The pavement under your feet, the crisp snap of early morning air, the pounding rhythm as you cross the distance on long flowing stride at a time. Sweat trickling down your neck, the sun on your skin, your lungs burning with joyous exaltation as your heart beats a rapid but steady staccato in time with your running legs. This is the joy of running, and every year millions of people all over the world find themselves out on the open road experiencing the joy, the thrill, the pain, of recreational running. Running Month celebrates this intrepid souls and their dedication to health and exercise, we should all join them.
History of Running Month
Running Month was established to bring together those people who absolutely love running. Running describes a particular gait of movement where, in general, both feet leave the ground at some point during the stride. That’s not to say that running always happens at the same speed, even in the same person. Jogging and Sprinting are both considered forms of running, but are distinctly different from a standard ‘run’.
Believe it or not, humans couldn’t always run. Admittedly, it was a long time ago when that was the case. When Australopithecus (Our first upright ancestor) kept evolving, we gained the ability to have a long striding run nearly 4.5 million years ago. It was vital to our existence as a species as we engaged in what is known as ‘persistence hunting’, where catching the prey often involved days long hunting to track and wear the animal down until it could no longer flee, and collapsed from pure exhaustion.
Eventually competitive running was born out of our love of ceremony and religious festivals throughout the world. What was done for religious purposes began being done for entertainment, and eventually (probably sooner than later) for competition. Running Month celebrates the entire history of running month and everything it meant to our ancestors, and to our people today.
How to celebrate Running Month
Running Month is celebrated by getting out and starting to run. Don’t overdo it though, just a slow jog to begin with taking as long as you need to travel the distance. As you start getting better and more able to go the distance, you can start running the whole way. Believe us, you’re bound to start out jogging a bit, and walking a bit, and then jogging a bit, and walking a bit. Eventually you’ll be able to do a full out endurance run and maybe even get involved in charity runs and marathons! Whatever the case, Running Month is your opportunity to get out and get moving!