SportsShoes.com: Nearly Half Of The UK Has Never Gone For A Run, According To Latest Report

Nearly Half Of The UK Has Never Gone For A Run, According To Latest Report

40% of the population runs at least once a week, up 4% year-on-year, but nearly half of UK adults(48%) have never run
Despite this, an impressive 28% of Brits want to run more in 2025
Improved mental health is the top benefit people experience from running and over a quarter are running for mental health reasons
The report also reveals that over two thirds of women (70%) and over half of men (57%) have experienced intimidating behaviour while out running

Sports S hoes .com has released its second annual Running Report, an in-depth look into the running community in the UK, using a combination of internal data, a nationally representative survey and stats sourced from YouGov and Google.

The report reveals that running is more popular than ever in the UK, with runners gaining both physical and mental benefits from the hobby. However, significant barriers do remain, with a shockingly high amount of safety concerns, as well as would-be runners not finding the joy in running due to injuries, health conditions or personal insecurities or fears – among them, worrying they’re too unfit, or too overweight to run.

Despite barriers, running continues to grow in popularity

According to the data, interest in running continues to grow. A huge 40% of the UK population run at least once a week, which is up 4% when compared to last year’s report, and an impressive 4% of people run every day.

In line with previous figures, men are more likely to run than women, with 44% of men running regularly compared to 35% of women. Unsurprisingly it’s the younger generations who are running more, Millennials pound the pavement or treadmill the most, with nearly two thirds (62%) running at least once a week, and following closely behind, three in five members of Gen Z run weekly as well.

Although one in five don’t time their runs, for those that do, the average 5K time is impressive. Men tend to complete a 5k in 28 minutes and 15 seconds (a pace of 5:39 min/km), while women do so in 29 minutes and 53 seconds (a pace of 5:58 min/km).

Why do some people run and some people don’t?

The report shows that there are several motivations behind why people run, the most common of which are to improve fitness (39%), lose weight (29%) and improve mental health (29%). Among runners,improved mental health, more energy and improved sleep top the list of positive benefits experienced as a result.

Although the data shows that runners get amazing benefits from running, recent data from YouGov reveals that a huge 42% of Brits say they’ve learned to accept that healthy eating and running just isn’t for them. The SportsShoes.com report reveals that nearly half (48%) have never gone for a run at all, andthe reasons behind this are simple – they don’t enjoy it (27%), they feel like they physically can’t (24%)and they feel too old (23%). One in five feel that they are too unfit to run and 8% think they are too overweight.

Safety concerns among runners are common

A significant portion of the report highlights safety in running, addressing the frequent concerns runners face regarding their personal safety while exercising. Alarmingly the data reveals that 40% of runners have felt unsafe when running, with female runners more likely to feel unsafe than male runners. Nearly half of women (48%) have felt unsafe when on a run, though over a third of men (36%) have alsoexperienced feeling unsafe when running.

It is the younger generation who feel more vulnerable when running, with over half of all Gen Z runners (55%) and 47% of Millennials saying they’ve felt unsafe whilst on a run.

Sadly, these fears are not unfounded, with a large proportion of runners having experienced an intimidating incident whilst running, more than half (57%) of these being male runners and a huge 70%being female. The most common incidents include being stared at, being followed and being beeped at from a car.

The data shows that women disproportionately experience these incidents, for example 16% of women say they’ve been catcalled while running, compared to just 6% of men. This leads to women having to take more precautions than men, such as not wearing anything revealing, running only on well-lit streetsand sticking to busy routes.

Dan Cartner, Head of Marketing at SportsShoes.com, comments: “Publishing our Running Report is always an exciting opportunity to celebrate the incredible growth of the sport, while shedding light on the challenges that need improvement across the industry.

“It’s inspiring to see more people taking up running year after year, and experiencing the incredible benefits it brings, particularly when it comes to mental health. However, it’s concerning that so many barriers still get in the way of people experiencing these benefits. Safety concerns, intimidation and feeling ‘too unfit’ or ‘too overweight’ should never be reasons for someone to hold back from running if they want to.

“Running should be an inclusive and accessible activity for everyone, yet too many still feel unsafe or like running isn’t ‘for them’. The findings from this year’s report are overwhelmingly positive but remind us that we must continue working towards a culture where everyone feels welcome – no runner should ever have to face intimidation or feel unsafe while enjoying their hobby.”

You can find the full report, which also includes expert commentary from Vitality, parkrun and running coaches, as well as insights on 2025’s trending races, the most popular running influencers and running trends for 2025 here: https://www.sportsshoes.com/advice/running-hub/health-wellbeing/running-report

Check out the SportsShoes.com RIA Foundation Member profile here .