Running hasn’t always been popular.
It wasn’t until the mid-late 1970s when a jogging boom took off across the UK.
Inspired by trends in the United States, there was a surge in interest in road running as a leisure activity and way of keeping fit and healthy.
An estimated one million people now consider themselves to be runners, taking part in new events from fun runs to marathons.
This growth is underlined by the London Marathon ballot today.
In the first London Marathon in 1981 just over 7,000 people took part.
Fast-forward four decades and more than one million people have entered the 2026 London Marathon ballot alone.
The growth in demand reflects the nationwide trend for being active. As a society, we are generally moving more now than ever before. According to last month’s Sport England Active Lives survey, the number of people playing sport and taking part in physical activity between November 2023 and November 2024 in England was at the highest level on record.
And while the number of adults who run is under the pre-pandemic peak of seven million, according to Sport England, it has grown 350,000 year on year to six and a half million.
This suggests that, while the overall number is not as high as it has been, many of those who run do with more fervour than before, given the growth in the participation at events.
Elite runner Phily Bowden, who was the third British female home in last Sunday’s London Marathon elite race, said: “I like to say I was there before it was cool.
“It’s definitely growing.
“When you first start running, if you’re not fit and you don’t do any cardio, it is hard and it’s not necessarily going to be super fun for the first six to eight weeks.
“But once you get a level of fitness and you can actually just go outside and enjoy a run or enjoy a session, it’s the best thing. So I love that other people have tapped into that and discovered that.”
So is just a fad or will it stick around?
Bowden, who has her sights set on another marathon major this year, thinks it’s here to stay.
“We’ve all seen how running can help our mental health and how it can be a really great part of our routine. So I hope as long as the memories of that live on, the running stays.
“I think now that the running clubs are bigger, there are more people doing it and there are more people sharing on social media, hopefully that’s enough to keep that trend going.”
