Where have all the runners gone?

The lockdown running boom has not translated into a rise in entry levels. In fact, a number of events are starting to struggle

If you cast your mind back to the pandemic, you may remember the significant number of people who took up running during lockdown. 

These were individuals that, before Covid-19, hadn’t really engaged with the sport and the hope was that, ultimately, they would take the next steps with their new hobby and sign up to mass participation events when life returned to something approaching normality. 

However, that didn’t quite turn out to be the case. The current trend actually shows that entries are significantly lower than the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. According to Find A Race, events earlier this year were seeing an average of 26 per cent fewer submissions in comparison to three years ago. The two disciplines which have suffered the biggest downfall in participation – a decrease of 30 to 35 per cent – are half marathons and 10km events. 

Participation figures for parkruns, viewed as the gateway event into mass participation races, are also down by around 23 per cent in relation to 2019. 

Find A Race also states that interest in half marathons online has plummeted between 2019 and 2022. Between January and May, when people usually map out which events they want to sign up to in the summer, searches on the internet dropped between 30 and 52 per cent. 

What’s the reason for this? Firstly, the market to host mass participation events in running is saturated. There are myriad options for various distance races next year, often with a number of events taking place on the same day. 

The prime suspect, however, is the cost of living crisis. At a time when people in the UK are concerned about energy bills and mortgages, there is an understandable desire to be more selective about where they spend their money. 

Events such as the London Marathon, which saw 410,000 people enter the ballot for a place in the 2023 edition, appear to have maintained their popularity – though the majors are not entirely immune. 

Organisers of the Boston Marathon recently announced that, for the second year in a row, everyone who qualified and applied for the event will get to run – a far cry from the pre-Covid clamour for places. However, it’s undoubtedly the medium and smaller scale events which are feeling the biggest impact. 

There was the worrying recent story of the Brighton Marathon…