A History of Running in 34

A HISTORY OF RUNNING

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IN OUR BONES

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PYRAMID SESSIONS

From evolutionary biology to female emancipation and four per cent footplates, THIS IS THE STORY OF RUNNING, as told by the things it has created

Putting one foot in front of the other to get from A to B is one of the oldest human behaviours. Our go-to tonic for fitness and physical and mental well-being can be traced back to an essential survival skill, when our ancestors roamed across the plains at tempo pace some two million years ago, and it’s inextricably linked to human evolution.

From the time when Homo Erectus subsistence-hunted dinner to Eliud Kipchoge chasing a sub-two-hour marathon, running has been a constant part of the human story. It’s been a force for change in society, culture and technology, with an incredible history that can be traced through the artefacts left behind by athletes, inventors, trailblazers, pioneers and us everyday runners. Step this way for a tour of our specially curated collection of objects that have shaped the way we run, and the world we run in.

1 / IN OUR BONES

Turkana boy Were humans born to run? Or did running give birth to humans? Some researchers think that fossil evidence such as Turkana Boy, a nearly complete 1.6-million-year-old fossil, suggests the latter.

Brought to the masses by Christopher McDougall’s 2009 bestseller, Born to Run, Daniel Lieberman and Dennis Bramble’s study of early human fossils presents the case that some adaptations in human form are required only for running. It argues that the emergence of humans is bound up with the development of an ability to run, with features such as long legs and large Achilles tendons seen

IN 34 OBJECTS

Pharaohs were required to run laps of palace race tracks.

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GREECE LIGHTENING

100 BC 1890 5

PUMP IT UP

as crucial to human evolution.

These evolutionary upgrades helped our distance-running ancestors to chase down prey and compete for meat with speedier carnivores on open plains. The theory even suggests that our disproportionately large buttocks – our primate relatives are not as blessed in this department as we are – are critical to stabilisation while running. Another reason not to neglect the glute work.

2 / PYRAMID SESSIONS

Oil-jar label from the tomb of King Den at Abydos If you thought running skirts were a modern invention, think again. An oil-jar label found in the tomb of the pharaoh King Den shows slipping into an athletic A-line for a running fitness test dates back more than 5 000 years to Ancient Egypt. During Sed festivals for the renewal of the king’s health and rule, pharaohs were required to dress in short kilts with tails, and run laps of specially constructed palace race tracks. All to prove their strength and fitness to rule.

3 / GREECE LIGHTENING

Bronze strigil from the British Museum The earliest evidence of competitive running for sport comes from the Ancient Olympians. Before competing, athletes covered themselves in oil to warm up their muscles and protect their skin (though not to combat chafing against sports-toga seams, as they ran completely naked).

The strigil (an elaborate instrument with a curved blade, the example shown made of bronze) was used afterwards to scrape the accumulated oil, dirt and sweat off the body before a dunk in the communal baths.

4 / GRIPPING STUFF

The Spencer shoe One of the earliest examples of spiked running shoes dates back to 1865, in Northampton. Made of leather, weighing in at a surprisingly lightweight 280g and featuring a band for added lateral support, they have the rather dapper look of a man’s dress shoe – with spikes on the bottom – and were probably used for cross-country running.

5 / PUMP IT UP

Harold Abrahams’ running pumps In 1890, a company founded by Joseph William Foster (it later became Reebok) started making production running shoes. A keen runner, Foster wanted shoes that could help him go faster. Later, the leather ‘running pump’ spikes were worn by British athletes, including the 1924 Olympic 100m champion Harold Abrahams — whose achievements were immortalised in the Oscarwinning film Chariots of Fire. •

In 1966, running found a voice in print. “

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PERSONAL VEST 11

WOMEN’S BIB

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DRINKING HABITS

1927 1954 1967

6 / DRINKING HABITS

Vintage Glucozade bottle These days, you can’t get 10 metres into a 5K fun run without someone offering you a sports drink. Many people point to Gatorade as the godfather of energy drinks, but Lucozade – then known as Glucozade – got there first, back in 1927. However, it took until 1982 for it to be marketed as an energyreplacement drink, rather than a tonic for the poorly. It wasn’t until 1990 that Lucozade Sport was launched, aimed directly at exercisers and runners.

