What is Running Culture?

According the the Merriam-Webster dictionary culture means the beliefs, customs, arts, etc. of a particular social group, place, or time. Or, particular society that has its own characteristic features of everyday existence, the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization, the set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic, the combined pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends on the transmission of knowledge to succeeding generations. If we were to take this definition and plug in the word running then it should define what running culture is. Shouldn’t it? The word ‘should’ has been troublesome throughout history and likely five minutes ago. 

The reason a definition of the word culture can be problematic is because of the lack of every part of a group or society abiding by the rules of said culture. Perhaps it is an understanding or majority of folks within a culture that determines the culture. Who knows? Running culture however, has the one thing. We all run and we run by choice. One cannot choose where they are born. One cannot choose what language they are taught first or what their first bite of solid food is. The seven generations of marriage ceremonies that determine what wedding culture is of ‘your’ people wasn’t something that you had anything to do with. The choice to run today was undoubtedly a decision for the runner. 

That Boston Qualifier that is on your race calendar or that easy run on Tuesday  isn’t something you were born into. In many ways, it is something that you struggle being without. While the common denominator has been made abundantly clear, the title hasn’t been sufficiently explained. 

Firstly, running isn’t conditioning or cardio for us. That is typically reserved for ‘conditioning’ the body for some other activity like football, basketball, or some other sport. Similarly, ‘cardio’ is what folks do in the gym to maintain a balanced work out or for some other reason unrelated to running for pleasure. Runners don’t have to run, there is a universally held belief in this community that running is enjoyable. Secondly, we talk about running. Oftentimes our conversation can creep into the realm of nauseating. A group of runners never have to worry about small talk. We have all just run, are running, or are about to run. Perpetually stretching that one little nagging thing in that random spot runners will tell “war stories” about some brutal long run, a beautiful path along the lake, a gnarly, technical trail “not too far from here”, and of course, the omnipresent, upcoming race. There is always something to chat about because in general, going out for a run is a daily occurrence. 

Thirdly, there exists this odd appreciation for “the race shirt”. Most races, 5k to 200 miles, will give a free t-shirt. It really doesn’t matter how many years that you’ve run, it is exceedingly difficult to bypass the “free tee”. The difficulty increases when the shirt is whimsical like an Easter Bunny with a headband and running shoes, or iconic like the Boston Marathon Jacket. Even at the gym, these race shirt become the perfect workout shirt. This is obviously a ridiculous segment of running culture but it undoubtedly a part of it. 

Running shoes are the next part of running culture. The running shoe market is massive and every runner needs them in order to run. I’ve seen people run in Batman costumes, jeans, wedding dresses, full camouflage with packs, and bathing suits. While it matters less what apparel one wears, footwear is a non-negotiable. While we may not be as knowledgeable as an employee in a mom and pop running specialty store, for the most part, we can speak intelligently about the shoe that we will run in for 300-500 miles. We have worn different brands and types. What runner doesn’t love a debate about Nike, vs. HOKA vs On Running vs Adidas? The way we talk about shoes is how wine enthusiasts discuss wine. 

Lastly, many, if not al of us are obsessed with this sport. We read Runner’s World Magazine, The Lore of Running, and anything that has been published since 1962. Some reads are science backed educational books and many are anecdotal texts or storytelling novels. I won’t venture to say that every runner has a library but I can say with absolute confidence that every runner that I know personally, has, at the very least, a mini-library with some of the classics. Books like Daniels Running Formula or What I Talk About When I Talk About Running were mentioned and discussed way before I owned and read them. We are all running geeks and love learning new things about our sport. 

While this list of items can effectively define running culture the most beautiful part is that this is not an exhaustive list. While the official tastes, sweet, sour, bitter, and salty have been around since prehistory, umami (savoriness) was just added in 1908. While I may not be able to identify every single part of running culture the foundation of it lives in the aforementioned list but tomorrow another facet of this beautiful sport can be just as large a part of it as any of the original five. Running Culture will continue to evolve as the community evolves and grow as your emotional connection strengthens.