SubscribeMany of us are familiar with waking up early on a Saturday or Sunday morning to head to a local race. Races are often early events that force athletes to wake up as early as 3:00 a.m. to prepare for the day’s events.
Casual athletes to race directors themselves are curious about why most running races are on Sundays, and at such crazy times, with the Runner’s World Ask the Race Director column able to answer the questions.
Aside from the fact that more people are free due to weekends off, race organizers have found it be extremely difficult to hold events on Saturday. There are more people out on a Saturday morning, along with a higher number of businesses open.
Per the race director:
Even though it’s a weekend day, most businesses are open on Saturday and it becomes tricky to close streets. That may not be a major problem in a 5-K, but it is for longer races. Sundays also allow big races to hold expos and registration on Friday and Saturday, plus I’ve found that it’s easier to find volunteers for Sunday races than for Saturday races.
It’ll always be impossible to cater to all athletes, but race organizers will continue to try to do their best to accommodate as many people as possible.
