At first glance Josh Widdicombe may not seem the obvious choice for a Runner’s World cover. In fact, it seems no one was more surprised than the comedian to find himself on there. But beneath his trademark self-deprecating humour is a real passion for our sport – not for medals or PB-chasing, but for the calming, meditative space it brings to his life. A once reluctant runner, he now looks forward to lacing up his shoes and finds himself disappointed when his runs are over. The joy he gets from his miles doesn’t come from competition or even socialising – it’s a pure and deeply personal way of finding release and balance. He’s a champion of running simply for its own sake, and that’s a philosophy we reckon makes him a perfect choice for our cover.
Runner’s World: How do you feel about being on the cover of Runners World?
Josh Widdicombe: ‘Who believed that would ever happen? When I was asked to talk to Runner’s World, I didn’t realise I’d be on the cover… and I don’t know whether you did! But here we are. So it feels quite weird, but exciting, because you don’t get to be on the cover of many magazines, especially one you’re so ill-suited to. Obviously I’m being modest… I’m an incredible, incredible runner.’
RW: How did running come into your life?
JW: ‘I had been a reluctant runner for years and then it clicked into something more – which I think a lot of people find. I don’t think many people start running and instantly love it. I used to run because I just felt I should. It felt like a way of doing exercise with no equipment, but I never liked it. And I was always just pushing through. In lockdown, like a lot of people, I ran because it was time out of the house and I enjoyed that, but it again never really stuck. Then there was a total change in my life when I stopped drinking and I realised I was enjoying running to the point where – and this sounds like something my old self would have thought just couldn’t be a thing people actually thought – I’m disappointed when I finish my runs now. I prefer it to my actual life!’
RW: What do you like about running now?
JW: ‘It’s meditative. It’s on your own. It’s in your own head, which is so rare in modern life. I get to listen to music, which I love – and you can actually listen to the music because you’re not reading your phone or it’s not on the radio in the background while you’re making breakfast. It also gives you the adrenaline and the dopamine or whatever… I don’t need to look into the science. It makes me feel good. I don’t know whether it’s entirely replaced what I used to get from going out, but all those things – the music, the endorphins, the adrenaline… the sweating – it is like going out. It’s a big rave. A big, sad, middle-aged rave. And with no hangover. You can feel like you have a hangover in your hamstrings, but not like an actual psychological hangover.’
RW: Was leaning into your running a conscious decision that came with sobriety?
JW: ‘No, it wasn’t a conscious decision at all. It was my same kind of pitter-patter of various exercise – going to the gym, running, yoga – but then realising that I was really enjoying the running and looking forward to it rather than just feeling like I had to do it. So it unconsciously took hold, to the point where I’m looking to forward running today, whereas previously I’d have been thinking, oh, maybe I could get out of it because I haven’t really got time because it’s nearly time for the school run…’
RW: Do you feel running has benefitted your physical and mental health?
JW: ‘Mental more than physical probably. It just clears your head, makes you feel better, makes you feel more positive. Also, it makes you eat much better and eating better makes you feel better. I’m really into feeling good from eating. In the past I used to eat stuff that would make me feel rubbish. It sounds like such an obvious thing to say, but running just feeds all-around good habits. It’s a virtuous circle. It’s all part of one long, boring circle just trying to get ten more years out of my life!’
RW: You obviously get a lot of joy from running and seem protective of it in terms not making it too high pressure?
JW: ‘Yes, I remember running one day and thinking I could do a marathon, but the instant I thought about that, I thought, suddenly you’re locked into the training. Suddenly you’re locked into whether you’ll get an injury. Suddenly you’re locked into getting enough sponsorship. And I think there’s this really bad thing that when people tell someone they’re doing a marathon, the person will immediately ask, “What time are you aiming for?”. Then suddenly the marathon becomes something you could do, but still be a failure. I don’t want any of that. I remember reading once that a good hobby is something you’re not good at, because the moment you’re good at something it means it’s no longer got all the release, relaxation, and all those things you need from a hobby.’
RW: How do you ring-fence running as a pressure-free? Do you track your metrics in any way?
JW: ‘I bought a Garmin, but I just didn’t have the ability to set it up. So no, I’m not tracking my metrics at all. We’ve got a treadmill because my wife loves running on it and if I run on a treadmill that’s a part tracking thing, and I can feel myself pushing into these mind areas which aren’t relaxing. You start doing maths in your head, thinking if I can move it up to 11 for six minutes, I can knock a minute off and all that kind of stuff. And that’s not great for me. I will set up that Garmin, but only because I need something that’s a smaller way of taking music with me than my phone. I only really track my running by the length of a playlist.’
