RunSignup’s annual RaceTrends report shows 21.6% growth compared to 2020, reversion to norms

RunSignup, the leading technology solution for US endurance events, released their Annual RaceTrends Report evaluating the state of the endurance industry. The overarching theme was simple: recovery and adaptation. While the data from 2021 reflects some uncertainty and interruption, the overall patterns show a clear and defined trend back towards “normal”.

The topline of the report looks at per-event participation in endurance events and shows that participation in 2021 grew significantly from 2020 but still lagged compared to 2019. While events that were on the platform in both 2020 and 2021 saw an average growth of 21.6%, participation was still down from pre-pandemic years, with 2021 events seeing an average decrease of 23% from 2019. Shifting event types, from in-person to virtual and back again, contributed to lower loyalty levels and fewer participants returning to the same event year after year.

Key takeaways regarding overall participation include:

• 2021 participation levels improved throughout the year, with October 2021 participation just 11.9% below that of the same month in 2019
• 18% of 2019 events did not recur in 2020, including 10.7% that did not take place in either 2020 or 2021
• In-person events bounced back, with 79.6% of participants opting for in-person events (compared to 59.8% in 2020), but remained significantly higher than in 2019 when just 1% of participants were virtual

Despite the continued impact of the pandemic on overall participation, most data points showed patterns that were remarkably similar to pre-pandemic years. The timing of registrations, demographics, and average pricing all reverted to levels that resembled 2019. Notable trends include:

• 55.4% of participants identified as female, on-par with the 55.8% who registered as female in 2019
• 25.2% of participants registered on race week, much like the 24.2% of race week registrations in 2019
• Despite downward pricing pressure from virtual events, 5K’s in 2021 were down just 2.3% compared to 2019, coming in at an average of $27.40

Race day trends from the year include growth in the roster of services offered by race timers, rapid adoption of the RaceDay CheckIn App, and an increase in spectator participation for events using the RaceJoy runner tracking app.

The report was built by mining RunSignup’s registration and finisher data over a five-year period to generate transparent statistics, identify trends in the industry, and provide recommendations to make endurance events viable amidst a crisis. It is estimated that the data on RunSignup accounts for 30-40% of the US endurance market, and the data in the 2021 report includes more than 59,000 race events and 6.3 million registrations.

CEO and Founder Bob Bickel said, “Considering the challenges facing the industry over the last two years, it’s remarkable how much recovery we saw this year. We expect to see some lingering impacts but are encouraged by the enthusiastic return of in-person participants and the identifiable trend back towards normalcy.”

Join our webinar on February 2, 2022 to learn more about the key findings of the 2021 RaceTrends report, read the full report for free at: https://runsignup.com/trends, or look for an upcoming episode of the Head Start podcast.