Posted: July 11, 2006

Athletics: 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)

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 rric@runningusa.org.

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 info@nsga.org, 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 [ryan@runningusa.org] or Linda Honikman [rric@runningusa.org].

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director
(805) 696-6232; Fax = (805) 659-0016
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.RunningUSA.org.

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