7 / PERSONAL VEST

Roger Banister’s Iffley Road vest and bib Sir Roger Banister ran his sub-four-minute mile at Iffley Road in Oxford in 1954 in a pair of running spikes that looked like someone had hammered nails through a pair of old Oxfords. But his three-stripe vest and 41 race- bib combo has become the iconic image of one of running’s most historic moments, and symbolic shorthand for the fact that we can continue to push beyond what is considered possible.

8 / TRACTION HERO

New Balance Trackster In 1960, the groundbreaking New Balance Trackster led the way for mass-marketed running-specific shoes. It was the first running shoe with a rippled sole for traction, and it quickly became the shoe of choice for the track and cross-country teams around its base in the US city of Boston.

9 / BARE TO DREAM

Abebe Bikila’s Olympic Marathon gold medal In a glorious moment that inspired generations across a continent, barefoot Ethiopian Abebe Bikila became the first black African to win the Olympic marathon, setting a 2:15:16 world record in Rome in 1960. It started a new era of inclusivity – and distance-running glory – for African nations in the Olympic Games. And 50 years later, Ethiopia’s Siraj Gena, the winner of the 2010 Rome Marathon, ran the last 300m shoeless as a tribute.

10 / PRINT FINISH

First issue of Distance Running News In 1966, running found a voice in print with the launch of a small pamphlet, Distance Running News. The original incarnation of what would become Runner’s World started with just two issues in its first year, featuring marathon news and the earliest shoe reviews.

11 / WOMEN’S BIB

Kathrine Switzer’s 261 Boston bib The first woman to run the Boston Marathon as an officially registered competitor in 1967, Kathrine Switzer used her initials to sneak into the then-male-only race.

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BOOM TIME

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LONG STORY

The image of an angry race director trying (unsuccessfully) to shove her off the course came to represent women’s struggle for equality in running and sports, and it was chosen as one of Time-Life’s 100 Photos That Changed the World. Switzer’s 261fearless charity – named after her iconic race number – continues to use running to empower and unite women worldwide.

12 / BOOM TIME

Jogging, by Bill Bowerman Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman’s waffle-iron sole changed what runners wore; but it was the former track-and-field coach’s hugely popular book, Jogging – a ‘light running’ manifesto for the masses, first published in 1967 – that inspired people everywhere to lace up in search of trimmed waists and better heart health. It helped transform running from a niche activity pursued by athletes into a mainstream pastime, fuelling the first big running boom into the 1970s.

13 / MASS START

1970 New York City Marathon medal The first organised marathon was held in 1896 at the Olympics in Athens; the Boston Marathon has been run every year since 1897 (except 2020); and Slovakia’s Košice Peace Marathon dates back to 1924; but it was the New York City Marathon that fired the starting pistol on the craze for bigcity races. Just 127 runners picked up the first NYC medal in 1970, but by 1979 it was 11 500. Earning a chunk of NYC bling also inspired Chris Brasher (along with John Disley) to stage the first London Marathon in 1981.

Forty years later, almost every major city in the world hosts its own marathon. The number of marathon entrants worldwide hit 1.1 million in 2018, and from 2008 to 2018, at least 19.6 million people have run a marathon.

14 / COMPETITIVE WEDGE

Nike Cortez Although born from an earlier collaboration with Onitsuka, the first Nike-branded shoe, the iconic Cortez, which launched at the Munich Olympics in 1972, was the first running shoe to feature a full-length EVA (Ethylene-vinyl acetate) midsole, with an obvious wedge of EVA cushioning under the heel (where previous shoes had been flat). And with that, the cushioned running shoe was born.

15 / LONG STORY

First Western States silver belt buckle Ultrarunning is booming, growing by 345 per cent in a decade; but the story really began back in 1974, when the 100-mile (160km) Western States race evolved from a horseback event into the original trail ultra. Thanks to the event’s location and equine origins, it also established the enduring tradition of awarding cowboy-style belt buckles, not medals, to successful participants in many ultras. The •

The Jogbra changed women’s athletics forever.

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GENDER IDENTITY

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SUPPORT ACT

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first silver buckle was handcrafted in Carson City, Nevada, by family-run business Comstock Heritage.

