Strange things are happening. Everyone is running and I haven’t received the memo. I sit here, typing, not having run since my high school cross-country days. So, why the sudden boom?
Everyday, when I open social media, from TikTok to Instagram, someone is posting about completing their first marathon or half-marathon. In fact, everyone seems to be running a marathon right now.
I initially thought: maybe this is all for bragging rights. Who wouldn’t want to have a shiny medal and 13.1 or even better yet, 26.2 miles behind them? It seems extremely awesome to bring it up as a fun fact in a conversation.
It’s not simple enough to just do in one day though. It requires months of training, years even. I couldn’t imagine people were just pumping out marathons to show off.
Deep dive, full sprint
A bit of research shows that before COVID-19, marathon participation peaked in 2014 with almost 500,000 runners. This steadily declined by about 4% each year and plummeted during the pandemic. Now, however, the uptick is astounding. There were over 432,562 marathon runners in 2024, and if social media is any indication, that number has only skyrocketed over the past two years.
There’s clearly a secret pact circulating that I’m not part of. So, I decided to do a deep dive to uncover the phenomenon and to figure out if I should join in, or just keep sitting in the comfort of my dorm.
Naturally, I started my search on the Her Campus website, because where else would I go?
The first article that caught my attention was Annabelle Persaud’s article: “Wait, Why Did I Sign Up For This?” She explained that she wasn’t a big runner in high school, but the gorgeous scenery in Santa Barbara inspired her to get outside. By hitting the pavement with her roommates and loosely following a training plan, she proved that preparing for a race doesn’t have to be a strict regime. She even shared improvements she hopes to make for her next half, or potentially full, marathon.
The general consensus? Annabelle genuinely enjoyed the process as a college student, using her newfound freedom outside of the corporate world to sprint out some miles.
Still, I was a little dumbfounded. Reflecting on my own cross country days, I couldn’t imagine ever enjoying running enough to do it consistently unless a coach was forcing me. This sentiment led me to Giada Rice’s article: “Lacing Up: How College Helped Me Fall In Love with Long Distance Running (Again)”. Giada expressed loving running in school until she joined cross country, where the sole focus on PRs and obligations led to inevitable burnout, a feeling I deeply relate to.
Joining a run club, however, allowed her to fall back in love. Seeing running as a social group activity rather than a stressful, private competition allowed her to finally relish the runner’s high and the mental benefits of the sport.
Jogging it together
It all started to become clear. Maybe college students need these structured goals to feel a semblance of control over their lives. On the quarter system especially, everything feels very sudden, chaotic, and fast-paced. During midterms and finals, it can feel like you can’t grasp onto anything long enough to tame it. Running, especially running with a set plan, can act as a physical crutch when you desperately need to feel in control of your trajectory.
Reclaiming running from a solitary, grueling chore to a community hobby is an excellent way to shift your mindset. Group running offers several benefits, ranging from improved form to a deep sense of belonging. Run clubs, after all, are where many students meet people with identical interests.
why a marathon?
Then why not stick to a couple of miles and call it a day? Why the sudden urge to run a dozen miles at once?
Now, you didn’t hear this from me, because I’m probably not getting up to run more than three miles anytime soon, but maybe we could all benefit from setting our sights a little higher.
Therapist Salina Grilli explained this phenomenon perfectly. “A 5K isn’t enough anymore. A lot of young people are going straight into a marathon, since it’s a big, lofty goal.”
While crossing the finish line is the ultimate objective, the exhausting work leading up to it seems to be the most emotionally and physically gratifying part. Setting a massive goal is a way to reclaim your life in more ways than one. Marathons come with obvious health benefits, improved cardiovascular health and boosted metabolism, but they also build immense metal resilience and reduce stress.
This trend is popular amongst college students because of how common mental health struggles are in a demanding and daunting era of life. Running provides an outlet for rampant anxiety, allowing students to disconnect from screens and reconnect with nature and community.
Final thoughts
Though a marathon itself is a solo mental and physical battle, you have thousands of people on the sidelines cheering you on, from complete strangers to close family and friends. The allure of completing a race with hundreds of other runners while thousands of people cheer you on is intoxicating.
It seems unbelievable yet it is entirely attainable. Anyone with a physically able body can go out and finish a marathon with the right mindset and training.
So, if you want to be a part of this epic movement, grab some running shoes, find a friend, and go log some miles. Maybe you’ll find yourself crossing a marathon finish line soon enough.