If you think you’ve seen a whole lot more people pounding the pavement recently, you’re not wrong. In 2023, the Sydney Marathon saw entries rise by 250 per cent, with 48 per cent of participants being marathon first-timers. (The marathon has in fact grown so popular, that the organisers decided to pull the plug on the Sydney Half Marathon this year in order to focus their attention on the Full Marathon, which is coming up in September.) And it’s not just competitive running that’s on the rise in Sydney – recreational running is also on the up, with social run clubs experiencing rapid growth, and searches for “trail running” up 50 per cent since the start of 2024.
And now, Sydney has topped a global list of the best cities for running enthusiasts – beating cities like London, Hawaii, Hong Kong and Budapest to the top spot. This news comes in addition to the announcement made earlier this month that Sydney also ranked as one of the most walkable cities in the world.
The research was carried out by UK-born activewear brand OCEANSAPART, who researched the world’s best running trails and running-inspired travel trends to find the best city in the world for running enthusiasts to visit.
Sydney’s stunning running trails and sunny weather are credited with scoring the Emerald City the top spot on the global list. According to the research carried out by the brand, Sydney is home to an incredible 708 running trails, and 2640 sunshine hours per year (when La Niña isn’t getting in the way, that is).
As listed by OCEANSAPART, the world's best destinations for running enthusiasts are:
1 - Sydney (home to 708 running trails)
2 - London (home to 625 running trails)
3 - Hawaii (home to 567 running trails)
4 - Hong Kong (home to 556 running trails)
5 - Budapest (home to 546 running trails)
Inspired to make the most of it? These are our favourite running routes in the city, and you can learn more about Sydney’s social run club trend over here.
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