Why running is super trendy right now
CBC
Nina Hill doesn't consider herself a runner, yet every Wednesday she helps lead hundreds of 20- and 30-somethings on a jog through downtown Calgary.
"This is just a fun way to get out and get offline," said Hill, 26, a former figure skater and co-founder of the Offline Wellness Club.
Hill and her friends started the group in April, and it now draws nearly 300 people on balmy summer evenings. There's a mix of ability levels, but she says many are new runners, using the club as a way to make friends while getting a workout.
Among them is Kenedi Klein, 25, who typically hits the gym for exercise, but was drawn to the club as a way to unwind after work.
"Cardio has actually not been my strong suit," said Klein. "I don't love it, but being around such a positive crowd has really made me change my ways, and I look forward to Wednesdays."
The two women have plenty of company. While running as a hobby has been around for decades, it's having a particular moment right now.
From coast to coast, people are signing up for races in big numbers. Both the Toronto Marathon and the BMO Vancouver Marathon say they've set records this year, and the recent Servus Calgary Marathon welcomed the most runners it's had in a decade, with organizers saying they could've accepted more if they weren't afraid of running out of T-shirts and medals.
Athletics Ontario, which sanctions road races across that province, says its registrations are up 16 per cent compared to this time last year.
"[It's] absolutely awesome, considering it actually was on the downward spiral before the pandemic," said Sheryl Preston, the organization's associate manager of trail and road running.
Much of the growth is being driven by young adults in their 20s and 30s.
Both Athletics Ontario and the Running Room, which sponsors and organizes races across Canada, said this age group is their fastest-growing demographic, while Strava, the popular running app, told CBC News its largest share of new users now come from Gen Z.
On TikTok, the hashtag #running has 3.9 million posts, with many users riffing on the idea of completing a half marathon becoming a quarter-life milestone, akin to getting married or having children.
The sport is so popular now, it's hard to remember it wasn't always this way.
Recreational jogging was introduced to North Americans in the early 1960s by Bill Bowerman, a University of Oregon track and field coach. He became an early advocate for the sport after discovering it during a trip to New Zealand, and subsequently wrote the book The Joggers Manual, introducing people on this side of the pond to the idea that running could be done by — and was beneficial to — everyday people.
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