By HPRS Race Director John Lacroix
In my last post we looked at ultramarathon running as pertains to the entire State of Colorado. This discussion focused on the finishing numbers of all races of ultra distance in Colorado, and a data analysis of those numbers looking at what races saw an increase in finisher numbers, who saw a decrease, the new races that came on line, and those that unfortunately did not make it.
In this post we’re going to dive into how The Human Potential Running Series did in calendar year 2023. This is our way of being transparent with our community; celebrating our successes and pondering on where we’re slipping. If nothing else, you’ll get a pretty good snapshot of who we are/who we’ve become through calendar year 2023.
HPRS EVENTS
Races Held = 14
Cancellations = 0
Unique Distances = 56
PARTICIPATION
Registrations Handled (December 1, 2022 – November 30, 2023) = 1,939
Total Registrants for 2023 (January – December 2023) Races = 1,908
Gender Breakdown of Registrations
Male = 56%
Female = 43.5%
Non-Binary = 0.5%
OVERALL AGE GROUP DISTRIBUTION
VOLUNTEERING
Volunteer Shifts Filled = 548
Unique Volunteers = 242
Avg. Shifts per Volunteer = 2.27
Total Volunteer Hours Accumulated = 4,304
Avg. Hours per Volunteer = 17.79
Volunteer Credits Earned = $25,195
Volunteer Comps Earned = 75
DISCUSSION
For statistical purposes, our registration year begins on December 1, 2022 and runs through November 30, 2023. I do this because a majority of our 2023 events opened for registration on December 1, 2022. I then also look at the numbers of each individual event for January – December of the calendar year. Volunteering covers our numbers for January 1 – December 31, 2023.
We started the 2023 registration year off with a huge BANG! In December 2022, we set a record for most registrations handled in a single month at 375 (formerly 339 in Dec 2021). We followed that up by setting a record for the month of January at 230 (formerly 165 in January 2022). Then our monthly registrations returned back to our normal, with the usual roller coaster ride through the year depending on everyone’s interest in signing up for races and/or interest in what we offer.
We got to work in March of 2023 with the implementation of our Focus Group. Twenty (20) individuals from the HPRS Community of Runners gathered together to take a deep dive into HPRS and how it operates. This group made any number of recommendations designed to enhance the mission and vision of HPRS, and in some cases tweak our mission and vision. By the end of the summer, our Focus Group had completed a tremendous body of work that we began implementing on the back end.
Not everything we enacted was popular with everyone who participates in our events. We did indeed lose some runners based on policy adjustments, and our efforts to “double down” on our progressive view and initiatives to ensure that our series is as Inclusive and Accessible as possible. To us, finding ways to ensure that we can indeed be as inclusive and accessible as possible is a win-win for our business, our community, and the runners who are seeking what we provide. We acknowledge that not everything we do, or how we do it, is popular with every potential runner in the sport. We can’t please everyone. We are proud that we have solidified our identity and have done the work to polish our initiatives.
So while it was a mostly “down summer” that saw some folks leave HPRS, it was only a matter of time before our efforts to celebrate and promote who we definitively are began to take effect. Once they did take effect and we could start moving forward by embracing our identity more openly, the numbers followed.
August saw the fewest number of registrations in a given month since March of 2020. August 2023 tied that month with 57 total registrations. Of course we all know that it was March of 2020 when Covid-19 disrupted our lives. In consideration of Covid, if we are to look prior to that month, we have to go back to March of 2018 to find a smaller number. In that month we had 37 total registrations handled.
While September picked up steam back to more normal numbers, we opened registrations for Sawmill, Franklins, and Stories on October 1st and things changed dramatically. We started the fall with an all time monthly registration record of 430 registrations handled in the month of October. This crushed the record set in December 2022 of 375, how we began the registration year. We then ended the year with a new monthly record for the month of November with 164 registrations handled (formerly 162 in November 2022).
This means that we ended the 2023 registration year with a monthly record in 4 of the 12 months: December 2022, January 2023, October, and November. We also set all time monthly registration records in December 2022, then broke that record in October of 2023. This is the first time in our history that we broke our record for most registrations handled in a single month, twice in the same registration year.
As we look ahead to 2024, we entered a new registration year on December 1, 2023. I am proud to announce that we have once again broke our record for most registrations handled in a single month with 434 (and counting) in December 2023. This is now the 2nd time over the last three months that we have broken this record, and the 3rd December in a row where a new record has been set.
