RunSignup’s annual RaceTrends report shows event participation down 10% from 2019

RunSignup, the leading technology solution for US endurance events, announces its Annual RaceTrends Report providing an evaluation of the state of the endurance industry. Overall indications show that the industry continued to rebound from pandemic impacts in 2022, but enthusiasm for races has not yet fully returned to 2019 levels.

RunSignup’s RaceTrends report shows that race participation grew an average of 16% compared to 2021, but races struggled to achieve pre-COVID participation, with race participation still down an average of 10% from 2019. Large races appear to be the most impacted by lagging participation, 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% compared to 2019.

Additional key takeaways include:

• 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 registrations.

CEO and Founder Bob Bickel said, “The numbers from 2022 confirm what our customers have been reporting: Endurance events continue to face some headwinds. However, we are seeing some successes and stabilization in the industry. Race organizers who take a proactive approach to increasing awareness for their events and provide incentives like referral programs are helping to drive the rebound in participation levels. We are definitely seeing positive trends and predict this slow rebound will continue in 2023 .”

Join RunSignup’s webinar on January 26, 2023 to learn more about the key findings of the 2022 RaceTrends report, or read the full report for free at: https://info.runsignup.com/knowledge-base/industry-reports/