Slow running is on the rise… but what’s the appeal?

Slow running is on the rise… but what’s the appeal?

In modern life it can often feel like everything is a race. Racing to get a promotion in work, meet a partner, buy a house. And yet amid the rat race that is modern life a quiet revolution is taking place: slow running.

When people think about running they might imagine a speed and athleticism that they don’t associate with themselves. Slow running, however, focuses on running distances at your own comfortable pace, no matter what that is. Running for the joy of it, rather than for competition.

This trend has taken off on social media with over 3,000 videos posted under #slowrunning on TikTok.

Jasmine Collett, a journalist at Athletics Weekly, has noticed an increase in slow running content on her feeds.

Collet said: “All I’m seeing at the moment on Tiktok, and Instagram, and whatnot is so many people picking up running which is really, really amazing to see.”