We handled 1,939 registrations in registration year 2023; down 0.3% from the previous year, which saw 1,944 (current record). Registrants for races in 2023 totaled 1,908 which is now 2nd all time behind 2020 when we had 2,001. This is a 2.8% increase over 2022 (1,857). All of these numbers EXCLUDE registrations and registrants handled through The Latino Ultra Nature Adventure (LUNA) that we co-hosted with America’s for Conversation + the Arts. That event saw another 211 registrants in just 3 weeks this past September/October.
I reported during the 2023 RegFest event that we finally reached 50% female participation in 2023, with 49% male and 1% non-binary. These stats came directly from RunSignUp.com and I realize they are just a tiny bit flawed as they do not include race day registrations, and other considerations. That said, after a deep dive into the registrants for each race in 2023 (regardless of if they showed up or not), we are pleased to report that we were at 56% male, 43.5% female, and 0.5% non-binary.
I’m still very pleased with these numbers. When looking at the yearly stats via Ultrarunning Magazine’s Stats, I see that the gender breakdown in 2023 was 68.18% male and 31.82% female. In comparison, 2022 was 66.79% male and 33.21% female. The discussion of gender inequality within the sport of ultrarunning made a huge impact in 2017, with most initiatives first implemented in 2018. So since and including 2018, the disparity between male and female participation within the sport of ultrarunning has widened in 4 out of the 6 years. The first year (2018) saw the smallest gap between male and female participation in our sports history when it hit 65.97% male and 34.03% female. The only other year where the gap shrunk was 2021 when it was 66.42% male and 33.58% female; a year many running running statisticians are excluding as still being part of the “covid bubble.”
At 68.18% male participation, ultrarunning is at the widest point of gender separation since 2014 (68.83% male). As we look at our numbers, to be at 56% male and 43.5% female is a huge testament to the efforts we personally made in doing our part to bridge the gender gap; and ensuring that women, and runners who do not identify within the confines of a binary structure, feel safe and supported at HPRS events. I want to also note that UR Mag still does not post statistical information for non-binary participation, which I personally feel is unfortunate and offensive. Omitting participants who do not identify on the binary is (intentional or not) discriminatory.
We have made it a point to focus on the values, needs, and wants of those in Gen-Z and Millenials. Gen Zers were born between the late 1990s and early 2010s. Currently, Gen Z makes up 20% of the U.S. population. Gen-Z is the next generation of runners to join us at they are currently aged 11-26 years old. In looking at our gender breakdowns, both by gender and all gender combined, we can see that most of our participants are still currently Millennials (1981-1996; 27-42 years of age). I’m going to touch more on this specific topic in my upcoming State of Our Sport Address coming out next month. Just keep it in the back of your head for now.
This is just to say that as far as HPRS goes, we have made it a point to focus on the motivations for running to those that identify within Gen-Z or as Millennials. We feel that our body of work to this affect is the catalyst for the numbers we are seeing over the last 6 months, and over 2022-2023 as a whole. These two generational groups have different motivations from runners who identify as Boomers II and Gen X and we really believe that we’ve captured the essence of what Gen-Z and Millennials are seeking within these types of athletic endeavors. Our numbers reflect our success.
Finally, when looking at the heat map we were so pleased to see that we welcomed runners from 42 of the 50 United States in 2023. We were even more pleased to see that the vast majority of our runners come from right here in our home state of Colorado. Our popularity and the percentage of runners overall whom join us from within our own state continues to rise, as it has every year since 2019.
Looking at the volunteering side of things, we set a new record for volunteer hours accumulated across the series with 4,304 total hours worked amongst all volunteers. This beat the previous record of 4,022.5 hours set in 2022. We welcomed 242 unique volunteers to our series of events in 2023, which was down from 259 in 2022.
We should note that a combined total of 552 hours came from three individuals. If you removed these numbers from the equation it equals 3,752 hours across 239 unique individuals. That would equate to 15.7 hours per volunteer. Keeping the three volunteers with the highest numbers of hours in the equation, we had a stellar year. Taking them out only continues to highlight how a lack in volunteerism continues to be the single greatest threat to our sport today. More on this during my State of Our Sport Address as well.
We need more volunteerism in the sport, and it needs to become a priority of every runners yearly schedule ASAP. If current trends persist, more and more races will disappear. This will indeed affect the supply of races as relates to the demand. You will see an increase in race registration fees as both the demand eclipses the supply, and more race directors choose to hire “staff” as a necessity of race functions. At HPRS, we are good for now, but the conversations regarding what we do in the future, and the effects this will have on race design, have already begun.
All in all, it was another banner year at HPRS with sustainable growth, huge success of our Focus Group, the implementation and refinement of HPRS initiatives and policies; and we look forward to another banner 2024 that is off to an incredible start. There are few reasons not to join HPRS for any number of our calendar of events. We hope to see many of you again, and more of you for the first time, in 2024 and beyond.