Is Another Running Boom Under Way?

Half marathons and female runners are the wind in the industry’s sails.

Every year since the mid-1990s, Running USA has cataloged the relative growth of the industry. According to a new report published last weekend, the organization is stating that a second running boom is under way.

From its “State of the Sport,” Running USA claims that with the exception of 2003, every year for the past 20 years has seen a record number of race finishers in U.S. running events.

One of the highlights of the report has to do with the record number of women runners taking to the sport. Female finishers now comprise 56 percent of the event fields — an all-time high.

Additionally, there were a total of 15.3 million finishers in U.S. running events last year.

Apparently, the key driver behind this boom has to do with the half-marathon distance. In just one year, a record increase of 14.9 percent finishers was logged, with 60 percent of them being female.

You can read the whole report that substantiates this claim, complete with graphs and charts, here.