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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Patrick Greenfield

Friday briefing: ​​How the boom in running culture is reflected in the London Marathon

Runners competing in the 2025 London Marathon on a tree-lined course
Demand for places in the London marathon is growing. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Good morning. Britain is experiencing a running boom – and it is being driven by gen Z women. More than a million people applied to be on the London Marathon start line this Sunday, including about 850,000 British runners. A third of those were aged between 18 and 29, and the majority in this category were female, according to event organisers.

For a sport stereotypically dominated by spindly men in tight shorts, it is a remarkable transformation.

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