Running Recession: A Trend Analysis of Running Involvement and Runner Characteristics to Understand Declining Participation

Abstract

Market trends indicate the distance running event industry is facing a running recession. Since 2013, consumer demand has declined annually while supply increased. The current research provides insight into why running as a recreational activity is declining and implications for organized events’ utility. Based on seven years of participants’ postevent surveys from a long-distance running event, the value placed on hedonic, symbolic, and lifestyle features of running (i.e., running involvement) is gradually declining, which corresponds to a decline in annual event participation. Results are based on analyses of both a time series of cross-sections (N = 23,790) and a panel of multiyear respondents (n = 461). Also, there are gender differences in the rates at which running involvement declined. These results shed light onto a sociopsychographic explanation for the declining levels of running event participation and general interest in running.

Relationships of involvement and interdependent happiness across a revised Masters Games participant typology

“…Thus, the generalisation of the results must require some level of caution. Second, the findings were limited in terms of causal inference because of the cross-sectional research design (Kennedy et al, 2019).…”

“…Last, by using interdependent happiness as a dependent variable, the three factors of involvement as independent variables, and age and marital status as control variables, multiple regression analyses were conducted for each of the four groups. Although consensus on the effects of demographic variables on involvement has not yet emerged (Kennedy et al, 2019), some research reported negative and positive relationships regarding age (e.g. Havitz, Kaczynski, & Mannell, 2013) and marriage (e.g.…”

“…Although the PCM was originally developed in the spectatorbased sport contexts (Funk & James, 2001), it has been also employed in the active sport contexts. By using the PCM framework, recent research (Aicher et al, 2017;Beaton et al, 2011;Kennedy, Baker, Jordan, & Funk, 2019) focused on runners and examined their involvement with the active sport and participation behaviours. Kennedy et al (2019) analysed a 7-year panel data set and identified a decline in running over that time period, which aligns with a running recession in the distance running event industry in America.…”

“…By using the PCM framework, recent research (Aicher et al, 2017;Beaton et al, 2011;Kennedy, Baker, Jordan, & Funk, 2019) focused on runners and examined their involvement with the active sport and participation behaviours. Kennedy et al (2019) analysed a 7-year panel data set and identified a decline in running over that time period, which aligns with a running recession in the distance running event industry in America. Like Trauer et al's (2003) typology, Aicher et al 2017and Beaton et al (2011) utilised the PCM framework for runners' segmentation.…”

Evaluación de eventos deportivos: el caso del campeonato de España de descenso de cañones 2019

“…El sector deportivo ha experimentado una evolución muy importante en los últimos años a nivel nacional, desde el tipo de actividades practicadas hasta factores que tienen influencia sobre la economía (1). En particular, la participación en eventos deportivos se ha convertido en una de las actividades de ocio activo más populares de la población en los últimos años (2,3). En España se ha producido un crecimiento notable del número de eventos deportivos principalmente en el ámbito no profesional que se celebran tanto a nivel local, como autonómico, nacional e internacional (4).…”