Has The Uk Become A Nation Of Runners?

A grounds number of group person applied to return portion successful nan 2026 London Marathon.

Event organisers said much than 1.1 cardinal applications had been received, smashing nan erstwhile grounds of 840,318 group by past year's ballot.

Last Sunday, much than 90,000 group took connected 26.2 miles crossed some London and Manchester marathons - nan largest time of marathon moving ever to return spot successful nan UK.

So, is nan UK experiencing a moving boom? And, if so, why and who is driving it?

When you excavation into what's happening, immoderate aspects really guidelines out.

The summation successful runners is driven by women.

The UK's astir celebrated region is 10k, and events are wide crossed nan country.

Parkrun has grown to 450,000 participants per week.

Run clubs person popped up astir nan state arsenic younger generations attraction connected fittingness and shun accepted drinking cultures.

And arsenic for nan genuinely dedicated, much than 2,000 group - up from 97 a decade agone - person now completed a expanse of six prestigious marathons.

But let's commencement pinch that female boom.

Believe it aliases not, until 1975 women successful Britain were banned from competing successful moving roadworthy races longer than 6km, pinch female runners making up conscionable 4% of nan 7,000-strong section astatine nan inaugural London Marathon.

In this year's edition, 45% of nan 56,640 participants were women - and women made up 49.55% of UK applications for nan 2026 ballot.

Molly Slater-Davison group up women-only tally nine These Girls Run successful 2021, driven by her ain struggle to find a welcoming section nine and immoderate antagonistic moving experiences including catcalling and being followed.

Operating nether nan motto "safe, sweaty and supportive", These Girls Run has seen overmuch of its maturation done societal media and now has grounds attendance numbers astatine each 9 of its locations crossed nan UK.

"It's that societal effect - 'if my friend's doing it, past I can'," said Slater-Davison.

"People starting to do 5km and sharing it connected societal media, past sharing their travel to a longer region tally has really helped women to consciousness like, 'oh, this is thing that I tin do'."

"For a batch of women, you do PE astatine schoolhouse and you usually person a unspeakable time, past you spell done puberty and you don't really exercise. There's tons of investigation that shows america women and girls driblet retired of athletics astatine an early property and past don't prime it backmost up again. Whereas pinch running, if you're pinch a group of women, it tin conscionable consciousness overmuch much friendly, safe and supportive."

A cardinal logic for nan surge successful moving is nan accrued number of events connected offer, pinch much group than ever taking portion successful them.

Parkrun has played a immense domiciled successful turning america into a federation of runners.

Twenty-one years ago, it launched its first tally pinch conscionable 13 runners and 5 volunteers astatine London's Bushy Park. Now, location are much than 2,500 events globally pinch an mean of 450,000 participants each week.

The entreaty of parkrun is nan accent connected information - everyone is equal, whether you locomotion aliases run.

As much group return part, nan mean decorativeness clip continues to slow. Last period it was 33 minutes, compared pinch 22 minutes successful 2005 - thing organisers opportunity they are "really proud of".

But distant from a 5km successful your section park, nan numbers propose we are peculiarly enthusiastic astir endurance.

According to England Athletics, nan astir celebrated moving region is 10km, intimately followed by half marathons, past ultramarathons - defined arsenic immoderate region beyond nan accepted 26.2 miles.

The number of registered grassroots athletics clubs is besides astatine an all-time high, pinch England Athletics telling BBC Sport nan grassroots athletics segment is "flourishing" and "stronger than ever".

At nan marathon distance, nan chance to gain nan coveted Six Star Medal awarded to runners who complete each six of nan world marathon fields - Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City - has exploded successful request complete nan past 10 years.

In 2015, location were conscionable 97 Six Star finishers from nan UK. After past week's London Marathon, location were 2,023.

But don't interest if pavement-pounding is not your point - location really is simply a title for everyone location successful nan world.

You could subordinate a Santa tally connected nan Isle of Skye, title horses aliases moreover a train successful Wales, aliases transportation 50kg of ember connected your backmost uphill successful Yorkshire. Or, if you for illustration nan finer things successful life, really does traversing 26.2 miles done Bordeaux's vineyards successful fancy dress, sampling vino and food astatine each fuelling station, sound?

The benefits of moving are good documented, for some beingness fittingness and intelligence health. Many group turned to moving during nan pandemic arsenic a measurement to enactment active, but 5 years connected nan inclination has stuck around, successful move becoming much of a manner than a sport.

The younger generations are embracing that manner much than anyone else. Gen Z and millennials are progressively trading precocious alcohol-fuelled nights for early-morning endorphin highs to return portion successful tally clubs and gain virtual kudos connected fittingness apps for illustration Strava.

Friday Night Lights shape 5km and 10km events successful cities crossed nan state for tens of thousands of people, sold pinch nan committedness of attending "the UK's healthiest nighttime out". Such is nan request among 18-34 twelvemonth olds for moving that London Marathon Events person precocious invested successful nan concept.

"The maturation has been accelerated and impervious that group are crying retired for thing societal that doesn't wreck their play pinch crippling hangovers," Friday Night Lights laminitis Charlie A told BBC Sport.

"We're not astir moving fast, acold aliases doing reps. We're conscionable moving for nan liking of it. Running to person fun. Running to make friends. Running to bask immoderate large music."

Running hasn't ever been popular.

It wasn't until nan mid-late 1970s erstwhile a jogging roar took disconnected crossed nan UK.

Inspired by trends successful nan United States, location was a surge successful liking successful roadworthy moving arsenic a leisure activity and measurement of keeping fresh and healthy.

An estimated 1 cardinal group now see themselves to beryllium runners, taking portion successful caller events from nosy runs to marathons.

This maturation is underlined by nan London Marathon ballot today.

In nan first London Marathon successful 1981 conscionable complete 7,000 group took part.

Fast-forward 4 decades and much than 1 cardinal group person entered nan 2026 London Marathon ballot alone.

The maturation successful request reflects nan nationwide inclination for being active. As a society, we are mostly moving much now than ever before. According to past month's Sport England Active Lives survey, nan number of group playing athletics and taking portion successful beingness activity betwixt November 2023 and November 2024 successful England was astatine nan highest level connected record.

And while nan number of adults who tally is nether nan pre-pandemic highest of 7 million, according to Sport England, it has grown 350,000 twelvemonth connected twelvemonth to six and a half million.

This suggests that, while nan wide number is not arsenic precocious arsenic it has been, galore of those who tally do pinch much fervour than before, fixed nan maturation successful nan information astatine events.

Elite runner Phily Bowden, who was nan 3rd British female location successful past Sunday's London Marathon elite race, said: "I for illustration to opportunity I was location earlier it was cool.

"It's decidedly growing.

"When you first commencement running, if you're not fresh and you don't do immoderate cardio, it is difficult and it's not needfully going to beryllium ace nosy for nan first six to 8 weeks,

"But erstwhile you get a level of fittingness and you tin really conscionable spell extracurricular and bask a tally aliases bask a session, it's nan champion thing. So I emotion that different group person tapped into that and discovered that."

So is conscionable a fad aliases will it instrumentality around?

Bowden, who has her sights group connected different marathon awesome this year, thinks it's present to stay.

"We've each seen really moving tin thief our intelligence wellness and really it tin beryllium a really awesome portion of our routine. So I dream arsenic agelong arsenic nan memories of that unrecorded on, nan moving stays.

"I deliberation now that nan moving clubs are bigger, location are much group doing it and location are much group sharing connected societal media, hopefully that's capable to support that inclination going."