Answering our Why with geography

Thinking about why we run is one thing, but deep academic research into why and where we run as a population can lead to a less anecdotal answer.

I’m so interested in the intersection between running and geography. It’s what I studied at university, and if you’ve spent more than a few minutes with me, I’ve probably tried to convince you that it’s the best subject in the world. I believe we can find the answer to everything using geography.

I talk about “stepping deeper into running culture,” for instance, and just generally thinking more deeply about why we spend so much time doing this thing that we do. That stems from a Masters in cultural and economic geography, but it’s not unusual for a long-distance runner to spend an eight-hour shift per week on their running. That’s an extraordinary amount of time to be spending on a leisure pursuit, and it begs the question of Why. I think we can get closer to discovering the answer with geography.

One of a growing cohort of academics looking to explore and explain the cultural nuances and reasoning behind why we r…