The UK Running Boom 2027

Run Clubs, Record Ballots and What Brands Should Film Next

If you thought running had peaked, 2026 had other ideas. A record 1,338,544 people entered the ballot for the 2027 London Marathon, up 18% on the previous record and more than double the 2024 figure [1]. Over a million of those were from the UK, which works out at roughly 1.8% of the entire population trying to get a place in one race [1]. Running is not a trend anymore. It is a habit, a social life and, for a growing number of people, an identity.

Column chart showing public ballot applications for the London Marathon rising from 578,304 for the 2024 race to 1,133,813 for 2026 and a record 1,338,544 for 2027. Source: Run247 and London Marathon Events, May 2026. — London Marathon ballot applications have more than doubled since 2024. Source: Run247 [1].

We wrote about the UK running boom in 2026 and before that the 2025 edition. This is the 2027 picture: who is running, what is changing, and what it means if you are a brand, club or event trying to be part of it.

Where running stands going into 2027

Around 7.1 million adults in England ran at least twice in the previous four weeks in Sport England’s latest Active Lives survey, roughly 12% of the adult population [2]. Parkrun set a UK record on Easter weekend 2026 with 240,599 finishers across 875 events in a single morning [2]. And the pipeline is still filling: 6% of the UK population say they want to start running in 2026, which is about 4.6 million people, while 18% of existing runners want to run more, up from 13% a year earlier [2].

The demographic story is the one to watch. Women aged 20 to 29 were the single biggest group in the London Marathon ballot, with more than 179,000 applications, and over 35% of UK applicants were aged 18 to 29 [1]. Gen Z recorded the largest increase in share of runners on Strava at both 5K and 10K distance [2]. The next generation of runners is young, social and more likely to be female. That changes what good content looks like.

Trend 1: The run club is the new nightclub

Strava’s own data showed a 3.5 times increase in running clubs listed on the platform in 2025 [2]. The year before, it reported a 59% rise in run club participation, with 58% of people saying they had made friends through fitness groups and Gen Z four times more likely to want to meet people through exercise than at a bar [3].

For 2027 this means the product is not the run. The product is the Tuesday night. Brands that win will film the queue for the coffee afterwards, the group photo at the bridge, the person who turned up alone and left with ten new mates. Our piece on short form vs long form video in sports marketing covers how to cut that into both a reel and a longer community story.

Trend 2: 5K and 10K are where the growth is

Marathons get the headlines, but shorter distances get the people. In the US, 54% of events are 5K or shorter and they make up two thirds of all registrations [2]. The top motivation to run is general health and wellbeing at 74%, followed by being able to go at your own pace at 68% [2]. Barely anyone is in it for the podium.

Events like the ASICS LDNX 10K and the Hunchman Trust’s runs are a good template: an accessible distance wrapped in a proper day out. If you are putting on a race in 2027, our guide on how to promote and capture your sports event walks through the content plan from launch to finish line.

Trend 3: Hyrox and the fitness racing crossover

The fastest growing neighbour to running is fitness racing. HYROX expects two million athletes across 107 race weekends in its 2026/27 season, up from 1.5 million the season before, with UK stops in Manchester in January 2027, Glasgow in March and Cardiff in May [4]. Many of those athletes are runners first. Expect running brands, gyms and supplement companies to start building content that moves between road, trail and the race floor.

Infographic with four statistics on challenger sports: one million padel players in Britain up from 15,000 in 2019, 1,825 padel courts across 551 venues, two million athletes expected at HYROX events in the 2026/27 season, and 107 HYROX race weekends worldwide with three in the UK. Sources: LTA Padel May 2026 and HYROX 2026/27 season announcement. — Padel and HYROX: the numbers behind the fastest growing audiences in UK sport. Sources: LTA Padel, BOXROX [4].

Trend 4: Women are driving the new wave

The Mass Participation Pulse report, built on 9,459 responses, found that nearly 60% of people who started doing events in the last two years are women, and that 57% of women participants belong to a running club or community group [5]. Among 18 to 24 year olds, 80% sign up for events with friends or family [5].

There is still a barrier to break. Around 27% of women and 20% of men still see running clubs as only for elite runners [2]. The brands that show real people at real paces, and film the back of the pack with the same care as the front, are the ones who will earn that audience’s trust. Our work on Run Hunchman Run and four marathons in 24 hours is built on exactly that idea: the story is the people, not the split times.

Group of runners taking a part in marathon race in nature. Focus is on woman in orange shirt.

Trend 5: Wearables, apps and the data layer

Gen Z are 63% more likely than Gen X to name a wearable as their biggest fitness investment, and 30% of Gen Z plan to spend more on fitness in 2026 [2]. Carbon plated shoes appeared in 14% more races year on year in Strava’s 2024 data [3]. The tech is no longer a niche. For brands, that means content that lives inside the apps people already use: Strava challenges, route shares and club leaderboards, backed by film that gives those numbers a face.

What this means for your 2027 content plan

Film the community, not just the athlete. Plan around the calendar, with January resolutions, spring marathon season, summer 10Ks and the October ballot rush. Build one proper story a year, like Micah’s Bob Graham Round, and cut it into dozens of short pieces. And if you want a framework for all of this, start with what a 360 running campaign looks like and our sports video content strategy guide.

If you are a running brand, club or event planning for 2027, we would love to help. Have a look at our sports videography and sports marketing agency pages, or just drop us a line.