Each year, SportsShoes.com releases an annual Running Report, which uses data to reveal how and why people in the UK are running, covering everything from motivations, injuries, trends and safety. They used a combination of internal data, a nationally representative survey and stats sourced from YouGov and Google. The 2025 report which is out now found a startling, but perhaps not so surprising data point – that 70% of female runners in the UK have experienced an intimidating incident when running.
Other key findings on female runners include:
- 35% of women run at least once a week, but over half of UK women (51%) have never run
- Despite this, an impressive 31% of women want to run more in 2025
- Improved mental health is the top benefit women experience from running and over a quarter (30%) are running for mental health reasons
The report reveals that running is more popular than ever in the UK for women, with female 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 embarrassed 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. In line with previous figures, men are more likely to run than women, with 44% of men running regularly compared to 35% of women. The most common running frequency for women is 2-3 times a week (14% of female runners run this often), and impressively 4% are running every day.
Although one in five don’t time their runs, for those that do, the average 5K time is impressive. According to the report, women run a 5K in 29 minutes and 53 seconds (a pace of 5:58 min/km) on average.
Why do some women run and some women don’t?
The report shows that there are several motivations behind why women run, the most common of which are to improve fitness (37%), lose weight (34%) and look better (30%). Among female runners, improved mental health, more energy and less stress 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 over half of women (51%) have never gone for a run at all, and the reasons behind this are simple – they don’t enjoy it (28%), they feel like they physically can’t (24%) and they feel too unfit (22%). Women were also put off running as they are embarrassed when other people see them run and because they fear falling over (both 11%), reasons that weren’t a factor for men.
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 also experienced feeling unsafe when running.
Sadly, these fears are not unfounded, with 70% of female runners having experienced an intimidating incident whilst running. The most common incidents include being stared at (experienced by 23% of women), being followed (experienced by 22% of women) and being beeped at from a car (experienced by 21% of women).
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 67% of female runners ensuring they don’t wear anything revealing and 61% only running on well-lit streets. 64% of female runners will make sure they tell someone they are going running and 43% ensure they only run in busy places.
“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,” said Dan Cartner, Head of Marketing at SportsShoes.com in a press release.
“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.”
Take a look at the full report for more detailed info, 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.
