Even in a massive running boom, sometimes the toughest step is getting outside and simply committing.
And according to a YouGov study commissioned by Runna which published this week, nearly one in three Americans have watched a marathon, considered running one but never followed through.
Many felt like they were not a runner or didn’t have the fitness, while around two in five Americans build motivation that typically fades in a month.
Ahead of Sunday’s New York City Marathon, Runna is asking runners to sign its commitment wall in Franklin Point, Brooklyn near the course that prompts spectators to make a declaration the world can see.
The study surveyed 1,175 adults in early October and of those who aspired to run a marathon, the findings reveal that there is a gap in inspiration and actually putting action to taking the steps to lock in a race. That gap is especially pronounced among Gen Z at 52 percent.
Identity is the largest barrier, not fitness. The top reason people dashed their plans to commit was because they simply felt like they did not fit the image of a runner (44 percent), while others said that fitness was the issue holding them back (31 percent).
Meanwhile, almost half of Americans told themselves they would prioritize fitness in the last year, but the solutions rarely converted to results, as just seven percent took on a race or physical activity.
And keeping personal promises and not doing the same with others is common, according to the study. Around 67 percent in the survey said that they would likely follow through on a promise to someone else, while 54 percent believe that making an oath publicly would give them an incentive to achieve it.
But the race to stick to those promises is critical when nearly two in five people in the study say that their motivation drops within a month, making it harder to maintain a typical marathon training block that lasts around four months or more.
So it’s important to stick with what has a better shot at working, with 39 percent believing that they would stay on target if they were routinely tracking their progress, with 37 percent wanting to get some kind of reward and 28 percent needing to know there was a fixed deadline to finish the activity.
For Gen Z, having a sense of community is extremely important, with 22 percent saying that training with a friend would prompt them to train for a marathon. Strava’s own data backs up the idea, since 82 percent of 2025 New York City Marathon finishers belonged to a club that was registered on the platform.
Those who ran last year’s NYC Marathon logged three training sessions a week during their training blocks, averaging 47 minutes on weekdays and nearly an hour and a half on weekends, proving that for those hesitant to commit to running, the barrier of entry is not out of reach.
With Sunday’s race just days away, an example of motivaton will be on full display on the streets of New York City, with the final major of the year set to draw more than 2 million spectators and many who one day hope to compleye their first marathon.
The mural will be in place until November 8 and in a city constantly hungry for miles, expect every slot to have a signature locked in.
