Is the running boom over?

One reason I don't compete or run races is because it is too damn expensive.

I'd rather watch $25-$65 or more burn than spend it running a race.

Heck, I'd rather spend that $65 toward new shoes or gear than to give it to some strangers that only get rich from it.

The only money I will spend on racing is towards a college. I don't mind giving a track or XC program $15/$20 to run unattached. At least its going into something called education.

Besides, I've held "free" runs where a bunch of us (100+) people run. I even have a timing company time it for free. I also mark (with chalk) and cone the course. No municipality will stop us; the roadway is public property and we are not defacing it. They don't like it, but legally there isn't anything they can do to stop us from running.

So after doing this for many years, I've come to realize that folks just like to waste money.

manualf150 wrote:

Besides, I've held "free" runs where a bunch of us (100+) people run. I even have a timing company time it for free. I also mark (with chalk) and cone the course. No municipality will stop us; the roadway is public property and we are not defacing it. They don't like it, but legally there isn't anything they can do to stop us from running.

Unless they decide you meet the legal definition of a parade. Better watch the agenda for city council meetings closely.

agree 100%.

The entry fee is too expensive and race directors get cheap on port-a-loos in order to maximize their profit.

Nobody wants to go back to a race the following year if this year they had a 45 minute wait for the loo at the start and had a 3 person line at the loo at the 6 mile mark.

Basically at the end of the race a guy feels ripped-off and treated like rubbish and has no desire to go back and do it again next year.

I agree, there is some truth to that. And I am saying that as a lifelong ultrarunner.

Philip Exeter CC wrote:

I think this is a lot of the reason for the ultramarathon movement. it's all about one-upping and doing something bigger and better than the last person. Quite frankly ultra-running is no longer running it's just endurance for the sake of endurance.

The reason I do them is for the different challenge. I've already done a couple hundred roadraces. I switched to trails in 2012 because it had that feel of the first running boom in the late 70s.

Thai runs wrote:

Flying Faster wrote:

That's a big increase in the race fee! Do they still have the UN Day run in October and the Vertical Marathon at the Banyan Tree?

When were you in Thailand? I don't know what you're talking about. $12-$15 is now easily affordable by the Thai middle class. At these prices, tickets sell out fast.

Here's what the running scene now looks like in Thailand.

https://i.imgur.com/NXU6Qqh.jpg

Inspiring.

Thai runs wrote:

When were you in Thailand? I don't know what you're talking about. $12-$15 is now easily affordable by the Thai middle class. At these prices, tickets sell out fast.

I ran the 6th UN Day Run in 1983. It's put on by the UN and starts at the ESCAP building on Ratchadamnoen Nok Rd. I've ran this race about 5-6 times when I lived there from 1990 to 2002.

The Vertical Marathon at the Banyan Tree started in either 1998 or 1999. Not sure which year. It starts in waves as you run from the street on Sathorn in front of the hotel to the 64th floor where the roof top bar/restaurant is located.

Entry fees ranged from 50 baht to 300 baht. Like everything, prices go up. You can't get the Bangkok Post for 8 baht anymore! 555!

Heading back to Bangkok at the end of this month for a 4-6 week stay.

Great point! Timing companies here charge thousands, I need to move.

Philip Exeter CC wrote:

Fentrekker wrote:

I remember 1987 when the first time the running boom ended.

What did that look like? How does it compare to today?

Everyone was fast! Your local cheap road race was 5 bucks and everyone in it was no slower than sub 20.

Also in those days men wore shorts, not pirate pantaloons like nowadays.

How does the economy impact participation? Low unemployment, everyone too busy working? Millenials not running because they have to work 2-3 part-time jobs to make a living?

At the high school level I see more and more participation at upper middle class towns. Less football (concussions) and more XC. In lower income communities, still low distance running participation, maybe some track (but mostly to get ready for football or basketball).

Regionally I continue to see new development in growing parts of the country (TX, FL, etc) not really conducive to running. Not a lot of sidewalks, trails, etc. There are just parts of the country where you can't really be a distance runner. At the same time, we still see cities (which usually are okay for running) grow, and DC/NYC with amazon are good examples of this.

runfasta wrote:

Not a lot of sidewalks, trails, etc. There are just parts of the country where you can't really be a distance runner.

