The Recent Popularity of Marathons

Marathons (42.195 kilometers or 26 miles and 385 yards) are gaining so much popularity than ever before, and it is quite noticeable that a lot of them are being organized.  Annually, 570 marathons are held in the U.S. alone and in 2011, a total of  551,811 individuals finished the event (from only 299,000 participants, not even finishers, in 2000). 

Who can argue about the global popularity of the marathon? This event at the Olympics is always a favorite.  How about the Boston Marathon, one of the longest-running annual marathon in the world with 100 plus years of tradition?  It is a marathon like no other that even foreign participants move heaven and earth to make sure they prepare for this event, no matter how much it would cost them, considering all the training and logistics. Believe it or not, participating in such an event is a dream come true for most of them. Moreover, therapy websites encourage this type of event to join to and guide clients on how to be physically qualified.

The popularity of running as a sport is also evident on the increasing number of magazines being published that focus specifically on running, some are even exclusive to men or women.  Popular ones are Runner’s World and Running Times.  There are many web-based resources as well like Runningforums.com that provide valuable information on running for people of all fitness levels, including the basics of running, selecting the right running shoes, nutrition, best practices of running, events schedules, and even websites for therapists to ensure a participant is mentally prepared to finish a marathon (as it is no surprise that running a full marathon is tougher mentally than physically for some people). 

From professional athletes to beginners, marathons will always have its loyal and new followers.  It doesn’t matter whether you are young or young at heart.  Joining a marathon is easy, although finishing it is a totally different matter.  Even seasoned amateurs who have run a number of marathons know the physical, nutritional, and also the usually overlooked psychological requirements to finish the event strong and injure-free. 

But what lures people in this exciting and rewarding activity is the physical and emotional benefits.  It will obviously have its physical benefits on the over-all health of a participant due to the preparations needed.  But it also has an emotional benefit knowing that a participant has spent considerable time, energy, and discipline to complete the event.  The fact is, only 0.5% of the U.S. population has run a marathon.  Imagine being part of this elite group where every finisher has the bragging right to be called a “marathoner”.

If you are interested to join a full marathon, or are at least interested to join fun runs (3 km, 5 km, 10 km, 16 km) with family and friends for physical or social reasons, feel free to contact your local community to find out schedules or clinics available in your area.