The numbers are in for July 4th Races in 2026! While 4th of July races don’t (yet) compete with Turkey Trots in terms of holiday traditions, the popularity of July 4th races has been growing over the years. 2026 had an extra advantage with a 250th celebration and a Saturday date, but the impressive numbers speak for themselves.
Increasing Races, Increasing Runners
This year’s July 4th came with big numbers, bringing 55% more races, and 39% more runners. That meant 306,465 runners signed up across 769 races. There are likely three reasons for the drastic increases:
- Holiday Conditions: Unlike Thanksgiving, July 4th doesn’t fall on the same day of the week each year, and this year it happened to be on a Saturday (usually the biggest racing day of the week). Further amplifying that, this year’s holiday was the 250th, with additional fanfare and events.
- Market Share: RunSignup continues to pick up market share, and likely won some races from other platforms.
- Real, per-race growth: We’ve seen continued growth for races in 2026 so far (5.9% in the first half of the year), and July 4th races grew at an even faster rate. Races that were on our platform in both 2025 and 2026 increased participation by 9.9%.
While we may see a bit of a dip (or at least a slowing of growth) when the holiday returns to a weekday, it’s clear that the growth is real, and demand is high for July 4th races. Race directors who started an event this year because of the weekend holiday should consider turning the event into an annual tradition!
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # Races | 203 | 343 | 377 | 432 | 497 | 769 |
| # Registrations | 51,607 | 109,070 | 138,924 | 177,554 | 220,819 | 306,465 |
| Average Race Size | 254 | 318 | 368 | 411 | 444 | 399 |
July 4th races dropped slightly in average size, likely because the huge increase in number of races included a lot of new (or one-time) events. And, while there are no mega races of 20,000+ like we see on Thanksgiving, plenty of events drew crowds. In all, 66 races (8.6%) had more than 1,000 runners.
July 4th Runs in all 50 States!
Running patriotism spanned the whole country, with every state offering at least one race on RunSignup. The most firework excited states? Texas hosted 50 races, followed by California (48), Ohio (47), Florida (46), Michigan (41), and Pennsylvania (37).
July 4th RaceDay Stats
The July 4th race day experience was seamless for races of all sizes. A majority of races, 55.1%, used the RaceDay CheckIn App to check-in 67.0% of all participants. And the technology enhancements for the day didn’t end there: 171,079 email and text notifications were sent by 147 races throughout the day.
RaceDay Scoring also had a busy day, with 92,685 participants timed with the next generation timing software.
To keep excitement high after the finish line, 159 July 4th races in 2026 took advantage of the free RunSignup Photo Platform. 67,509 free photos were uploaded on July 4th, including 8,082 photos uploaded by the RaceDay Mobile App.
More Than Just Races: Ticket Events on July 4th
It wasn’t just runners gathering on July 4th. TicketSignup hosted tickets for a range of celebrations, including concerts, fireworks shows, historical reenactments, and more.
A Show for Thousands
The AMP at Lake Martin hosted a crowd for a family friendly concert followed by a fireworks spectacular.
Tailgating, Camping and More
The Wind Vineyards celebrated with a tailgate, games, a parade, fireworks, and even an option to camp.
A Historical Celebration
Poplar Forest led colonial demonstrations, archaeological displays, and a reading of the Declaration of Independence.
