REVEALED: The UK’s Most and Least Athletic Regions
The study found that Yorkshire & the Humber (14%), Scotland (15%) and South West (15%) were revealed to have the lowest proportion of runners who ran a few times a week. In comparison, nearly one-third of Londoners were pounding the pavement multiple times per week.
| How often do you run? | A few times a week |
| Yorkshire & the Humber | 14% |
| Scotland | 15% |
| South West | 15% |
| East Midlands | 18% |
| Wales | 18% |
| South East | 18% |
| North West | 19% |
| Northern Ireland | 20% |
| West Midlands | 22% |
| East of England | 22% |
| North East | 25% |
| Greater London | 27% |
North East England (1%), Northern Ireland (2%) and South West England (2%) have the lowest number of daily runners, while Wales (6%), Scotland (5%) and Greater London (5%) have most consistent runners.
| How often do you run? | Every day |
| North East | 1% |
| Northern Ireland | 2% |
| South West | 2% |
| West Midlands | 3% |
| South East | 3% |
| Yorkshire & the Humber | 3% |
| East of England | 4% |
| East Midlands | 4% |
| North West | 4% |
| Greater London | 5% |
| Scotland | 5% |
| Wales | 6% |
The UK’s Fastest & Slowest Runners
The ASICS study also found that runners in the East Midlands and South East England are the speediest at just 12:08 and 12:40 per mile. Londoners and Northern Irish runners lagged behind significantly, coming in at over one minute and two minutes slower, respectively.
| Region | Avg mile time, mm:ss |
| East Midlands | 12:08 |
| South East | 12:40 |
| East of England | 12:51 |
| North East | 12:52 |
| South West | 13:02 |
| Wales | 13:04 |
| North West | 13:24 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 13:30 |
| Scotland | 13:33 |
| West Midlands | 13:34 |
| Greater London | 13:42 |
| Northern Ireland | 14:42 |
Which Regions Run The Furthest?
Londoners and respondents in South East England register the longest runs in the country, the former clocking in an average of 11.6 miles every month – just 1.5 mile short of a half marathon and over one mile further than the following region. Conversely, those in South East England and Wales do the shortest runs, on average.
| Region | Avg miles per month |
| Greater London | 11.6 |
| South East | 10.3 |
| Northern Ireland | 9.6 |
| East of England | 9.5 |
| North West | 9.4 |
| East Midlands | 9.4 |
| West Midlands | 9.2 |
| Scotland | 8.6 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 8.1 |
| North East | 7.8 |
| Wales | 7.4 |
| South West | 6.1 |
Discover How Far You Can Run In A Year
In addition, ASICS created a tool to allow you and your readers to discover just how far you could run in a year, and how you compare to other UK runners. You can explore the tool here.
