If 2024 has shown us anything, it’s that running is evolving. Strava’s Year in Sport: Trend Report agrees revealing a shift away from solo runs and run streaks towards shorter, steadier runs with community at the heart of it all.
Running isn’t all about the running
This year, athletes (or rather their coaching apps) rewrote the rules of training. Instead of chasing the endless grind culture and run streaks, they embraced balance, prioritising shorter workouts and recovery to stay active long-term. Marathon runners led the charge, logging rest days 51% of the time during the 16 weeks leading up to their races. This is a clear correlation with the rise of running apps this year like Runna and Coopha that focus on rest as a key part of your training cycle.
Participation in running clubs surged by 59%, with group fitness becoming the go-to for connection. This would have seemed impossible a few years ago but with the huge rise of creator led running groups over the traditional and seemingly unwelcoming running clubs of old runners are flocking to the running club rather than the night club. It wasn’t just social, though; it was productive. Athletes running with 10 or more people logged a 40% increase in activity length compared to running alone.
While running clubs grew participation so too did group workouts by 13%. But the key stat from these group workouts is that they included three times more downtime than solo activities. Think mid-run coffee stops and time spent taking photos; my kind of runners.
Despite the ‘slower’ approach, 72% of running goals were met this year, highlighting that balance doesn’t mean holding back—it means performing better in the long run.
What Gear Did Runners Prefer?
Strava’s data crowned the Nike Pegasus as the most popular running shoe. A stat that while interesting has to be taken with a pinch of salt as my default running shoe has logged over 4,000 miles as I always forget to change it to the shoe I actually ran in that day. But the results to line up with a survey I dived in to last week about the most popular running shoes in the US.
This year also saw the further democratisation of super shoes, with a 14% rise in races completed in carbon plated super shoes. And with 2025 super shoes looking to focus on the middle of the pack runners over the elites this number will more than likely double come this time next year.
2024 so the rise of running clubs and communities but what will 2025 have in store? Let me know what you think in the comments.
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3 Comments
I run alone but previously ran with a buddy. He and I were relentless in persuading for a run after a horrid work day and the like. Nothing beats group dynamics for meeting your running goals.
Agreed!
Kinda late to the party but regarding the clubs shift, it’s clear that training aspect took a few steps back. The regular clubs run might still be fit in a training schedule as easy or tempo run but there are also activations. Events that are taking more and more time with little to no running.