Running: Happiness in every stride
Ok, hear us out.
We know athletics can have a reputation as a PE class punishment or the thing you do when you’re late for a bus. But there’s also a whole world of joy, clarity and community waiting just beyond that first kilometre.
Yes, it’s great for your body, strengthening your heart, lungs and muscles, but as with many sports above, the real magic is in what it does for your mind. Studies show running can ease anxiety, sharpen focus and lift your mood.
There’s the rush of endorphins that leaves you proud post-run. The peace of a solo jog after work, letting the day melt off your shoulders one footfall at a time. And the finish lines (real or metaphorical) that remind you how far you’ve come in a sport that asks only that you begin.
You don’t need to be the next Noah Lyles. You don’t need to sprint like Julien Alfred or clock marathon splits like Eliud Kipchoge. In fact, you don’t need to race at all. As distance runner John Bingham wrote in The Courage to Start, “If you run, you are a runner. It doesn’t matter how fast or how far… You just run.”
There’s something beautifully simple about it. Running doesn’t care what shoes you wear, how fast you go, or how long you’ve been doing it. It just asks you to move.
And chances are, you will enjoy it.
Kara Goucher, a two-time Olympian, said it best: “Running allows me to set my mind free. Nothing seems impossible. Nothing unattainable.” Or take it from Mo Farah, one of the greatest distance runners of all time: “I need it as much for my head as I do for my body.”
And here’s a bonus: running doesn’t have to be lonely. From early morning parkruns to massive marathon festivals, the running community is warm, welcoming, and wonderfully weird. These days, run clubs are popping up everywhere, gathering people of all paces and playlists to join the movement.
But it’s also there when you need solitude, when you want to lace up, zone out, and listen to your breath and the steady beat of your feet on trail or pavement.
Whether you’re sprinting down a track, jogging through the woods, or taking your first ever walk-run around the block, know this: you’re in the club.
Besides, if cross-country skiing can be fun (and it is), then running can be too. Especially when it’s less about the destination and more about the joy of moving forward: slow, steady and free.
So if you want to channel the energy of Paris 2024, try organising your own mini Olympics with friends. Sadly, your medals may not feature Eiffel Tower fragments, but the memories will be just as golden.