Latest running articles

We surveyed 3,961 current runners to investigate how many began during the pandemic. We wanted to learn about their motivations for running, whether they’ll participate in races, and how they differ from those that began before COVID. You can see more running stats, facts, and trends here. Key findings: 28.76% of current runners started running during the pandemic These new-pandemic runners are 19.82% less likely to participate in in-person races over the next 12 m[…]

We’ve tracked 12 million price points on more than 2000 pairs of running shoes and 5000 sneakers over 7 years from +200 retailers to give you the scientific answer to when is the best time to buy. Most articles say “spring” or “March/April” with the argument that this is when new models are replacing old models so the old models are sold cheaper. We’ll be testing that hypothesis out in this article to see if it holds true (hint: it&rsq[…]

Back in April we surveyed 12,913 people and found that moderate runners (those running just 1-3 times a week) prior to the lockdown were finding more time to run and as a group were logging 55% more runs. We just completed another survey of 2,712 runners to see what they plan to do in 2021 to hit their fitness goals. This was part of another study we just published on Gym Member trends. Key Findings 84.78% of runners said that outdoor activities like running and working[…]

Faster doesn’t mean better. This analysis covers 2,348,505 marathon results achieved during the 2009-2019 period. The purpose was to analyze differences in pace throughout the marathon between women and men. The data has shown that women are 18.33% better at keeping an even pace than men. They burn out less in the 2nd half of the marathon. You are welcome to use material from this analysis as long as you refer to it. For special requests or questions, email Jovana[…]

Some 20 - 25 minutes of running can transform your mind, body, and soul. This is not an exaggeration. All these exericise benefits are backed by various scientific studies. When you read about just one or two benefits, it is easy to overlook and continue with your sedentary routine. We wanted to create something more powerful. Something that is hard to ignore. So, we reviewed and compiled hundreds of studies to present the incredible, almost life-changing effects of runn[…]

This analysis covers 29,190 results achieved by 354 Russian athletes, dispersed over 4,691 events, during the 1993-2019 period. Given the current controversy regarding doping at the Olympic Games, with a specific focus on Russian athletes, we decided to see what the actual numbers have to say. For this purpose, we focused only on athletics (track and field) and analyzed the results of Russian athletes who competed at the Summer Olympic Games during the 1993-2019 period.[…]

The world is in crisis because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between government lockdowns, layoffs, furloughs, work from home mandates, school closures, and sports facility shutdowns, we wanted to understand how this virus is affecting the exercise habits of people around the globe. We surveyed 12,913 participants from 139 countries between March 24th and March 30th to gather data on how Coronavirus has changed their physical activity routines. Surprisingly, people are exerc[…]

For this study, we analyzed 19.6 million results from over 16 thousand marathon races. We recently published our mega-study on the state of running, where we found that the world, and in particular, the marathoners from the US are getting slower. We became curious to see how the 50 individual states +D.C. are performing. Feel free to use any material from this page, as long as you refer to this original source. We've also created a tool that can help you compare your rac[…]

This stats page is a simple look at the participation patterns of runners in the 5 most common distances - 5K, 10K, Half marathon, Marathon and Ultra. In the next tables, we show what % of the runners run 1, 2, 3, etc. or more races in a particular distance, per year, to see which distance has the most insatiable participants that keep coming back for more. We've decided to call this metric Obsession. Key Findings Ultrarunning has the most obsessed runners. 41.02% of ult[…]

NEW: The State of US Marathons 2025 In this study, we explore the trends in ultra running over the last 23 years. We have analyzed 5,010,730 results from 15,451 ultra running events, making this the largest study ever done on the sport. Key results Female ultra runners are faster than male ultra runners at distances over 195 miles. The longer the distance the shorter the gender pace gap. In 5Ks men run 17.9% faster than women, at marathon distance the difference is just[…]