By Kashvi Cox, Third Year, English
Whether it be a local parkrun or a full blown marathon, there certainly seems to be a growing trend in students taking up running. But what I want to know is why. What has caused this new engagement? Well, I think we can put it down to three main reasons: fitness, achievement and community.
Chloe, a student at Bristol, ran the Great Bristol Run with her brother last year. She had spent a few years struggling with her asthma and so said that ‘being able to run long distances felt like a massive milestone in trying to improve my health and fitness.’ She also said that ‘signing up for the half [marathon] gave me a reason to continue running, which was a great motivator.’ Often having a goal to work towards, like a full or a half marathon, can make exercising feel easier.
Chloe was one of many Bristol students who ran the Great Bristol Run last year. Indeed, the University of Bristol’s Bristol Run Series encourages students to start their running journey. On their website they say, ‘It's all about getting out, getting moving and feeling part of the #WeAreBristol community’. Total participants from the university have only increased over the past few years, with 961 taking part this year; students making up 82.4 per cent of these 961 participants.
Epigram also spoke to Micol, a medicine student, about her running journey. She said that she enjoys ‘being outside and taking a break from work in a way that feels productive and good for me. I feel much happier after a run and a sense of achievement.’ For students like Micol, running gives a reason to step away from the laptop or the library, and a way to define oneself outside of academia. While exams and coursework can feel impersonal, running is a way of taking ownership over your goals and achievements. Micol also noted the practicality of running: ‘Depending on the distance, it’s a fairly quick workout that cuts travel time to a gym for example.’ Gym memberships can also be expensive, so a quick run is both cost and time efficient.
Perhaps, though, marathon mania is all just part of our growing fitness culture. Everyday hundreds of students head to the gym, armed with headphones and protein bars, or take to the streets to power through a ‘quick 5k’. While we know exercise is good for us, especially when it is a social activity, there is a more worrying side to this trend.
‘Whether students are doing it for fitness reasons or to raise money for a cause they want to support, it shows how important it is to have something to work towards outside of the academic setting.’
The past few years has seen a significant rise in SkinnyTok, which the National Alliance for Eating Disorders define as ‘a side of social media that idolizes extreme thinness’. This content often promotes strict exercise routines, often easily disguisable as healthy lifestyle advice; running marathons, for instance. This is not to say that everyone running marathons is doing it for the wrong reason, however it is important to recognise this as a possible contributor to this growing trend.
Most people who run full or half marathons are motivated by a much greater cause than their own fitness. Those running the Great Bristol Run might choose to run for Alzheimer’s Society, Cancer Research UK, or local charities like St Peter’s Hospice. Running for a cause like this is undeniably an amazing achievement, showing how one person can make a difference to their community.
Sophie Lee
It is clear that running has become a massive trend. Whether students are doing it for fitness reasons or to raise money for a cause they want to support, it shows how important it is to have something to work towards outside of the academic setting. Running can give you a real sense of purpose and achievement, and as long as it is done for the right reasons, it can be a really great activity to try. That being said, it is okay if you despise running (like me!) and would rather go on a nice gentle walk. It is not for everyone, but on Saturday 10th May thousands of runners will take to the streets to trace the Great Bristol Run route from Rupert Street to harbourside, so go out and support them. Even by cheering from the side-lines, you can be part of the running community too.
Featured image: Epigram / Kashvi Cox
Are you running the Great Bristol Run, or considering partaking in a future marathon?
