US registration platform RunSignup has released its July 4th racing data for 2026, revealing a significant increase in both race numbers and runner participation across the United States.
A total of 306,465 runners registered for 769 July 4th events utilizing the RunSignup platform, marking a 39% increase in participants and a 55% rise in the number of scheduled races compared to 2025.
The growth is attributed to a combination of factors, including community events organised for America’s 250th anniversary, the holiday falling on a Saturday, and an increased market share for the platform.
Crucially, existing events also experienced gains. Races that utilized the platform in both 2025 and 2026 recorded an average participant increase of 9.9%. This outpaced the 5.9% per-race growth rate observed across the first half of the 2026 season.
Bob Bickel, CEO and Founder at RunSignup, said “July 4th races don’t (yet) compete with Turkey Trots in terms of holiday tradition, but their upward trajectory is strong. Race directors who launched a new event this year because of the favorable calendar and 250th anniversary should seriously consider making it an annual tradition for their community.”
All 50 US states hosted at least one registered event over the holiday. Texas registered the highest number of races with 50 events on RunSignup, followed by California with 48, Ohio with 47, Florida with 46, Michigan with 41, and Pennsylvania with 37.
Larger events were also highly represented in the data, with 66 races – representing 8.6% of all July 4th events on the platform – drawing more than 1,000 participants.
The data highlighted a broad adoption of race day technology. The platform’s RaceDay CheckIn App was used by 55.1% of events to process 67% of all event participants. Additionally, 147 races utilised the system to send 171,079 email and text notifications to competitors throughout the holiday.
RunSignup’s scoring software, RaceDay Scoring, timed 92,685 competitors across the various holiday events. Digital engagement also continued post-race, with 159 events using the company’s photo platform to upload 67,509 free race day photos, including 8,082 images captured directly via the RaceDay Mobile App.
Beyond traditional running events, the company’s TicketSignup platform was used to manage various other community celebrations, such as concerts, fireworks displays, and historical reenactments.
RunSignup is an employee-owned event technology solution that supports more than 39,000 events and non-profit organisations, registering over 12 million annual participants.