16 / SUPPORT ACT

Jogbra The bra has a played a big role in the story of the fight for equality. Some women in the late 1960s symbolically discarded bras as an act of protest against enforced femininity, but a decade later, an invention by three women – Lisa Lindahl, Polly Palmer Smith and Hinda Schreiber Miller – proved a huge liberating force. The 1977 Jogbra – originally called the JockBra, because the first prototype was two jockstraps strapped together – was the first marathon dressed as a panda. More than £1 billion (R20 billion) has been raised for good causes.

support garment designed for general exercise. Before that, women ran in ordinary bras.

It was a huge success. Not only did it change women’s athletics forever; its impact on the lives of ordinary women worldwide has also been enormous, opening up a world of achievement that simply wasn’t as accessible before its invention.

17 / GENDER IDENTITY

Nike Lady Waffle Trainer Bill Bowerman’s mid-1970s experiments with his wife’s waffle iron had created a revolutionary new rubber sole; but in 1978, Nike took perhaps an even bigger step by producing the first femalespecific shoes, including the Lady Waffle Trainer. It was designed on smaller lasts to suit women’s specific biomechanics.

18 / COSTUME DRAMA

Roger Bourban’s waiter outfit Running a marathon was once revered as a superhuman feat, but as mass-participation races began to inspire recreational runners to attempt the impossible, two new ideas took hold: running for charity, and doing so in fancy dress. The 1981 running waiter, Roger Bourban, is thought to be the London Marathon’s first costumed runner; but since then, all kinds of costumed runners have conquered London, and Guinness World Records have been set – including the fastest

19 / RUN TO THE BEAT

Polar Sport Tester PE2000 chest strap In 1982, Polar launched the first ever chest-strap heart-rate monitor. The Sport Tester PE2000 came in two parts: a watch and an ECG-based transmitter. For the first time, runners could track their BPM without stopping for an old-school fingers-on-wrist pulse count. It was the first step towards the modern heart-rate insights we now see as standard. Easier to monitor, instantaneous data enabled runners – from elite athletes down to the grass-roots

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SOCK MARKET GAINS

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MASS MOVEMENT

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TRACK STAR

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plodders – to see under the bonnet and train with more precision. It has also been a crucial tool for thousands of studies that have shaped our understanding of running in the decades since.

20 / SQUEEZY DOES IT

Leppin Squeezy energy gel If you’re not a runner of a certain vintage, you may find it hard to believe that before 1987, people ran marathons without energy gels. The first sachet of portable fuel, the Leppin Squeezy, was a 25g mix of a maltodextrin and dextrose. Produced by the Godfather of goop, Professor Tim Noakes, the innovation came as sports scientists sussed out why marathoners hit The Wall and how a carb top-up could help them hurdle it. Little did Noakes know that the industry would one day be worth $1 billion (R15 billion).

21 / SOCK-MARKET GAINS

Falke L & R socks In 1996 German kit maker Falke became the first brand to produce left- and right-foot pairs of its patented anatomic-fit socks. A potent symbol of running’s growing big-business status, and of consumer kit becoming increasingly specific and technical, and bolder with its promises of marginal gains in comfort and performance.

22 / TRACK STAR Casio ProTrek

The launch of the GPS watch – the Casio ProTrek – in 1999 marks the start of the age of the quantified self runner. Or at least, runners who knew how far they’d run without having to drive the route or plot it on a map. The first Garmin Forerunner 101 followed in 2003; and since then, more and more elite-level data insights have trickled down to the everyday runner who wants to know all.

23 & 24 / POWER TUNES

iPod and Nike+ Sensor Before the MP3 player, running with music was an unsatisfying business. If you’re old enough to remember the era of the Walkman, Discman or Minidisc player, you’ll know that sound-tracking your runs involved lugging a brick – and even the smoothest form wouldn’t prevent your music skipping every third stride. With its run-proof playback, the MP3 player changed everything; and the iPod, launched in 2001, was the signature device.

It also paved the way for one of the earliest run trackers – the 2006 Nike+ Sensor – and a longstanding run-focused partnership between two giant brands.

25 / MASS MOVEMENT

Parkrun barcode bracelet The parkrun barcode is an icon of one of the world’s most successful running movements. What started 16 years ago with 13 people doing a time trial around a west London park had grown, pre-pandemic, •

An urban uprising emerged as a counterpoint to the traditional running club.

