Can you guess the most popular race distance for 2014? The 5k still holds the number one position with 15,200 races. There were 3,200 10k's, 1,020 8k/5mile races 1,900 half marathons and 850 marathons. There were also 4,400 races of "other" distances.
That is one heck of a lot of races. Half-marathon finishers grew from 612,000 in 2006 to 1,960,000 for 2013, a 300% increase! Sixty-one percent of half-marathon finishers are female. The One America Indiana 500 festival led with 34,000 finishers. The median time has slowed by 3 minutes for males and females, from 1:58 in 2006 to 2:01 in 2013 for men and 2:16 (2006) to 2:19 (2013) for females.
The biggest increase has been the number of people who take longer than three hours to finish - a 13:44 pace. It comes as no surprise to me that 3 of the top 5 half-marathons with the most number of 3+ hour finishers are; Disney Princess (11,000), Walt Disney World (7,343) and Disneyland (6,400). The two others making the top five are San Francisco and One America 500 Indiana. Disney usually doesn't have to worry about public roadways to close down, has lots of staff to assist with the races, built in safety and security personnel and wants to make sure you enjoy the experience. For every person finishing the race there are probably another three who come to the park.
On a semi-related note, a new race timing organization has come to the Rochester, NY area. Racewire. They are currently in thirteen states and, for this region anyhow, seem to be competing directly with YellowJacket Racing and Score-This! They already took Vino & the Beast and Mind the Ducks 12 hr races away from YJR, or maybe YJR just didn't want those races anymore? Hopefully the competition is good for runners and doesn't just benefit the timing companies.
1 comment:
I think we're seeing the evolution of road racing. Many of the participants are there for the event/venue/medal rather than the race. The folks who played Happy Feet soccer and and were in Little League where everybody gets a medal for showing up have grown up! People aren't so hard on themselves about their times in these "athletic events" - they are very satisfied with crossing the finish line. The upside is lots of people are out there moving and enjoying being active. That can only be a good thing I think!
Post a Comment