Running races during the COVID-19 pandemic: a 2020 survey of the running community

To survey runners and triathletes about their willingness to resume in-person racing during the COVID-19 pandemic, health concerns related to mass races and changes in running patterns since the start of the pandemic.

An electronic survey was distributed from 15 July to 1 September 2020 to runners and triathletes by New York Road Runners, ASICS North America, and race medical directors, and through social media.

Runners and triathletes 18 years of age or older who participated in at least one race in 2019.

A total of 2278 surveys were received. Not all participants answered every question; the denominator represents the number of responses to each question. Most participants were from the USA (1620/1940, 83.5%), of which over half were from New York (812/1475, 55.1%). Regarding when respondents would feel comfortable returning to in-person racing, the most frequent response was 'Whenever local laws allow, but only if there are sufficient precautions' (954/2173, 43.9%), followed by 'Not until there is a vaccine' (540/2173, 24.9%). The most common concerns about in-person races were crowded starting corrals (1802/2084, 86.5%), the number of COVID-19 cases in the race location (1585/2084, 76.1%) and the number of participants (1517/2084, 72.8%). Comparing running patterns before the pandemic to Summer 2020, the mean weekly mileage decreased from 25.5 (SD 15.4) miles to 22.7 (16.2) miles (p<0.001).

Most runners are willing to return to racing when local laws allow, though as of Summer 2020, many desired certain precautions to feel comfortable.