Garmin: More Runners Are Adding Strength Workouts to Their Routines

A new report from Garmin found not only a rise in running, but that runners are increasingly pairing their mileage with strength training

Last year was yet another year of growth for not only running, but running and lifting, according to a new data report from Garmin.

Pulling from data across its user ecosystem, the fitness watch giant found that runners recorded nearly 13% more indoor and 3% more outdoor running activities in 2025 compared to 2024. Notably, there was also a significant jump in those who logged a run and a strength activity in the same week, up 23% in 2025.

That seems to be on trend with not only the increasing interest in weightlifting, but also the growth of hybrid training, thanks to concepts like Hyrox.

Boutique fitness studios are taking steps to meet this demand, too: New York-based Tone House, for example, recently launched a strength-training class built specifically for runners.

In terms of Garmin data, Millennials seemed to lead the charge for logging the most activities, with those ages 30-39 recording the largest year-over-year increase of average activities per user, followed by those ages 20–29, 60–69, over 70+ and 40–49.

Garmin’s report also underscores the growth of social fitness and racing, with more runners seeking out loftier goals — the most popular race distance among those using Garmin’s training plans was the half marathon.

Across the board, data is showing running is becoming a mainstay in many fitness routines. The average run distance for all Garmin users was about 4.8 miles — with those ages 50–59 running slightly more per activity on average at 5.1 miles, and those ages 20–29 running slightly less at 4.6 miles per run.

Nearly 40% of runners were averaging about 6-10 miles per week, while 28% maintained between 11-20 miles per week, 7% of users ran between 21–30 miles a week and just 3% ran more than 31 miles each week.

Garmin’s findings bolster Strava’s 2025 data, which found a strong surge in strength training and that running race participation increased significantly across 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons and full marathons. Gen Z participation rose by 28% in 5Ks, 39% in 10Ks, 31% in half marathons and 33% in full marathons year-over-year.