What is running culture?

I see people talking about ‘running culture’ or ‘run culture’ all the time. Sometimes it’s in a hashtag (which don’t work on Instagram anymore, FYI), but other times it’s in relation to the growth of the subculture of running within popular culture.

After the record-breaking London Marathon, where there were more discussion panels, more shakeout runs, and more brand presence in general, I saw a couple of big IG accounts talking about running culture peaking. The implication is that it’s all downhill from here. The decline of Western running civilization. I personally don’t see that happening, but I can predict the future as well as they can.

My issue was that the whole conversation was centered around consumerism when there were runners — both running and cheering — than ever before. My knee-jerk response was:

Capitalism is not culture.

It’s a handy soundbite, and while there’s truth running through it, saying what culture is not , isn’t actually very constructive. So what is running culture?

Defining culture

Let’s start by defining culture itself. With my experience of having studied cultural geographies at university for far too long, we can go vaguely academic with this one.

There are two types of culture:

1. Material culture: this considers how physical objects are used and consumed in relation to culture and communities.

2. Symbolic culture: this is about the customs, social institutions, belief systems, and values of a group of people that distinguish it from others.

Basically, culture is how people interact with the world.

All culture is first created through necessity and then learned and evolved through generations over time. The Marxist viewpoint is that culture is used to segregate society and that dominant cultures can be challenged over time

Defining Running Culture

Now we take those concepts of culture and use them to place people (runners) in the world of running. I’m going to attempt to answer this via a series of questions.

Has running culture peaked?

No, and it can’t. Culture is an ever-evolving way of understanding how people interact with their part of the world. As such, running culture cannot ‘peak’ because running culture is just a way of describing how runners interact with the running world.

In terms of brands, there can be a feeling of over-saturation of consumer-oriented activations, which might be what people are confusing with “run culture peaking.” If we understand that ‘peace and quiet’ is something to strive for, fitting in as many shakeout runs and multi-brand expos as possible in the days before running a marathon might not be the thing to do.

Is run culture exclusively for run clubs?

No. As long as there have been runners, there has been run culture — it started long before 2010. The solitude of the runner logging miles alone on a trail is a very distinct and important part of running culture. They do not love the sport any more than the modern social runner or a solo runner on a treadmill – it’s just different. Running culture shouldn’t be used as a pejorative, or to ‘other’ a sector of runners AKA a microculture.

Are brands a part of running culture?

Yes. Fashion is maybe the easiest and most visual form of non-verbal communication, so what brands we choose to wear tells those around us (other runners) what kind of values we have as a person. Have you thrifted a 70s band tee? Are you wearing the latest Boston Marathon singlet? Head to toe in Nike? Those all tell a story.

In relation to that Marxist viewpoint, he believed that culture reflected the ruling class. That’s the people with billions of dollars advertising the heck out of their wares at every race and run club. You already know this, but you don’t need to be sucked into their marketing ideology.

The apparel you’ve chosen is a status symbol indicator. You can project an image of yourself at whatever level of the community you choose. A $200 shirt and a $400 watch sends a different message than a $20 no-name tank from the local run club that you’re attending. Either way, you will find the community you’re looking for.

Do run clubs need brands?

NO. I’ve written extensively about run club culture, and the brands that interact and sponsor are a completely different separate transaction. Run clubs are microcosms of the running subculture. That Marxist argument acknowledges how counter-cultures and grassroots activism can be built as people with shared beliefs find one another. It’s also common that when vulnerable people run with the group, they are protected by their community with no strings attached. The bonds that are built through all of that community action are incredibly strong.

Multi-billion-dollar companies like to piggyback those communities, but it’s when those companies do more than just pay for visibility of their products and actually open up their networks and resources to run clubs that real work can be done. A fast turnaround on a t-shirt can go a long way towards organizing a community race in aid of the Los Angeles wildfires (more on that below), for example. Either way, run clubs need to know their value.

As I see more and more run clubs having a ©, ® or ™ in their first year, it’s clear that there’s a new wave of financially savvy run club owners coming into the game. They are often prospective brands themselves.

Can brands build community?

Yes, but… Where there is an expectation or hope of a purchase, it can never be a truly free community. Yes, your local running store is a community hub and owner-operated business, but if they’re hosting a weekly run club, it’s all part of their marketing budget and strategy to get you to buy your gear from there. It’s incumbent on them to give to the community they’re building, because it’s not a truly shared space.

If we understand that community is inherently leftist-coded, if a run club is formed with the goal of building a community to sell a new running apparel brand to, the intentions are not so pure. The relationship is unbalanced because the values are not shared throughout the community.

Is run culture mainstream now?

Yes and no. It was a super nerdy sport, and now it’s… still very nerdy. It used to be nerds that obsessed over times and splits and nutrition, but now it’s also nerds who obsess over the latest apparel releases and times and splits and nutrition. Just because someone looks cooler and more fashionable, it doesn’t mean they aren’t also super into Dungeons & Dragons.

How much more can run culture grow?

Yes. I think the biggest question right now is whether we have the running culture that we want. If it’s what you follow on social media. If it’s what you celebrate. If it’s what you look for for your own running community. If it’s what you pay for. Yes, it is what you want.

One of the knock-on effects of so many new runners in this world (a 35% increase in London Marathon applications last week!) is that there is just more of everything. Not less. The same number of Real Runners running hundreds of miles alone still exist. Realistically, there are more than ever now. The same number of Grassroots Running Communities exist. Again, there are way more now.

There are also more and more corporate run clubs every day. There are also more brand activations around every event, but even the increase in brands means less of a monolithic experience when choosing your running outfit. It’s all run culture. There’s just more of it. You have the agency to choose which bits you engage with and how.

What’s next for run culture?

Running, and run culture, is as democratic as it’s ever been. The only way to build the running world that you want is to live it and be it. Whether you’re surrounded by two dozen friends in Northeast LA or are running alone through Angeles National Forest, you are the running community. You are running culture.