Our annual RaceTrends Report is here, breaking down the participation numbers and industry trends from 2022 to help you make better predictions and more successful decisions in 2023. You can access the full report below, or register for our webinar (this Thursday, 1/26) for a breakdown of the most important data points.
The headline from this year’s report is that race participation has improved since 2021, but average participation still lags behind 2019 levels. When comparing races that took place on RunSignup in both years, average race participation in 2022 was 16% higher than in 2021 – but that participation is still 10% lower than in 2019.
Additional Key Takeaways Include:
- Largest races were the hardest hit, with races of more than 5,000 participants averaging 19% fewer participants than in 2019 while races with fewer than 500 participants actually grew 3.4%
- 20% of 2019 events did not take place in 2022, including 14% that did not take place in either 2021 or 2022
- Just 14% of participants from 2021 repeated the same event in 2022 (down from 19% in 2018)
- In-person experiences dominated over virtual events, making up 88% of all events and 93% of all participants.
- Prices have increased across all distances, with the average 10K price set 6% higher than in 2019 and 10% higher than in 2021 (when virtual events still significantly impacted pricing)
- Females make up the majority of participants, with 54% of participants identifying as female
- Youth participation continues to be a concern with 15% of all participants between 18-29(down from 18% in 2018)
- 25% of all registrations came on race week, consistent with race week registrations throughout the last 5 years
The report was built by mining RunSignup’s registration and finisher data covering a five-year period to generate transparent statistics, identify trends in the industry, and provide recommendations to boost endurance event participation. It is estimated that the data on RunSignup accounts for 35-40% of the US endurance market. The data in RunSignup’s 2022 RaceTrends report includes more than 68,000 race events and 8.3 million registration.
Want more data? We love data, too. While there’s no single aggregator of endurance industry information, there are a few good sources that we look at for more insight into the industry.
- The State of Trail Running 2022 for a look at trends at international trail running
- Ultra Running State of Our Sport for data and insights from Human Potential Running
- Running USA Runner Surveys and additional research (free for members)