You just described where I was on business for a week and a half in October. The Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Chesapeake area. Chesapeake is suburbia USA. Where do people run in Norfolk? It seemed like maybe there was a path along the waterfront that went for 2 miles but that was about all I saw. Virginia Beach has the state park, but even that involved multiple loops or out and backs to get any kind of distance. I did run the "oceanfront" which involved the boardwalk to the bike path and you could seemingly go pretty far on that (I didn't go all the way). Other than those few places to run, it seemed to me like there is NO planning for non-automobile transportation in the entire area there.

Random Hobby Jogger wrote:

Is it? For a while there were poorly run 5Ks practically every weekend, color runs and waitlists for marathons. Even races like the Shamrock Shuffle 8K in Chicago that used to draw 50,000 people and sell out now spams me daily begging for sign-ups and last year they were below 30,000 finishers. A substantial drop in the last few years. Heck, you can even get a guaranteed entry into Chicago if you run it 5 times in the last 10 years just as you can with the marathon itself.

Also, I see very few 26.2, 13.1 stickers on cars these days. Seems like the fad is over.

Thoughts?

It has been over since before I was born. Where have you been?

I see two problems for the running movement.

1. The couch to marathon in X-weeks fad is burning out and injuring lots of newbies. Studies show up to half of newbies training for a marathon from almost zero base get injured and drop out. For those that do finish, it's a miserable training experience and they're one and done.

2. The cost of local races is too high. This past weekend, for example, the local 5k cost $45 for week-of-race signup and would cost me $9 in gas to drive round trip. That's $54, plus several hours of my time just to do a race. Of course, out of town marathons cost far more: $150 registration, $200-$400 hotel, $400-$600 airfare, meals, and transfers. I spent roughly $4,000 in travel, hotel, car rentals, and registrations this year.

What is the next boom in recreation/fitness? I wan't to get in on it early. Cyclocross? Orienteering? Mountain running? Lumberjack games?

fisky wrote:

This past weekend, for example, the local 5k cost $45 for week-of-race signup and would cost me $9 in gas to drive round trip. That's $54, plus several hours of my time just to do a race.

Bro, that's not a local race if it costs you $9 in gas round trip. Not sure where you live and what gas prices are, but where I am it's around $2.50/gallon. My car gets 30+mpg. That would mean the race would be minimum close to 50 miles away. That's not local to me.

Local is 10 minutes down the road.

runfasta wrote:

Regionally I continue to see new development in growing parts of the country (TX, FL, etc) not really conducive to running. Not a lot of sidewalks, trails, etc. There are just parts of the country where you can't really be a distance runner. At the same time, we still see cities (which usually are okay for running) grow, and DC/NYC with amazon are good examples of this.

I moved from Chicago to Charleston, SC area. I agree with this. Lots of subdivisions here where I am and even long bridges. Pretty much the options are running on Isle of Palms or Sullivans Island streets or running in subdivisions with no sidewalks. Big change from having lots of forest preserves and the lakefront trail in Chicago.

On the plus side, we can run outside all year with 6-7 months of ideal running weather from October - May and while summer is hot it helps when you race in the fall, especially for me when I fly up north for the Chicago Marathon.

Ha ha, that’s if they condescend to allow a late entry! Had a runner give me a hot check once (his sponsor paid us two weeks later), another showed up with a roll of 50’s (more cash than I’d ever seen: he looked ready to me). All the rules take all the fun out of it.

runfasta wrote:

At the high school level I see more and more participation at upper middle class towns. Less football (concussions) and more XC. In lower income communities, still low distance running participation, maybe some track (but mostly to get ready for football or basketball).

Track, XC and tennis are definitely in among the kids of Audi and BMW drivers.

runfasta wrote:

How does the economy impact participation? Low unemployment, everyone too busy working? Millenials not running because they have to work 2-3 part-time jobs to make a living?

At the high school level I see more and more participation at upper middle class towns. Less football (concussions) and more XC. In lower income communities, still low distance running participation, maybe some track (but mostly to get ready for football or basketball).

Regionally I continue to see new development in growing parts of the country (TX, FL, etc) not really conducive to running. Not a lot of sidewalks, trails, etc. There are just parts of the country where you can't really be a distance runner. At the same time, we still see cities (which usually are okay for running) grow, and DC/NYC with amazon are good examples of this.

Add to this general demographic trends. I grew up in a US Rust Belt state during the first running boom. Young and working-age people have moved out, leaving a lot of the 55+ age group. And this smaller population provides fewer students to high schools, exacerbating the problem of kids not wanting to run track or XC.

While the races in the region are wonderful small-city events, they now have dwindling followings, and are propped up by vacationers and home-comers. The visitors who do run enter most of their events in/near their regionally vibrant cities where they live.