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TCS London Marathon says it has seen a 105% increase in Gen Z entries this year, which seems to reflect a growing boom in running with young people.
Running is all the rage with Gen Z, it seems.
Big events like the TCS London Marathon have experienced a massive spike in attendance and entries over the last few years, while brands such as Nike, Adidas and Lululemon are all investing in the city’s running scene.
Officials for the TCS London Marathon confirmed that Gen Z now account for the second biggest age demographic for the event – with a 105% increase over last year.
According to the fitness app Strava, 66% of Gen Z have made new friends through a fitness group in the last year, with 55% saying their top reason for joining was to form social connections. A whopping 96% said they’d also consider reducing their alcohol intake to improve their fitness and achieve their goals.
With many reports of Gen Z finding alcohol less appealing in general, it could be likely that fitness and community sports may be replacing nightlife activities and late night clubbing.
Why are Gen Z taking up running?
While we can’t definitively pinpoint what’s drawing Gen Z to running, we do have a few guesses. As a runner myself, there are several massive positives to embracing the outdoors and speeding about your local parks.
For one, running is extremely easy to gamify. Everyone knows that young people love data, statistics, monitoring their ongoing progress, and competing with others in healthy but concrete ways.
Thanks to apps like Strava, it’s possible for runners to know exactly where they went, what time they achieved, the routes they’ve gone on, what their best times are, and how all of their friends are doing. It keeps people motivated to stay on schedule – and that’s not to mention the other incentives that these apps usually offer, like digital reward badges and exclusive discounts for achieving certain milestones.
In addition, running is a relatively affordable hobby to get into if done correctly. Sure, there are tons of accessories you could buy, but all you really need are some decent shoes and a phone to track your movements. Many gyms (especially in cities) can cost a pretty penny every month – which adds up quickly.
Disciplining ourselves to get outside every day and exercise can also be extremely beneficial for our mental health. As our careers and social lives continue to be ever more dominated by social media and the internet, it can be refreshing to take time away and actually interact with your local area. It sounds silly, but running offers an excuse to really explore where you live and sink into a rhythm.
