When Running Was for Weirdos

For a long time, running was for weirdos. It wasn’t always like it is today. Today we’re used to people pushing past us on the sidewalk, dressed in neon and kitted out with iPods and FitBits. It’s normal that everybody looks like cyborg highlighters.

In America, the metric system is basically kept alive by 5k races alone. But back in the 60’s, running was so unusual that it had to be explained to people.

On October 15, 1968, the Chicago Tribune devoted an entire page to a strange new trend—Jogging: The Newest Road to Fitness. A typical recreational runner, Andre Mandeville, ran …read more