EN
2008 ING NYC Marathon NYC, NY November 2, 2008 Photo: Victah Sailer@Photo Run 631-741-1865 Victah1111@aol.com www.photorun.NET
Running USA Annual Marathon Report – By Ryan Lamppa
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – (March 23, 2014) – With the spring marathon season opening, it is time for Running USA's annual Marathon Report. Despite several cancellations due to weather and the Boston Marathon terror attack, 2013 was another record year for the classic distance with more than 1,100 marathons run across the country generating 541,000 finishers with a breakdown of 57% men and 43% women (a new high).
Last year, we reported that the estimated number of U.S. marathon finishers had declined from a record high 518,000 finishers in 2011 to 487,000 in 2012 (a 6% decrease), but like 2001, most of the decline was attributed to a unique situation; in 2001, it was post-9/11 travel impacting fall marathons, and in 2012, the ING New York City Marathon, the world's largest 26.2 mile race with 47,000-plus finishers, was cancelled due to the destruction of Hurricane Sandy.
If the NYC Marathon had been held in 2012, there is no doubt that the 2012 overall marathon finisher total would have exceeded the 2011 record of 518,000 marathon finishers.
2013 was also another year of unlikely perils impacting U.S. marathons. On April 15, the Boston Marathon's finish line area suffered an act of terror, 4 hours, 9 minutes, 43 seconds into the race. In addition, two large-scale December events, the MetroPCS Dallas White Rock Marathon and St. Jude Memphis Marathon were cancelled due to inclement weather, both the same weekend.
The result of those unable to finish the Boston Marathon as well as event cancellations was approximately 13,000 fewer marathon finishers for 2013 in those events. But the return of the New York City Marathon (left, PhotoRun) with its record 50,266 finishers helped push the aforementioned 2013 number to a new high.
Overall, there was a negligible -0.7% decrease in finishers from the same 372 U.S. marathons for 2012 and 2013 (435,472 vs. 432,577). NOTE: because of the terror attack towards the end of the 2013 Boston Marathon, 2012 and 2013 finisher numbers for said marathon were not included in the same marathon comparison. There was a 1.6% increase in finishers from the same 388 U.S. marathons for 2011 and 2012 (464,122 vs. 471,595).
Since 1990, there has been more than a 140% increase in U.S. marathon finishers (224,000 vs. 541,000) and over the past decade, a 40% increase (386,000 vs. 541,000).
See finisher snapshot table further below.
The following tables and lists represent a summary of the demographics and stats and trends for U.S. marathons and worldwide rankings. Per the tables below, U.S. marathon demographics – gender, age group, median age and median time – have remained essentially static in recent years.
TABLE 1
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Gender and Age Group Breakdown |
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1980 |
1995 |
2000 |
2005 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
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Women |
10% |
26% |
38% |
41% |
41% |
41% |
42% |
43% |
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|
Men |
90% |
74% |
62% |
59% |
59% |
59% |
58% |
57% |
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|
Masters (40 yrs+) |
26% |
41% |
44% |
44% |
46% |
46% |
46% |
47% |
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|
Open (20 – 39 yrs) |
69% |
57% |
54% |
54% |
52% |
52% |
52% |
50% |
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Juniors (under 20) |
5% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
3% |
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Female |
Male |
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6-17 yrs |
1% |
1% |
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18-24 yrs |
9% |
6% |
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25-34 yrs |
35% |
25% |
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35-44 yrs |
31% |
31% |
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45-54 yrs |
18% |
24% |
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55-64 yrs |
5% |
10% |
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65+ yrs |
1% |
3% |
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Median Age |
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1980 |
1995 |
2000 |
2005 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
(Mean) |
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Males |
34 |
38 |
38 |
40 |
40 |
40 |
40 |
40 |
(40.2 yrs) |
|
Females |
31 |
35 |
35 |
35 |
35 |
35 |
35 |
35 |
(36.6 yrs) |
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Median Age Overall |
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37 |
38 |
37 |
37 |
37 |
36 |
(39.0 yrs) |
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Median Times for U.S. Marathon Finishers |
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1980 |
1995 |
2002 |
2005 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
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Males |
3:32:17 |
3:54:00 |
4:20:01 |
4:20:29 |
4:16:14 |
4:16:34 |
4:17:43 |
4:16:24 |
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|
Females |
4:03:39 |
4:15:00 |
4:56:46 |
4:51:19 |
4:42:10 |
4:42:15 |
4:42:58 |
4:41:38 |
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| Year | Estimated U.S. Marathon Finisher Total | |||
| 1976 | 25,000 |
| 1980 | 143,000 |
| 1990 | 224,000 |
| 1995 | 293,000 |
| 2000 | 353,000 |
| 2004 | 386,000 |
| 2005 | 395,000 |
| 2006 | 410,000 |
| 2007 | 412,000 |
| 2008 | 425,000 |
| 2009 | 467,000 |
| 2010 | 507,000 |
| 2011 | 518,000 |
| 2012 | 487,000 | * |
| 2013 | 541,000 | (all-time high) |
| *NOTE: ING New York City Marathon cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy (47,000-plus likely finishers if held). |
Number of U.S. marathons exceeds 1,100 – new record
Last year, there were 92 U.S. marathons reporting more than 1,000 finishers, the third most ever (record is 94 in 2011 and 2012). Over the past 25 years, the number of U.S. marathons with more than 1,000 finishers in a single year has increased 360% (20 in 1989 vs. 92 in 2013).
