It’s no secret, the world is in the midst of a massive running boom. Running has gained popularity not just for exercise purposes, but also as a social event. Significant growth in running clubs and the buzz from Gen Z has made running fashionable and communal.
There are now in excess of 600 million runners worldwide and over 30 million of those are active subscribers to running apps. According to Strava’s data in 2024 nearly 1 billion runs were recorded on the platform.
This trend is leading to record-breaking race entries. It was recently reported that more than 1.1 million people have entered the ballot for the 2026 London Marathon, which is nearly double the figure from two years ago. Similarly, the New York City Marathon received a 22% increase in applications for the drawing, compared to 2024.
The popularity of trail and ultra-trail running participation has also surged globally. Testament to this, there are recent reports that UTMB could be eyeing adding a third event in the UK to add to the UTMB World Series calendar, in line with the growth in traction of trail running.
Growth opportunities have attracted investment from top players in the industry. In April, Strava announced it was acquiring Runna, a UK-based running training app. This development sees ‘tracking meet training’, as Michael Martin CEO of Strava recently commented in an interview with T3 : “The platform is great for tracking your activity, but what we’ve lacked is visibility into what someone intends to do next.” The acquisition puts Strava firmly on course to creating the world’s biggest fitness app.
World-leading events company London Marathon Events has also been making strategic strides in the last few years. The company has acquired Brighton Marathon, Bath Half Marathon, Caledonian Concepts and Loch Ness Marathon Ltd. It has also partnered with Maverick Race, innovative organisers of trail running events.
More recently, London Marathon Events invested in Friday Night Lights, a running community that sees tens of thousands of participants in major UK areas such as London, Brighton, Manchester and beyond choose a healthier alternative to the pub or nightclub on a Friday night by joining a community of runners. Creating an electrifying ambience with neon lights, the events often include post-run celebrations and music.
Commenting on the move CEO of London Marathon Events Hugh Brasher said: “The team behind Friday Night Lights and Run Social has created a unique and wonderful running and social experience which is hugely popular with people aged 18 to 34. We love the way the team is inspiring so many young people to enjoy being active and inspiring activity is at the centre of everything we do.”
Another meaningful recent development has been the announcement of a game-changing, multi-year partnership between Salomon and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to broadcast and support the Golden Trail World Series. It is intended that this will allow the series to reach the widest possible audience across WBD’s premium linear channels including Eurosport (Europe) and TNT Sports (UK & Ireland) as well as live and on-demand streaming via its streaming platforms Max and discovery+.
Commenting on the partnership, Patrick Maitrot, Head of International Sales & Partnership at WBD Sports Europe said: “We are confident that our combined sports and storytelling expertise coupled with WBD’s production capabilities, unmatched global scale and proven track record of elevating sports, will support the continued growth of trail running through greater international exposure than ever before.”
The powerful market levers that are currently driving investment in running include:
– Value Forecast. According to Statista Market Forecast, the Running market is projected to generate a revenue of C$18.65bn in 2025.
– Total Theoretical Revenue Opportunity. Investors are being seduced by the sheer number of people starting to run or aiming for their first marathon.
– High Income Demographics. Studies indicate a significant portion of runners have household incomes above a certain threshold (Financial Review).
– Strong ‘stickiness’. In investment, this means a resistance to change. Runners are a safe bet. Data shows running is a long-term habit for many, with 50% of runners having been running for more than 3 years, and 30% for more than 5 years.
Running Monopoly: The race for real estate in the running boom
