You can run, but you can’t hide – half marathon fever is sweeping across our students like a newfound epidemic. Your friends are no longer posting their night out pictures on Instagram; they’re posting their Sunday morning runs on Strava. TikTok has become a beacon in exercise influencing, leaving many people inspired to follow suit and lace up their trainers, but what is it about long distance running that has young people so keen to jump on the bandwagon?
Issy is a third year geography student who recently completed the London half marathon at Kew Gardens. She completed the race only weeks after fracturing her ankle playing football during a Campus League match, not letting her injury prevent her from finishing what she started. She has now entered the ballot for next year’s London Marathon.
“I think I got into running because I was going to join a gym, but it was too expensive,” she said. “I signed up to do a half marathon to motivate me to run regularly.”
The same attitude can be said for her friend Izzy, also a geography student, who has similarly been inspired to get running by signing up for the Newcastle half marathon later this year: “I struggle to find the motivation to do exercise, so setting myself a challenge and having a fundraiser set in place forces me to stay active and keep running.”
There is clearly a running theme here (pardon the pun) – people need motivation to drive them. We need a goal in mind, something to look forward to at the end of all that training. Perhaps it’s the desire to prove to ourselves – and no one else – that we can do what set our mind to. For others, it’s the knowledge that we won’t push ourselves without that clear goal.
Maisie, a third year English literature student, completed the Manchester Marathon in April this year. Despite it being her first marathon, Maisie finished with an incredible time, and has reflected on what the achievement meant to her: “Although the marathon was an incredible thing to achieve, it was the training I’m most proud of, and the greatest benefit of it was proving to myself that I can do hard things, even if sometimes it feels like I can’t or I’m not good enough.”
The rising popularity of half marathons could be considered a testament to young people’s desire to improve their health, but it’s no longer solely about being able to run 26 miles solidly. It’s about having the resilience to train for long hours, to keep going when you’re struggling, to prove your strength to no one but yourself. It’s become a new milestone amongst twenty-somethings, a bucket list item that’s becoming more and more popular.
There is definitely an argument to be made that the rise of running is a result of social media. TikTok is now a place for influencers to share their training plans, what brand of trainers to purchase, and the incredible feeling that comes with finishing a race. Does this mean that marathon running is simply a trend? Is it a new fad that will die out in a few years? Whilst social media often paints an idealistic picture of these kinds of activities, surely there is something to be gained from this specific trend. More young people are running marathons than ever before, which can only be a positive statistic. Running has become a communal activity. You might run by yourself, but there are now communities both digital and physical that are built on encouraging love for the sport. The support network for running is bigger than ever, and people are getting inspired. First your friend does a half, then another signs up for the next one, and suddenly you’re putting yourself down for the London ballot – the running bug certainly does catch on quickly.
Featured Image Credit: Welcome to Sheffield
