FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
State of the Sport of Running - Part II - American Runner Demographics
By Running USA's Road Running Information Center
In Part I of the State of the Sport, it was noted that the U.S. Running
Industry had a very good year in 2005. Part II focuses on American runner
demographics and Part III will provide details about the largest races in
the U.S. and growth trends for different distances.
Runners continue to be a well-educated and affluent group. The ASD
Superstudy reported that 16 million runners had annual household incomes of
$75,000 or more in 2005. And the NSGA Sporting Goods Market 2006 report
estimates that 54.5% of the users of running / jogging shoes had college
degrees, much higher than the 33.3% of the general U.S. population.
Gender Trends
The Road Running Information Center estimates that over the last 5 years
the male / female ratio in all running events including untimed races and
charity runs has been close to 50 / 50. For events that time all finishers,
the percent of women is a little less (47.6% in 2005, up from 42% in 2000).
The number of female users of running shoes purchased in 2005 was also
similar to the number of males (49.2% female / 50.8% male compared to 38.4%
female / 61.6% male in 1993 - NSGA). In 1993, the percent of women in
running events was only 28% (RRIC).
It is important to note that even though the percent of males has been
decreasing for both running shoe users and race entrants, the running 'pie'
is larger and thus the number of males in both groups has actually grown in
absolute terms.
Age Group Trends
The average (mean) ages for runners in the last 5 years of ASD reports have
varied from 27.6 to 30.8 years for males and 22.9 to 25.7 for females. Race
entrants on the other hand have always been a more mature group with an
average age of 34.9 for females in 2005 and 38.6 for males (RRIC). Even
though the average age has varied a little from year-to-year for specific
distances, the age for overall race entrants has not changed in the last 3
years. The largest age group for male race entrants in 2005 (approximately
33%) was 45+ years whereas the largest age group for females was 25 to 34
(about 34% of all females).
Much emphasis has been placed on the Masters Division in many road races,
but it's worth noting that according to the ASD Superstudy, there are more
than twice as many runners in the 18 to 24 age group as there are in the
45+ group for each gender. The RRIC reports that in U.S. road races the
percent of males in the 18 to 24 group increased from 6% in 2003 to 9.9% in
2005, but that growth was countered by a corresponding decrease in the
percent of females (10.6% of the females in 2003 compared to 7.8% in 2005).
One race series that did do a good job of attracting young adults last year
was the Nike Run Hit Wonder events in New York, Portland, Chicago and
Hollywood.
Gender, Age and Median Times by Distance in 2005 (RRIC)
2005 2002
WOMEN MEN WOMEN MEN
5K 50% 50% 60% 40%
Median Time 32:26 26:33 33:45 26:42
Average Age 33.8 36.5 34.2 36.5
% Masters - 40+ 39.7% 41%
% Juniors < 20 17.6% 14.1%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
10K 45% 55% 47.4% 52.6%
Median Time 1:00:39 53:05 1:02:43 53:58
Average Age 34.8 39 34.3 38.3
% Masters - 40+ 41.4% 40%
% Juniors < 20 7.3% 8.5%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Half-Marathon 53% 47% 48.8% 51.6%
Median Time 2:17:09 1:58:35 2:16:14 1:57:45
Average Age 36 39.2 34.9 38.9
% Masters - 40+ 41.7% 40%
% Juniors < 20 2.6% 2.3%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marathon 41% 59% 40% 60%
Median Time 4:51:19 4:20:29 4:56:46 4:20:01
Average Age 36 40.3 35.5 39.6
% Masters - 40+ 44.4% 43%
% Juniors < 20 1.9% 2.1%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click here for other distances
No such thing as 'Typical Runner'
Stats collected by the RRIC and others indicate that there are multiple
runner profiles such as:
1. Fitness and Fun Runners who prefer 5Ks and mega races which feature a
party atmosphere. They are mostly 18 to 29 and the majority are female
participants.
2. Competitive or Goal-Oriented Runners who train consistently during the
year, prefer the longer distance events and don't care about the size of
the race as long as it is well-organized. The majority are male
participants and they tend to be older.
3. Charity Runners who enter just one event a year (or once in their life).
There are more women than men and the average age is somewhere between the
fitness / fun runner and the competitive runner.
4. Trail Runners as defined by the Outdoor Industry Foundation are
primarily male, unmarried, live in the Western region and have an average
age of 29. "Comparatively, the trail running population is one of the most
ethnically diverse of all the outdoor activities measured and it is
becoming more diverse. In 2004 and 2005, a greater percentage of Hispanics
are participating." (OIF Outdoor Recreation Participation).
The RRIC expects that results from the upcoming Runner's World Subscriber
Study, a special Runner's World Readers Choice Survey and the new National
Runner Survey conducted by Running USA and the RRCA in the next 12 months
will provide more valuable insights into the preferences and habits of
runners and potential runners than we have had in the past. Any race
director, club or store owner wishing to participate and get useful
feedback for their own constituencies should contact the RRIC at
.
Sources
ASD = American Sports Data Inc. 2005 Superstudy of Sports Participation,
Volume I. To obtain information on sports demographic products and services
offered, contact Harvey Lauer at American Sports Data, Inc., 15 Kent Drive,
Cortlandt Manor, NY 10567; (914) 461-3271 or go to AmericanSportsData.com
NSGA = National Sporting Goods Association. NSGA Sports Participation
Series I for 2005 and NSGA Sporting Goods Market 2006. To obtain
information on any of the NSGA products and services email ,
phone (847) 296-6742 or go to NSGA.org.
OIF = Outdoor Industry Foundation's Outdoor Recreation Participant Study
for the Year 2005. Information on these reports as well as other useful
services for the outdoor industry can be obtained by visiting
OutdoorIndustryFoundation.org.
RRIC = Running USA's Road Running Information Center. State of the Sport
reports, many types of running data and analysis and lists of the Largest
Races from past years can be found on RunningUSA.org in the 'Statistics'
section. For other questions about running trends and demographics, contact
Ryan Lamppa [] or Linda Honikman [].
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