RunSignup Endurance Industry Assessment and Business Update

April 13, 2022

Company Well Positioned to Continue Market Growth

April 13, 2022 – Moorestown, NJ /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – RunSignup, the leading registration provider for U.S. endurance events, announces its Q1 market assessment and business update. Overall, the industry has experienced a reduction in the number of planned events and participants are trending towards delayed registrations. The market continues to consolidate and RunSignup has increased its market share to approximately 35-40% (a ten percent increase since the pandemic began). RunSignup expects the market to continue to lag some in the coming months, but is well positioned to continue its market growth during 2022.

Compared to 2019, the endurance event industry is reporting a 22% reduction in planned events for 2022 (source for events: https://runningintheusa.com). RunSignup’s registration reports also showed a dip of events created during December and January due to the Omnicron variant. However, there has been a resurgence as of February as Covid case counts dropped. RunSignup reports the industry faces less available events and a hesitancy of participants to register early for events.

“Many participants are waiting to register for events whereas previously they would register far in advance to take advantage of early registration discounts. This typical early registration creates a network opportunity where participants encourage others to join them in the event. However, the trend towards delaying registration means there is less window for this organic registration growth. We recommend event organizers do more advanced promotion and incentives for early registration to help increase attendance,” said Bob Bickel, CEO and Founder of RunSignup.

Another challenge the industry is facing is many events canceled during the last two years due to the pandemic and this is creating a disconnect of enthusiasm in the industry. Events coming back after such a long time will need to put forth greater promotional efforts to re-engage with participants and volunteers.

The endurance event registration industry in the United States has experienced market consolidation that has accelerated due to the pandemic challenges. Several providers are no longer in business or have recently sold to other organizations.

Despite the headwinds the industry has faced, RunSignup has experienced growth and increased market share. The company issued a Q1 2022 update and reports a 22% increase in events in Q1. The company attributes much of this growth to the industry consolidation and due to its pivoting its approach to support its events during the pandemic. RunSignup continues to expand its market share and most recently acquired Lightbox Registrations. RunSignup also reports a 46% transaction volume increase when compared with Q1 of 2019. This was driven by a 135% increase in donations done on the platform and the expanded use of its ticket platform.

RunSignup continues its focus on the endurance industry and invests in the technology to support event organizers and timers to help drive registrations and deliver a memorable race day experience. During the first quarter of 2022, the company has introduced:

• New free email solution
• Advancements in its free check-in app
• RaceJoy UI improvements
• RaceDay Scoring advancements
• S. Masters Swimming integration
• TXT Messaging and QR code innovations
• New fundraising tools and features

In addition, RunSignup introduced TicketSignup to help events process tickets for non-endurance events and takes advantage of the existing technology available for RunSignup endurance events such as transactions, referrals, email, websites, photos, sponsor promotion, and fundraising. This adjacent industry is in line with RunSignup’s core competency and is a natural extension of its services.

RunSignup offers an annual report on the industry and more information can be found on its 2021 RaceTrends report.

About RunSignup

RunSignup is the leading event solution delivering the art of technology to endurance events and nonprofits. More than 25,000 events use our free and open platform to register 7 million annual participants, raise more than $1 billion and grow their events. Our expertly crafted, open and all-in-one solution powers event revenue generation and supporter engagement through flexible registration, free event websites, free email marketing, integrated fundraising, and a suite of RaceDay tools. No subscriptions, no plans, no monthly fees.

To find out why customers like the Philadelphia Marathon, American Cancer Society, Vacation Races, and RaceDay Events use RunSignup, visit www.runsignup.com.