Americans are lacing up athletic shoes and signing up to run in 5Ks, 10-milers and even marathons in record numbers.
In a country often lampooned as populated with obese soda-swilling TV junkies, about 9.2 million people completed a certified foot race in the US last year, up from 3.7 million in 1987.
Of those, 425,000 completed a marathon — 42.2km — and 715,000 ran a half-marathon, said Running USA, a non-profit group that promotes running. That’s up from 143,000 marathon runners in 1980.
The numbers are expected to be even higher this year, said Ryan Lamppa with Running USA.
“There is still a pent-up demand for races in the country,” Lamppa said.
Marathons across the country are filling up so quickly that race organizers are adding half-marathons (21km) along with shorter races on event day, Lamppa said.
About 40,000 people ran the New York marathon early this month. In late October about 32,000 people ran the Marine Corps marathon in Washington, and about 45,000 ran earlier in Chicago.
In Atlanta, 55,000 people signed up for the marathon next Thursday — the bulk of the tickets sold online in seven hours — and approximately 45,000 are expected at the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend on Jan. 10 in Florida.
Why the growth? Running is the cheapest, fastest way to lose weight, and along with walking, the easiest way to exercise. But that’s only part of the answer.
We live in a financially uncertain, violence-scarred world, and running “gives you something to control — you can’t control the stock market or the economy, but you can control your health,” Lamppa said.
Michael Giordana, a sports sociologist at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, believes there are three aspects fueling the running boom: People inspired by the Olympics last year, increased social networking — for example runners opening Facebook pages to collect money for charity — and a reaction to what he called “the obesity epidemic.”
The US Centers for Disease Control says about one-third of US adults are obese, while another third are overweight.
As more people run and enjoy the experience, word-of-mouth attracts new runners.
“The stories that come out motivate people to get off the couch and be more active,” Giordana said.
Race days have also become city-wide carnivals, complete with live music, free food, street vendors, and crowds cheering on the athletes.
Big sponsors have jumped into the act. While schools and local stores focus on neighborhood 5K (5km) runs, marquee names like Bank of America, ING, McDonalds and Continental Airlines have sponsored major races this year.
Training is also widely available, Giordana said.
Aside from scores of books on running, there are software programs and training programs held at health clubs, some catering to specific interests like religion or single runners looking for a partner.
Need in-person support? Bridget Bowers heads a training program run by Pacers, a northern Virginia running shoe chain store.
“It’s a very social thing to do,” Bowers said.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
‘POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE’: Leo Varadkar said he was ‘no longer the best person’ to lead the nation and was stepping down for political, as well as personal, reasons Leo Varadkar on Wednesday announced that he was stepping down as Ireland’s prime minister and leader of the Fine Gael party in the governing coalition, citing “personal and political” reasons. Pundits called the surprise move, just 10 weeks before Ireland holds European Parliament and local elections, a “political earthquake.” A general election has to be held within a year. Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin, leader of Fianna Fail, the main coalition partner, said Varadkar’s announcement was “unexpected,” but added that he expected the government to run its full term. An emotional Varadkar, who is in his second stint as prime minister and at
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia