Why Finishing a Marathon Means You’re Anything But Average

Quote is from Dean Karnazes, a renowned American ultramarathon runner, known for his extraordinary endurance. Among his achievements are: finished the Badwater Ultramarathon (217 km) 10 times including a win in 2004, ran 50 marathons in 50 consecutive days in all 50 US states and a 563 km run without sleep over 80 hours, He is the author of “Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner”. Picture is me, 2016 after running my first of 13 marathons…

Running is 1 sport (or hobby) which is full of statistics- running pace, negative split times, heart rate, cadence, V02 max and of course, the average or the ideal marathon running time.

What is unique about marathons is that the race course and event ran by the world’s elite athletes is exactly the same one ran by the rest of the world.

Some more marathon statistics:

According to the available data, less than 1% of the world’s population has run a marathon:

Approximately 1.1 million runners complete a marathon each year globally, which represents about 0.01% of the world’s population.

Over a longer timeframe, estimates suggest that around 1% or less of the global population has run a marathon in the last 20 years. Some sources indicate an even lower figure, with less than 1% of the U.S. population having completed a marathon.

To put this in perspective, if you have finished a marathon, you are part of a tiny minority worldwide. This achievement places you among a select group of individuals who have demonstrated exceptional physical endurance and mental determination.

It’s worth noting that while marathon participation accounts for only about 12% of global race results as of 2018, down from 25% in 2000, overall running participation has increased significantly over the past decade. This suggests that while marathons remain a challenge attempted by few, running as an activity has become more popular globally.

An even smaller 0.007% of the world’s population has completed an ultramarathon. To put this in perspective:

In 2018, about 611,098 people worldwide ran an ultramarathon.

This represents a significant increase from 34,401 ultrarunners in 1996, showing a growth of 345% over that period.

Despite this growth, ultramarathon participation remains a niche activity. For comparison:

About 0.01% of the global population completed a marathon in 2018.

Ultramarathons account for an even smaller fraction of runners.

The percentage of female ultrarunners is even lower, with only about 0.0001% of people who have completed an ultramarathon being women.

It’s worth noting that while ultramarathon participation has grown substantially, it still represents a tiny fraction of the global population, making ultramarathoners a very select group of endurance athletes.

Running stories from my feet: