Earning the Right
A look at the running boom through the lens of health and performance
We are in an undeniable running boom, most agree it is the third of the running booms. Each boom has had its quirks and nuances, in the current context notable influences are a post-covid world and social media. The former drove much of the uptake in running and whilst the latter is driving a lot of behaviour that is going to be the focus of this article. *Note; this article is about running specifically but applies across any athletic endeavours so do read on even if you’re not a runner.
I have been running for decades, I ran as a child with my father, ran track and cross country in high school and ran on weekends for fitness in college (whilst spending my training through the week picking up heavy stuff). Post college and my foray into more serious strength sports I got bitten by the running bug again and started running mass participation races. So I am an unashamed running advocate and fan, I watch it, I support it and I love it. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have some concerns for some folks who are running, hence me penning this article.
I want to be extremely clear up front that this piece is not written as a form of judgement, nor is it meant to be elitist, it is meant to create pause for people and enable informed decision making. I also do not want this piece to be seen as ‘gatekeeping’ of any sort. Ultimately, all choices are individual (as are circumstances and situations) and the only wrong choice is the one made via the wrong process (one without insight, thought and information) it’s about how not what.
The Context
Despite the running boom, track events are struggling and road running is dominating. This is multifactorial but the track has always largely been supported by those who ran track themselves, whereas the new generation of runners started on the roads and their context for distances below 5k is limited. This is at least partially thanks to the “couch to 5K” apps and parkrun no doubt (for the record parkrun may be one of the single best and most effective public health interventions ever when all things are considered). Because there is participation on the roads, there is also money for the elites on the roads - perpetuating the cycle of the roads (and distances 5K and up) being the place to be.
It is worth noting that there are certainly more and less prestigious distances (this goes for all runners’ perception) these are the marquee events and the ones everyone wants to do. These include the 100m, mile/1500m (don’t @ me, I know they’re different) and marathon specifically. It’s not that these are harder, easier or anything else than other distances, its just that they have higher profile and more hype.
At the same time, ultramarathon running, specifically on trails has seen a huge increase in popularity. This makes sense in the context of things like biophilia and if I am honest is my preference over the roads when forced to choose. This ultrarunning culture certainly has different camps, those (perhaps who came from track or roads) who want to go fast and those who seem to embrace the more spiritual side of ultrarunning (perhaps chasing some escapism) who want to go LONG. When I say long I meant it, 6 days, 300 miles etc etc - LONG.
So we have a convalescing of factors driving runners’ behaviours and influencing our perceptions (as a society).
Compete or Complete?
I use this nomenclature with people a lot and think it really helps people crystallise things in their minds. There is a big difference between ‘completing’ an event vs ‘competing’ in it. Of course the latter brings visions of medals, records etc but the way I intend it to be interpreted is in the context of one’s self. That is, ‘competing’ is with reference to your own personal best possible results (regardless of others) - said differently; how does this compare to your best possible execution.
Maybe another way to think of this is bare minimum vs best possible efforts.
This is an important dichotomy, because in the former, work required in preparation is much less and risks as well as consequences can be significantly higher. This is similar to one of the misunderstood dichotomies I have written about; “possible or optimal.” In the former people are spending time training to really try do their best on the day, preparing with a long term view. The latter is often born out of bets, challenges and doing things on a whim. (Again, no judgement, just context)
With respect to said ‘risks’ and ‘consequences’, these are fairly broad terms (intentionally). Exercise itself is one of the best things you can do for your health (and it is a realm of performance) however it is worth noting that it does have some risks (including death). These are quite low but much less so if you’re underprepared. Interestingly, a recent study looked at the differences between trained and untrained individuals with respect to inflammation and, in short, found the same bout of exercise was more inflammatory in those who were untrained (inflammation itself isn’t bad per se but excessive amounts can be).
If you’re interested in competing more safely in events, see this podcast we did a little while ago:
It is worth noting that the competing vs completing notion is, like almost everything, a spectrum rather than a dichotomy. The reality for most is that they aren’t professional athletes who can perfectly prepare, but there is certainly a level of solid preparation they could consider in most cases.
Social Media as a Driver of Behaviour
I don’t want to be the next guy to pile on to social media as the world’s worst evil. In my mind, it is a tool and can thus be used (and misused). Unfortunately it is built with the incentive to make you misuse it (remember, if something is ‘free’ then you are the product).
In this case, social media is partly to blame for some of the behaviours I have observed in the running sphere (and to be honest more broadly in the fitness sphere). The ubiquity of information is again a double edged sword; it no doubt improves knowledge and knowledge sharing (in my early days of coaching I was trawling message boards, reading blogs and photocopying books to get information which is all now available on social media without much effort to find it). The downside of this information is filtering (or a lack thereof). Simple never sells, and as such complexity is often what is used in the attention industry, resulting in people at times skipping the basics which they need. Specifically, it is worth noting that the best in the world are training like they are now because it is best for where they are now, at earlier stages they were using less advanced methods. If you use advanced methods too early, you rob yourself twice; once via not using the basics and the second time when you start to plateau with the advanced methods.
Beyond the issue of filtering the well meaning but misguided information on social media there is the reinforcement of behaviours and FOMO component. This is a powerful force driving behaviour change - usually to more frequent and more extreme challenges.
Relating in part to this, a significant challenge I see, specifically in the running space is the ‘longer is better’ reinforcing loop. Part of the reason I both penned this article and spent the time on context above is that it shapes understanding of this phenomenon. In short, for whatever reasons (likely a mix of lack of knowledge and lack of profile) people don’t really care about faster shorter running from a social credit perspective (read kudos on Strava). Someone will much sooner get significant praise and social credit for something very long than a shorter distance very fast. This in turn can drive more extreme undertakings rather than appropriate preparations (as there is no credit given to the months of training - often the opposite is true).
The Goggins Effect
I will admit I was early on the David Goggins bandwagon (close to 20 years ago). I loved the story and the mentality. He’s probably a net good for the world too, getting more people active and breaking mental barriers.
Having said all this, the same mentality that allows people to dismiss their excuses to finally commit, can also be misused to do things in an underprepared manner. Again, this may not be an issue, but even David’s own story of ending with significant renal issues during an ultramarathon should speak to the importance of preparation.
This isn’t about soft or hard, it’s about taking his message, and doing the work to be ready - its MORE work, not less. It’s months of planning, preparation, transformation and the likes, rather than a day or 2 of something you’ve never done and then back to normal.
As a result of the above, and what I think is some real discomfort (psychological and physical), with trying to perform better at shorter distances people seem to be going progressively longer in distances quite quickly (done that distance, on to the next). Again, this may seen innocuous and it can be, particularly if there is real time, effort and planning put into each step. Unfortunately often it is just the next challenge up and really being underprepared for each one.
What is the Challenge you are Seeking?
Many of you will say something like “I like doing hard things” or suggest that this is where growth happens. I’d agree and wholeheartedly support this, with a “BUT”.
It is important to consider yourself, your tendencies and more broadly your “why” (in both exercise and life). If you can honestly do all of this and have good answers you may find that “the hard thing” isn’t signing up (or not even doing that) and running a marathon randomly, it’s doing 6 months of training, consistently and diligently towards a marathon. In fact, you may find that the hardest thing isn’t even that, it is spending 6 months training to try and improve your 5k time, often much more challenging than improving one’s marathon time (and usually with much MUCH less social media clout as mentioned above).
Earn the Right
This is a principle I learned from an early coaching mentor of mine (Grant Jenkins). It’s a variant on good pedagogy, which in essence progressively exposes people to increasingly difficult and complex tasks. This is a key part of skill development in sports coaching (there’s no point asking someone pass from their wrong hand at full speed in rugby when they haven’t learned the basics of passing without running yet).
This relates somewhat to what was discussed above about using advanced methods too early. That said, it brings in a competency component for people to aspire to. Until you have ‘earned the right’ you cannot progress.
What does this look like in practice?
Not using advanced exercises in the gym until you’ve mastered the basics (bodyweight squat before goblet squat before barbell squats before squat jumps etc etc).
Not using advanced training programs when you’ve not reached a plateau on basic methods.
Not stepping up distances until you have competed (or ‘performed’) at a shorter distance.
In short; executing well before progressing to the next step.
Advice
Enjoy your running/training
Make sure you are clear on your ‘why’ for running/training (and in general)
Ensure you understand where you lie on the spectrum and health and performance focus (more here)
Don’t fall into the further or more is better trap
References
Ducharme JB, Specht JW, Bailly AR, Deyhle MR. Serum cytokines and their soluble receptors are differently regulated between trained and untrained men after vigorous endurance exercise. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2025 May 1;328(5):R581-R587. doi: 10.1152/ajpregu.00010.2025. Epub 2025 Mar 25. PMID: 40130752.