Many global marathons were forced to cancel their 2020 editions thanks to the pandemic, but recent trends point towards a boom in global marathon travel.
It’s partly driven by a host of new runners, locked out of gyms during the pandemic, who took up the outdoor, no-facility exercise.
According to a survey from shoe review company RunRepeat of 3,961 current runners, a little less than 30 per cent said they started running during the pandemic. Meanwhile 72 per cent of new pandemic-era runners stated health as a primary reason why they took it up, which was up 18 per cent from pre-pandemic times.
“During the pandemic, there was this conflict of everything you did centered around your health being at risk. Just going to the grocery store meant I had to be concerned about my health, and doing everything I could to ensure the health of my friends and family — do I do this or don’t go at all?'” Nick Rizzo, RunRepeat’s fitness research director told Healthline.
Turns out that upswing in new runners is good news for travel, particularly niche marathon travel - as many new and experienced runners decide to marry two favourite pastimes: running and resuming travel.
For Marathon Tours and Travel, bookings “are over 30 per cent above pre-COVID figures” Jeff Adams, the president of the Massachusetts-based tour operator told Skift.
That said, a potential ‘fourth wave’ of the pandemic due to the Delta variant means that somethe upcoming marathons are in a state of limbo.
For the races that are currently still active, “We did a full review of exactly what are the travel protocols today or what are the travel protocols that they’re announcing will go into effect and we sent a very detailed update (two weeks ago) just to make sure they have the facts,” he said.
The company’s other concerns include keeping pricing affordable - ideally at 2020 levels, not to mention the health and safety concerns of running through 42 kilometres of crowds cheering the marathon runners on.
That being said, Adams also said that 90 per cent of participants who had already booked have exercised their option to defer their place at a cancelled marathon to the following year, indicating an eagerness to get back to running that won’t slow down anytime soon.
