RunSignup’s Annual RaceTrends Report Shows Per-Race Participation Growth of 5%

February 2, 2026

Moorestown, NJ (February 2, 2026) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – RunSignup, the leading technology solution for U.S. endurance events, has released its Annual RaceTrends Report, providing an appraisal of the state of the endurance industry. While growth has slowed from the rapid rise following COVID lows, races continued to see increasing participation and a stable market.

RunSignup’s RaceTrends report shows that race participation grew an average of 5% from 2024 to 2025, after growing 8% in 2024 and 11% in 2023. Additionally, just 3% of 2024 races (with more than 500 participants) did not take place in 2025 – the lowest churn rate RunSignup has reported since it began tracking the metric in 2018.

Additional key takeaways include:

• November, the Turkey Trot month, had the highest race growth rate at 10%, while the spring months of March, April, and May had the slowest growth.
• 24% of all registrations were on race week, largely consistent with previous years, while race day registrations increased slightly to 3% of participants.
• Most races are small, with 86% of race weekends hosting fewer than 500 participants. Less than 1% of events exceed 5,000 participants, and 13% of participants are taking part in a large race (over 5,000).
• Average prices continued to increase across all race distances, with marathon prices rising 5%. This follows multiple years of increases – 10K prices have gone up 21% since 2019.
• Young adult runners have returned to events, with 18-29 year-olds making up 18% of all participants, the highest participation rate for that age group since 2017.
• Easy registration is key, with 63% of all transactions taking place on a mobile device and 42% of registrants opting to pay via a saved credit card or Apple Pay.
• The RaceDay CheckIn app is widely used, with 51% of races using the app to check-in 60% of participants. Races using the app ranged in size from less than 100 to more than 26,000.

The RaceTrends report was built by mining RunSignup’s registration and finisher data to generate transparent reporting, identify industry trends, and provide recommendations to the endurance market. It is estimated that the data on RunSignup accounts for at least 50% of the U.S. endurance market. The data in RunSignup’s 2025 RaceTrends report includes more than 97,000 race events and 12.2 million registrations.

CEO and Founder Bob Bickel said, “The 2025 data shows a strong market, even as the post-COVID boom slows. What’s working? Family traditions like Turkey Trots, social participation through teams and referral programs, and real-time photos and tracking are driving better race experiences and creating a long-lasting endurance community. We are looking forward to seeing what 2026 brings!”

To see more trends from the last year, sign up for RunSignup’s State of the Industry webinar on February 5, 2026, or read the full report for free at: https://www.runsignup.com/trends

About RunSignup

RunSignup, an employee-owned company, is the leading event solution delivering the art of technology to endurance events and nonprofits. More than 39,000 events use our free and open platform to register over 12 million annual participants, raise more than $3 billion and grow their events. Our expertly crafted, open and all-in-one solution powers event revenue generation and supporter engagement through flexible registration, free event websites, free email marketing, integrated fundraising, and a suite of RaceDay Real-Time products. No subscriptions, no plans, no monthly fees.

To find out why customers like the Richmond Marathon, American Cancer Society, and RaceDay Events use RunSignup, visit www.runsignup.com