Endurance Events Surpass Pre-Pandemic Participation Levels

January 9, 2026

Average Event Participation in 2025 Is 8% Higher Than 2019

Moorestown, NJ — January 9, 2026 /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – RunSignup, the leading registration and technology provider for endurance events in the United States, reports endurance event participation has fully rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic and now exceeds pre-pandemic levels. Based on year-over-year analysis of the same events held before and after the pandemic, RunSignup data shows that the average endurance event in 2025 has 8% more participants than it did in 2019. With more than 50% market share in the endurance event registration industry, RunSignup is uniquely positioned to identify participation trends that can be extrapolated to the industry as a whole.

The industry analysis findings are drawn from RunSignup’s analysis of events that occurred in multiple years on its platform, allowing for accurate “apples-to-apples” year-over-year comparisons. The study focuses on endurance events with more than 500 participants and includes a growing set of events each year, reflecting the increasing number of races using RunSignup.

“There has been a lot of speculation about whether endurance events would return to pre-COVID levels, or even see dramatic growth coming out of the pandemic,” said Bob Bickel, Founder and CEO of RunSignup. “What our data shows is a clear and measurable recovery. Participation is up compared to 2019, and while growth varies by event, the overall trend is positive and sustainable across the industry.”

RunSignup reviewed year-to-year participation changes as well as detailed month-by-month comparisons to better understand how the recovery unfolded across different seasons. While individual events experienced a wide range of outcomes, the aggregated data indicates steady growth rather than the extreme spikes sometimes suggested anecdotally.

Summary of Findings

• The average endurance event in 2025 has 8% higher participation than in 2019
• Analysis includes events with 500+ participants
• Comparisons are based on the same events held year over year
• The dataset expands annually, mirroring the growing adoption of RunSignup by endurance events

Looking Ahead

RunSignup’s data confirms that endurance events are growing again following the pandemic, though not at the outsized levels sometimes speculated. RunSignup will release additional insights and deeper analysis in its upcoming Annual Industry Trends Report, scheduled for release later this year.

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.