FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ryan Lamppa
(805) 696-6232
RRIC Annual Marathon Report 2006
Record number of U.S. marathons with 1,000 finishers or more; ING New York
City largest ever; record 5 marathons with over 30,000 finishers
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - (May 20, 2007) - As the 2007 spring marathon season
winds down marked by the trend-setting 10th Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San
Diego on June 3, Running USA's Road Running Information Center presents its
annual marathon report and overview, and 2006 was another record setting
and noteworthy year - with a few surprises - for the 26.2 mile distance in
the United States and world-wide as the following tables, summaries and
lists attest.
Gender and Age Group Breakdown
1980 1995 2000 2005 2006
Women 10.5% 26% 38% 41% 40%
Men 89.5% 74% 62% 59% 60%
Masters (40 yrs+) 26% 41% 44% 44% 46%
Open (20 to 39 yrs) 69% 57% 54% 54% 52%
Juniors (under 20) 5% 2% 2% 2% 2%
Median Age
1980 1995 2000 2005 2006
Males 34 38 38 40 40
Females 31.3 35 35 35 35
Median Age Overall 37 38 38
Median Times for U.S. Marathon Finishers
1980 1995 2002 2005 2006
Males 3:32:17 3:54:00 4:20:01 4:20:29 4:15:34
Females 4:03:39 4:15:00 4:56:46 4:51:19 4:46:40
2006 Marathon Snapshot
In the U.S., there was a 2.2% increase in finishers for the same 302
marathons for 2005 and 2006, while outside the United States, the same 156
marathons in both years showed a slight decline of 0.8%.
Year Estimated U.S. Marathon Finisher Total
1976 25,000
1980 143,000
1990 224,000
1995 293,000
2000 353,000
2003 365,000
2004 386,000
2005 395,000
2006 410,000
Note: the above finisher estimates reflect an adjustment from previous RRIC
estimates because the marathon universe (i.e., the number of marathons with
full results) is more complete.
To answer the demand for the 26.2 mile challenge, new marathons continue to
be launched across the country, and over the past 5 years, the U.S. has
averaged over 20 inaugural marathons a year. In 2006, there were three
inaugural marathons - Denver, Tulsa World Route 66 and OBX - with more than
1,000 finishers with OBX in North Carolina leading the way with 1,519
finishers.
Marathon Growth Fuels New Records
Last year in the U.S., a record 61 marathons had at least 1,000 finishers.
The previous record was 58 U.S. marathons in 2004 and 2005 (tie). Thirty
years ago, during the First Running Boom, there were only 12 U.S. marathons
with 1,000 finishers or more.
In addition, 2006 set a record as the largest 100 U.S. marathons produced
360,597 finishers or a 3,606 average per marathon (the old top 100 record
was 350,258 finishers / 3,503 average in 2005). Fifteen years ago, the top
100 marathons in the U.S. had 215,551 finishers, a 2,156 average size. In
other words, the top 100 largest U.S. marathons in 2006 were 67% larger on
average than in 1992.
More fast times, more slow times
The upcoming 10th edition of the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon is an example of
how walkers and charity fundraisers have helped marathons grow. Groups such
as Team in Training have produced many slower finishers - in fact 2,857
participants (18% of the field) took more than 6 hours to complete the
course. Of that slower, mostly walking group, 76% were women. Another event
known for slower participants is Honolulu which had 10,428 over 6 hour
finishers (42% of the field). But the event with second largest group of
over 6 finishers (8,499) is LaSalle Bank Chicago which is also known for
its fast fields. Nationwide the number of runner/walkers finishing a 2006
marathon in over 6 hours was approximately 11% of the total and of those,
63% were women.
While more relaxed participants are bringing up the rear, the number of
marathoners running better than 4 hours has also increased. As Table 2
illustrates, the number of sub-4 hour finishers has more than doubled at
the Boston and Chicago marathons in the last decade. Overall, about 30% of
2006 marathoners finished in less than 4 hours. Of those, 76% were male.
The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon and ING New York City Marathon lead the
way for finishers under 3 hours with 982 and 889 respectively. Chicago also
had the most top 10 finishers in 2006 (5 men and 5 women).