There were also two inaugural U.S. marathons with more than 1,000 finishers: BMO Harris Bank Phoenix (1,434 finishers) and Edward Hospital Naperville (1,079), and overall, there were at least 30 debut marathons in this country and most of them were relatively small (less than 300 finishers).
In 2013, there were a 1,100-plus U.S. marathons contested, another record; compared to approximately 300 marathons in 2000.
TABLE 2
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2013 U.S. Marathons (>1,000 finishers) with the… |
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… Fastest Median Times |
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2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
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Boston |
3:44:04 |
3:44:17 |
3:44:58 |
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3:31:17 |
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Lehigh Valley Health Network Via |
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3:49:56 |
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Mountains 2 Beach |
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3:52:51 |
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Baystate |
3:48:42 |
3:47:42 |
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3:53:44 |
3:54:22 |
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Santa Rosa |
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3:57:48 |
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… Slowest Median Times |
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2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
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Bataan Memorial March |
7:37:50 |
7:29:29 |
7:27:31 |
7:44:14 |
8:13:54 |
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Honolulu |
5:44:46 |
5:50:52 |
5:46:35 |
5:52:47 |
6:07:32 |
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Walt Disney World |
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5:08:39 |
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5:02:44 |
5:35:39 |
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Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio |
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5:02:59 |
5:01:59 |
5:10:30 |
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ASICS LA |
5:23:30 |
5:17:29 |
5:06:41 |
5:06:20 |
5:03:39 |
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… Most <4 Hour Finishers |
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2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
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Boston |
15,691 (69%) |
15,424 (68%) |
16,211 (68%) |
8,644 (40%) |
16,068 (91%) |
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ING New York City |
15,275 (35%) |
14,724 (33%) |
15,166 (33%) |
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15,834 (32%) |
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Bank of America Chicago |
11,226 (33%) |
8,294 (23%) |
8,743 (24%) |
11,717 (31%) |
11,933 (31%) |
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Marine Corps |
4,771 (22%) |
4,622 (21%) |
4,565 (22%) |
4,501 (19%) |
5,163 (22%) |
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GORE-TEX Philadelphia |
3,221 (46%) |
3,891 (43%) |
4,046 (39%) |
4,927 (42%) |
4,162 (38%) |
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Medtronic Twin Cities |
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3,344 (38%) |
3,247 (37%) |
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… Most >6 Hour Finishers |
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2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
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Honolulu |
7,788 (38%) |
8,155 (40%) |
7,621 (40%) |
9,342 (41%) |
10,032 (45%) |
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Walt Disney World |
3,165 (21%) |
4,044 (24%) |
2,761 (20%) |
2,986 (22%) |
7,669 (37%) |
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ASICS LA |
4,373 (31%) |
6,313 (28%) |
5,069 (26%) |
4,630 (25%) |
4,482 (23%) |
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ING New York City |
2,194 (5%) |
2,490 (6%) |
2,524 (5%) |
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2,755 (6%) |
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Bank of America Chicago |
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3,465 (10%) |
2,936 (8%) |
2,507 (7%) |
2,586 (7%) |
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Marine Corps |
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1,994 (8%) |
2,092 (9%) |
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… Most Finishers in certain Age Groups |
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Event |
2013 Subtotals |
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Female Juniors |
ASICS LA |
1,504 |
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Male Juniors |
ASICS LA |
2,065 |
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Females 20-29 |
Bank of America Chicago |
5,384 |
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Males 20-29 |
Bank of America Chicago |
4,053 |
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Females 30-39 |
Walt Disney World |
6,956 |
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Males 30-39 |
ING New York City |
9,256 |
