# More men now taking part in sponsored runs – and raising more money – than women

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2014/04/22/men-now-taking-part-sponsored-runs-raising-money-women/
- Published: 2014-04-22T12:57:49+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

More people are raising more money through sponsored runs than ever before, new 
research from the Charities Aid Foundation reveals. But there has been a noticeable
increase in the number of men taking part.

Almost seven million (6.8 million) people raised money through running the past 
year – more than two million (36 per cent) that in the 2012/13. And the average 
amount raised by each participant has gone up by £78 to £358 – an increase of 28
per cent.

There has also been a “surge” in the number of men taking part in last year. This
year, 52 per cent of runners were men, but in 2012/13, the proportion of mail runners
was just 44 per cent.

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CAF says this increase in male event participants could account for the overall 
rise in numbers. There were 2.2 million men running in 2012/13 but 3.5 million in
2013/14.

This year, men raised on average £396 compared to women raising an average of £319.

John Low, chief executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, said: “Charities are 
clearly getting better at making running events attractive to men, a space which
has previously been dominated by ‘pink’ events like [Race for Life](http://raceforlife.cancerresearchuk.org/index.htmlhttp://).

“With issues of male health more in the public eye and higher endurance events such
as [Tough Mudder](http://toughmudder.co.uk) gaining popularity, it’s unsurprising
that more men are stepping up to the mark and getting involved”.

The survey also found:

 * 4.9m people have raised money for charity through running in the year ending 
   April 2013, growing to 6.8 million in the year to April 2014
 * The number of people claiming to have raised money through running for charity
   in their lifetime jumped up by five percentage points – from 14 per cent to 19
   per cent
 * The average age of a runner is 42
 * Medical research is the most popular cause overall (48 per cent), followed by
   Hospitals and hospices (20 per cent) and then Children and Young people (16 per
   cent)
 * 27 per cent of people say that would like to run for charity in the future, but
   54 per cent of people have not interest at all in running for charity.

## CAF’s research as infographic

CAF have summarised their research into sponsored runs in this infographic.

 

[⌊CAF sponsored run research infographic⌉⌊CAF sponsored run research infographic⌉[

Infographic: Charities Aid Foundation