon Philadelphia, PA -15 -24% -2,705 84
100 8436 Hot Chocolate 15K/5K – Philly Philadelphia, PA -5 -18% -1,896 95

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