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Females 40-49 |
ING New York City |
6,009 |
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Males 40-49 |
ING New York City |
10,720 |
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Females 50-59 |
ING New York City |
2,444 |
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Males 50-59 |
ING New York City |
5,699 |
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Females 60+ |
Honolulu |
1,059 |
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Males 60+ |
Honolulu |
2,202 |
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Overall 40+ |
ING New York City |
27,016 |
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Overall 50+ |
ING New York City |
10,287 |
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Overall 60+ |
Honolulu |
3,261 |
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… Highest Percent Women* |
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2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
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Nike Women's |
93% |
91% |
92% |
91% |
91% |
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Rock ‘n' Roll Savannah |
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52% |
51% |
54% |
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Walt Disney World |
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51% |
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… Highest Percent Men* |
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2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
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Bataan Memorial Death March |
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66% |
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70% |
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Wipro San Francisco |
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67% |
67% |
67% |
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United States Air Force |
74% |
71% |
70% |
68% |
67% |
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… Highest Percent Masters (40+ yrs)* |
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2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
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Boston |
56% |
56% |
58% |
59% |
57% |
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Big Sur |
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56% |
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California International |
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55% |
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*Based upon events with >1,000 finishers in each representative category |
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New York City largest ever – again; record 31 marathons worldwide had more than 10,000 finishers in 2013
After its 2012 cancellation due to Hurricane Sandy, the ING New York City Marathon returned to the #1 spot as the world's largest marathon with 50,266 finishers, the first 26.2 race with more than 50,000 finishers ever. For the first time in the same year, six marathons – New York City, Chicago, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo and London – had more than 34,000 finishers, while 31 marathons worldwide had more than 10,000 finishers. Also, for the second time (also 2011), 16 marathons had more than 15,000 finishers. In addition, the U.S. represented 5 of the top 10 and 7 of the 15 largest marathons in the world.
Last year, there were also a record 7 U.S. marathons with more than 17,500 finishers. See 2013 rankings below.
| 2013 | ||||||||
| World's Largest Marathons (finishers): | ||||||||
| 1) | ING New York City, NY | 50,266 | (largest all-time; first marathon >50,000 finishers) | |||||
| 2) | Bank of America Chicago, IL | 38,879 | ||||||
| 3) | Paris, FRA | 38,690 | ||||||
| 4) | Berlin-Marathon, GER | 36,474 | ||||||
| 5) | Tokyo, JPN | 34,832 | ||||||
| 6) | Virgin London, GBR | 34,312 | ||||||
| 7) | Osaka, JPN | 26,937 | ||||||
| 8) | Marine Corps, DC | 23,380 | ||||||
| 9) | Honolulu, HI | 22,064 | ||||||
| 10) | Walt Disney World, FL | 20,734 | ||||||
| 11) | ASICS LA, CA | 19,534 | ||||||
| 12) | Naha, JPN | 19,118 | ||||||
| 13) | Kobe, JPN | 17,816 | ||||||
| 14) | Boston, MA | 17,600 | ||||||
| 15) | ASICS Stockholm, SWE | 15,679 | ||||||
| U.S. Largest Marathons (finishers): | ||||||||
| 1) | ING New York City, NY | 50,266 | (largest all-time; first marathon >50,000 finishers) | |||||
| 2) | Bank of America Chicago, IL | 38,879 | ||||||
| 3) | Marine Corps, DC | 23,380 | ||||||
| 4) | Honolulu, HI | 22,064 | ||||||
| 5) | Walt Disney World, FL | 20,734 | ||||||
| 6) | ASICS LA, CA | 19,534 | ||||||
| 7) | Boston, MA | 17,600 | ||||||
| 8) | GORE-TEX Philadelphia, PA | 10,909 | ||||||
| 9) | Medtronic Twin Cities, MN | 8,857 | ||||||
| 10) | Portland, OR | 6,956 | ||||||
| 11) | Rock ‘n' Roll San Diego, CA | 6,542 | ||||||
| 12) | Chevron Houston, TX | 6,530 | ||||||
| 13) | California International, CA | 6,205 | ||||||
| 14) | Wipro San Francisco, CA | 5,827 | ||||||
| 15) | St. George, UT | 5,819 | ||||||
SOURCE: Running USA with Athlinks (2009-13) and Active.com (2005-08)
Contact: Ryan Lamppa, (805) 966-7747(805) 966-7747 or ryan@runningusa.org
Annual Marathon Reports (2012-13) click HERE.
Source: Running USA Date: March 23, 2014
