Healthcare is getting more expensive, gyms must prove their value, and marathons are becoming a luxury good.
America’s Healthcare Bill Keeps Climbing
America spent $5.7T on healthcare last year, up 7.3%, marking the third consecutive year health spending has increased more than 7%.
- Hospital spending topped $1.8T, physician services reached $1.2T, and prescription drug spending jumped more than 11% — driven in part by demand for GLP-1s and cancer therapies.
- Healthcare now accounts for 18.4% of the US economy, with spending projected to reach $9T by 2034.
The challenge: Demand for care continues to grow as Americans seek more treatment, live longer, and adopt new therapies that are often more effective—but significantly more expensive.
Gym Growth Starts to Slow
Fitness participation remains resilient, but attracting and keeping members is getting harder.
- ABC Fitness found new gym memberships declined 9% during the first half of 2026, while cancellations increased 8% and check-ins remained essentially flat.
- Meanwhile, studio visits climbed 27% despite softer member growth.
- A priority for consumers, average monthly spend went up, reaching $17 at enterprise gyms, $27 at boutique gyms, and $69 at studios.
For operators, the playbook is changing. Raising prices is becoming more difficult, making retention, accountability, community, and measurable progress important differentiators.
Marathon Demand Outgrows Supply
Running’s biggest events have become victims of their own success. Forced to adapt, expectations are scaling.
- The London Marathon will expand to two days and 100K participants beginning in 2027.
- Tokyo is increasing its winner’s purse to $170K, the richest prize among the World Marathon Majors.
- Still overwhelmed by demand, London topped 1.3M applicants, New York accepted only ~1%, and many races are introducing lotteries.
As marathons become social events and status signals, organizers must find new ways to keep growing. The next iteration involves larger fields, bigger prize purses, and more premium experiences.