2006 U.S. Marathons (> 1000 finishers) with the…
… Fastest Median Times
1995 2004 2005 2006
Boston 3:53:03 3:44:47
Steamtown 3:54:29 3:55:36 3:54:24
American Express Philadelphia 3:41:47 4:04:38 4:02:57 4:01:18
Rite Aid Cleveland 3:55:51 4:05:47 4:05:38 4:09:11
… Slowest Median Times
1995 2004 2005 2006
Honolulu 5:50:19 5:42:41 5:39:40 5:43:29
City of Los Angeles 4:50:30 5:53:01 5:26:49 5:23:45
… Most < 4 Hour Finishers
1995 2004 2005 2006
Boston 6467(68%) 5490(33%) 10260(59%) 13341(68%)
ING New York City 10750(34%) 8270(22%) 12168(32%)
LaSalle Bank Chicago 4286(50%) 8868(27%) 10740(33%) 11608(35%)
… Most >6 Hour Finishers
2006
Honolulu 10428(42%)
LaSalle Bank Chicago 8499(25%)
City of Los Angeles 6764(33%)
… Earliest Last Finish Time
Napa 5:30:00
Big Sur 6:07:00
… Most Finishers in certain Age Groups
Event 2006 Subtotals
Female Juniors City of Los Angeles 1198
Male Juniors City of Los Angeles 1536
Females 20-29 LaSalle Bank Chicago 5282
Males 20-29 LaSalle Bank Chicago 3846
Females 30-39 LaSalle Bank Chicago 5060
Males 30-39 ING New York City 8334
Female Masters 40+ ING New York City 5210
Male Masters 40+ ING New York City 14230
Females 50+ Honolulu 2049
Males 60+ Honolulu 1683
… Highest Percent Women
2005 2006
Nike Women's 91.3% 94.0%
Portland 55.5% 56.5%
Rock 'n Roll San Diego 53.2% 53.3%
… Highest Percent Men
2005 2006
Steamtown 68.6% 69.0%
Rite Aid Cleveland 69.7% 66.4%
ING New York City 67.3% 67.5%
… Highest Percent Masters (40+ yrs)
2005 2006
Boston 54.8% 55.4%
Steamtown 58.9% 54.8%
Chevron Houston 49.0% 51.2%
… Lowest Percent Masters (40+ yrs)
2005 2006
Nike Women's 27.6% 33.1%
Rock 'n Roll San Diego 35.0% 34.3%
Salt Lake City 37.0% 35.7%
Record five marathons with over 30,000 finishers in 2006
The ING New York City Marathon again retained the title as the world's
largest marathon based on its 37,866 finishers in 2006 - that total also
broke its record as the world's largest ever (36,856 finishers in 2005).
For the first time ever, five marathons - ING New York City, LaSalle Bank
Chicago, Flora London, Paris and real,- Berlin - surpassed the 30,000
finisher total and eight marathons - the five above, Honolulu, Marine Corps
and City of Los Angeles - recorded over 20,000 finishers. The U.S. again
had 7 of the 15 largest marathons in the world. For the largest marathons
last year, see the below.
2006
World's Largest Marathons (based on finishers):
1) ING New York City, NY 37,866 (largest ever)
2) LaSalle Bank Chicago, IL 33,635
3) Flora London, GBR 33,237
4) Paris, FRA 30,739
5) real,- Berlin, GER 30,118
6) Honolulu, HI 24,573
7) Marine Corps, DC 20,910
8) City of Los Angeles, CA 20,333
9) Boston, MA 19,682
10) Conenergy Hamburg, GER 16,375
11) Rock 'n' Roll, CA 15,759
12) Naha, JPN 15,108
13) Chosun Ilbo Chunchon, KOR 12,745
14) Stockholm, SWE 12,943
15) Ford Cologne, GER 10,434
U.S. Largest Marathons (based on finishers):
1) ING New York City, NY 37,866 (largest ever)
2) LaSalle Bank Chicago, IL 33,635
3) Honolulu, HI 24,573
4) Marine Corps, DC 20,910
5) City of Los Angeles, CA 20,333
6) Boston, MA 19,682
7) Rock 'n' Roll, CA 15,759
8) Walt Disney World, FL 10,148
9) Medtronic Twin Cities, MN 8,196
10) Portland, OR 7,724
11) P.F. Chang's RnR Arizona 7,436
12) Grandma's, MN 6,912
13) Philadelphia, PA 6,198
14) New Las Vegas Marathon, NV 6,016
15) Freescale Austin, TX 5,646
16) Chevron Houston, TX 5,414
17) St. George, UT 4,762
18) Nike Women's, CA 4,212
19) Cincinnati Flying Pig, OH 4,179
20) San Francisco, CA 4,086
Source: Running USA - RunningUSA.org
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