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RUNNING REMIXED

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FLAG BEARER

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to nearly four million runners of all abilities turning up early on Saturday mornings to run 5K. With 2 000 events worldwide, it brings running to people everywhere.

26 / RUNNING REMIXED

Run Dem Crew vest In the early noughties, an urban uprising emerged as a counterpoint to the traditional running club. Run crews such as Run Dem Crew, launched by DJ, poet and runner Charlie Dark in 2007, are groups for runners who don’t see themselves fitting into mainstream clubs. Mixing running, art, music and fashion, these crews translated classic running culture – such as the vest – into something with a more youthful edge. They attracted a new group of people to the sport and helped to drive running’s big second wave.

27 / APPY DAYS

iPhone 3G with MapMyRun The iPhone changed our world. But it was the app store, launched in 2008, that had the biggest impact on running, picking up the pace on the rise of the quantified runner. With GPS-toting phones strapped to their arms, runners had free access to simple runtracking apps such as MapMyRun and Runkeeper, clocking real-time pace, distance and routes without the need for a watch.

28 / WHEN LESS WAS MORE

Tarahumara Huarache sandals

An icon of the minimalist running counterculture, popularised by Christopher McDougall’s book Born to Run. They’re worn by the ultrarunning Tarahumara, the indigenous people of Chihuahua in Mexico who were made famous by McDougall. His book prompted runners to rethink not just how we run, but why.

The barefoot movement inspired millions, also helped to drive running’s second big wave, and has had a lasting impact in both shoe design and our focus on running form.

29 / FLAG BEARER

Eddie Izzard’s flags In 2009, despite having no record of endurance running, comedian Eddie Izzard ran 43 marathons in 51 days around the UK for Sport Relief. Seven years later, he was back at it, running 27 marathons in 27 days across South Africa, in honour of Nelson Mandela.

On both occasions, tales of this unlikely running hero’s feats made headlines, and images of a weary Izzard carrying the flags of the countries he was running through were splashed all over the media.

Izzard wasn’t the first celebrity to take on a tough endurance challenge, but his incredible efforts brought the idea of the mega running challenge to the masses. The fact that he wasn’t a young, super-fit athlete or ultrarunner undoubtedly inspired more ‘normal’ runners to pursue their own challenging goals.

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30 / TOUGH GOING

Tough Mudder headband In 2010, some runners started going offroad in search of different adventures. Not to the trails, but to army-style obstacle courses, for long runs punctuated by physical and mental tortures. Tough Mudder and Spartan Races became big business; and the Legionnaire’s headband has become a famous reward for conquering various Tough Mudder events.

31 / SIX APPEAL

Abbott World Marathon Majors Six Star medal Since 2013, the Abbott World Marathon Majors Six Star medal has been awarded to anyone who completes the London, New York, Chicago, Tokyo, Boston and Berlin marathons. This medal of medals represents big-city marathon running taken to the max, and it is a symbol of the globalisation of running and the non-elite pursuit of increasingly lofty goals .

32 / GREEN SHOOTS

adidas Futurecraft Loop Unveiled in 2019, the first fully recyclable running shoe was groundbreaking, though only a few hundred pairs were released. Produced from recyclable polyester, the ‘made to be remade’ design was an acknowledgement of the need – from one of the world’s biggest brands – to face up to the running industry’s environmental responsibilities, and a sign that the challenge to come will be to develop an industry that leaves a lighter footprint on the planet.

33 / CARBON FOOTPRINT

Nike Alphafly Next% The Nike Vaporfly 4% propelled carbon-plated shoes into the mainstream consciousness, but it was Eliud Kipchoge’s Alphafly Next%, worn to break the twohour-marathon barrier, that earned super-shoes a place in history. But running has also been forced to confront the effects of technology: amid arguments over what should be legal in competition, the World Athletics Association changed the rules on footwear. Of course, that hasn’t stopped other brands from bringing out their own take on the carbonpacking super shoe.

34 / GOING SOLO

Iconic medals – 2020 style The Covid-19 pandemic decimated the 2020 race calendar, creating unprecedented challenges for our sport. But we runners are an adaptable bunch. Forced to reboot, runners have embraced the virtual. Races such as Comrades and the London Marathon captured the imagination; some events had over 40 000 runners participating in their virtual versions. So, although real-life races are starting to make a comeback, 2020 certainly made its mark.