According to new data produced by Running USA, Halloween race participation continues to thrive despite a decline in total number of events held, as 733,576 runners finished a Halloween week race in 2015, up from 722,237 total finishers in 2014.
This makes Halloween the second most active holiday for road race participation two years running. First place is currently taken by Thanksgiving.
The growing desire for runners to compete in themed races, such as costume and zombie runs, continues driving much of the participation interest. Since tracking began in 2011, Halloween race finishers have increased 60 percent, rising from 469,602 in 2011.
Halloween races alone provided a boost to the overall annual road running finisher decline of 9 percent nationwide, according to the Running USA U.S. Race Trends.
“The growth we’ve seen with Halloween races reflects the year-round trend of more runners seeking out events which are truly unique in theme, social and festive,” said Rich Harshbarger, Running USA CEO.
In light of increased participation, the number of events offered for the holiday has declined for a second year in a row, with 1,584 races being staged in 2015, down from 1,843 in 2014.
