Axios Finish Line: Why more people are running

marathons
Daher, Natalie

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Training to run 26.2 miles is a vigorous mental, physical and emotional test. Yet more people young and old are
going for it.
Why it matters: Long-distance running, which experienced a pandemic-era boom, is becoming a more democratized
sport. Marathon participants in their 20s are even embracing the race as a life milestone.
• "A theme that I see a lot is people are using running as a way to get through something," New York Road Runners
CEO Rob Simmelkjaer tells Axios. It could be grief over a loss or the everyday stress of raising kids.

• Training for a marathon demands structure, discipline and commitment.

• "Everybody who trains for a marathon has moments of challenge, moments of pain, moments where they wonder
how it's going to go," Simmelkjaer said.

The intrigue: Young people are posting about marathon training on TikTok as their "quarter-life crisis."
• The prospect of running the race "promises a profound sense of control that may be especially appealing to those
coming into adulthood," The Atlantic recently reported.

• Rather than traditional markers of "adulthood" —marriage, homeownership, children —running an intense race
might do.

State of play: Participation in the Boston Marathon has ticked upward across the race's more than century-long
history. About 30,000 runners signed up this year for the April race, compared with only 140 men in 1924.
• Finish times have also increased, suggesting people who are older, less fit and less experienced are still securing a
bib, despite the race's qualifying time requirement.

The New York City Marathon, which will take place in November, has seen turnout of 20-somethings jump in the last
five years.
• The number of runners in this group increased by 21% from 2019 to 2023 —from roughly 8,230 to nearly 10,000
participants.

Between the lines: Running a marathon can offer a sense of purpose, responsibility, self-esteem and identity
formation, according to Kevin Masters, a University of Colorado, Denver professor who's researched marathon
participants for decades.
• It offers community, the satisfaction of reaching a goal, and lessons about your body and health. (And the chance
of injury, so don't overdo it.)

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• While running, people also think —and it can lead them to solve tricky work problems, or remember people they
miss and decide to reach out, Masters said.

It can force participants to reorganize their lives.

• "Even eating becomes interesting because you can't really slam down a big burger and then go out and run 10
miles," Masters said.

NYRR has more than 250 running clubs for a range of identity groups, including Black, Latino, Asian, LGBTQ+ and
faith communities.
• Those groups might fill holes reflected in young people's shift away from more organized groups, including religion.

Reality check: Running is free and doesn't require a gym membership, but training for a long race poses some
economic barriers.
• Training requires time, access to trainers and good shoes, and park or track options for long runs, Simmelkjaer
said.

My thought bubble: I'm 30 and running my first marathon in Philadelphia this fall. I'd initially planned to run the New
York Marathon in 2021 through NYRR's 9+1 program in 2020, but I'm bored with that foiled story.
• I've been inspired reading Haruki Murakami's "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" and adapting to a
lifestyle with no alcohol and restorative rest.

• Building out a training plan, which often varies from 16 to 20 weeks, is also a fun way to map out the rest of the
year and connect with marathon runners in my life.

• Scheduled runs marked "AYF" suggest going as you feel —whatever pace works.

The bottom line: Making it to the marathon starting line is an accomplishment, the culmination of much perseverance
and resilience.
• "I want to say to all of you, congratulations," Simmelkjaer told runners at the starting line in Staten Island at the
2023 New York City Marathon.

• "The actual day of the race is more of a celebration than it is the hard part."

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DETAILS

Subject: Running; Marathons

Location: New York City New York; New York; United States--US

Publication title: Axios; Arlington

Publication year: 2024

Publication date: May 8, 2024

Dateline: May 08, 2024

Publisher: Newstex

Place of publication: Arlington

Country of publication: United States, Arlington

Publication subject: Political Science

Source type: Blog, Podcast, or Website

Language of publication: English

Document type: Blogs

ProQuest document ID: 3051674568

Document URL: https://www.proquest.com/blogs-podcasts-websites/axios-finish-line-why-more-

people-are-running/docview/3051674568/se-2?accountid=14605

Copyright: Copyright Newstex May 8, 2024

Last updated: 2024-05-08

Database: ProQuest Central

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