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It's almost as if the editors of "On the
Roads" try to outdo themselves in their annual look at running
trends. Their approach seems simple: How many statistics can we squeeze
into one issue? The recently released summer issue of the USA Track &
Field Road Running Information Center (RRIC) newsletter further explains
the organization's fondness for number crunching.
Its traditional front-page listing of the country's
largest
events again reveals that in 1999 Bay to Breakers, the 12km
in San Francisco, had more finishers than any other U.S race.
For several years, Bay to Breakers and Lilac Bloomsday
12km
in Spokane, Wash., exchanged honors as the country's largest
race. But the Peachtree Road Race 10km in Atlanta has moved
into second place, with an estimated 50,000 finishers. The
Lilac Bloomsday event, meanwhile, lost ground. It fell to
the third-largest U.S. running event, with 47,215 finishers
last year.
The new figure is based on a combined look at the
standard
list but also encompassing a national category -- Largest
Events and Festivals. This category was included to track
the numbers of ever-increasing fun run/walk events and compare
them with more traditionally timed competitive events.
The Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta is a highly
competitive
event, but it also includes many fun or non-time runners. As
such, the event does not compile an exact finishers' list.
Running's increased popularity can also be linked to the
popularity of the national Race for the Cure series. The
event, conducted by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer
Foundation in several dozen cities, raises substantial
amounts of money for breast-cancer research.
The Washington, D.C., event, a 5km race held in June,
attracted more than 46,000 finishers. Six other events in
the series -- California to New York -- were among the
country's top 15 largest races listed in the Largest Events
and Festivals category.
"In 1999, an estimated 7.1 million Americans
finished more
than 12,000 certified running events in the U.S.," write
the newsletter's editors. "Just 15 years ago, the world of
organized running was much smaller, with less than 3 million
participants and only 1,361 courses." As such, from trail
running to road marathons, the total number of Americans
who run has steadily increased.
In conjunction with figures compiled by American Sports
Data,
Inc. in New York, On the Roads reported more than 34 million
Americans ran at least once in 1999.
Within that total, more than 10 million, or nearly a
third of
all American runners, are categorized as "frequent runners".
The study defines frequent runners as those who participate
in the sport at least 100 days per year. Half-marathons and
marathons continued to be popular, but the 5km distance remains
the country's most popular. Last year, more than 1 million
5km performances were reported to the RRIC, the first time
exceeding the million mark.
The figure is also impressive considering it's 10 times
larger
than the number of runners who participated in 5kms in 1987.
The RRIC is not only interested in total numbers, but it also
considers geographic statistics. In 1999, California, for example,
had more residents who run than any other state. Nearly 4
million Californians, or 13.8 out of every 100 people who reside
in the state, ran last year. Texas has the next most runners by
state, followed by New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois. Vermont,
meanwhile, which boasted 113,000 runners as a state in 1999,
leads the publication's per capita tabulations, with 24.8
runners for each 100 residents.
And, finally, while many road runners are also trail
runners,
those who prefer to train and race off road warrant their own
categories.
Last year, more than 6.2 million Americans identified
them-
selves as trail runners. That represents an 18.7 percent
increase from 1998 figures and is among the three categories
with the highest increase.
Women's-only races and children's events also
experienced
substantial growth, further providing considerable proof
of running's vast and diverse appeal.
For more statistical running information, contact the
USATF
Road Running Information Center, 5522 Camino Cerrlavo,
Santa Barbara, Calif., 93111. (805) 683-5868 or e-mail:
rric@runningusa.org.
(c) 2000, James Raia. Distributed by Los Angeles Times
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