RW: What are you currently listening to on the run?
JW: ‘Really odd eclectic stuff. As a running song I love Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper, but then I also like Joy Division and Hip Hop by Dead Prez. Any of the songs from Short and Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter work well for running and I also really like running to Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2 even though it’s obviously not a great theme for running. So it’s all over the shop, but I want things I know well that can lift me up, lift me out, and I can lose myself in.’
RW: Do you find running helps with creativity, or problem-solving?
JW: ‘It definitely does, but not intentionally. I would never head out thinking I’m going to think about this problem, but a lot does come to you because you’re not looking at your phone. I despair at how much I look at my phone. It’s a constant battle. And running stops that apart from when I swiftly go to Spotify to go to the next track, but I won’t be checking my emails or anything like that and that’s really good.’
RW: Do you find there’s inherent comedy in running?
JW: ‘Well, it is a very odd pastime and what’s also really weird about it is it’s so modern in the sense that if you travelled back in time to the 1960s and went out running, people would be like, what on earth are you doing? Unless you’re Roger Bannister, no one was jogging. This idea of lots of ordinary people out running started basically in the 70s. It’s mad, but I’ve never done stand up on it because it’s a bit too virtuous. It’s a bit humblebrag to talk about going running.
Even away from stand up I don’t tend to talk about it. I talk to my wife about it, but she’s much more into fitness than me so there’s no humblebrag because she can lift really heavy weights and run 5km without thinking about it. My tour manager is a big runner – he’s 59 and does 5Ks in 18 minutes, he’s always in the top five finishers in his local parkrun and he did one of those mega runs of 120 miles in 30 hours or something – so I’ll talk to him about it.’
RW: Do you run together on tour?
JW: ‘Yeah, but he must be really bored of running with me. He will never look where he’s going, he’ll just say let’s just head in that direction. That’s easier for him because if we get lost, he can keep going forever, but I can’t. So far it’s worked out though. Generally we’ll go out before breakfast, then after breakfast I’ll go back to my hotel room to do some work or whatever, and he’ll go and swim 50 lengths, then go to the gym and then go for another 10-mile mile run because the run he did with me barely touches the sides.’
RW: Do you try to avoid the comparisons and competitive element of running that come with social media?
JW: ‘I don’t broadcast it really. Which seems a strange thing to say when you’re on the front of Runner’s World! But in the same way that Romesh (Ranganathan) is reclaiming the marathon for people who run really slowly, I suppose in my running I’m trying to reclaim just running for the sake of running – taking all the stats out. Obviously we all enjoy stats – I’m constantly checking the podcast charts, so let’s not pretend I’m above it – but that’s because that’s a hobby that’s become a job. That actively affects whether my kids can go to university, but running is different, so I’m not checking. Maybe if I was brilliant, I would.’
RW: How did you find running in London when you lived there?
JW: ‘London was easy because we lived a hundred yards from Victoria Park. Apart from when they locked it during Covid, and then they unlocked it but they kept the toilets locked and you genuinely had a queue for a bush, which was a mad, madly British situation. But aside from that Victoria Park was really lovely to run in. There are these arching trees on one side and the lake on the other… it’s up there with London’s best parks. But then the problem with Victoria Park, and it’s one of the reasons we left London, is that it’s become increasingly popular and increasingly a place where festivals are held for almost two months in the summer. So you would find yourself running amongst 50,000 Charli XCX fans on their way to take ecstasy in a field, which wasn’t very relaxing. Then on the Sunday, there’s this food market that has expanded like a kind of fungus, so you’re running through that.’
RW: And how are you finding running in Exeter?
JW: ‘Now I’m in Exeter I’m working out my routes – as in R-O-U-T-E-S, not like I’m finding my roots. I’m running down by the river a lot, which is really nice and I’ve just been recommended the university area. Wherever I am I don’t want to ever have to drive to somewhere to run. I want to put on my shoes, run, and run back to the door. That’s the great thing about running. I loved yoga, but it’s difficult because you’ve got a set time, you’ve got to get there, you’ve got to get back and suddenly an hour becomes a very set two hours in your day. Same with the gym – you’ve got to get there, you’ve got to lock your stuff up. Then you’ve forgotten your padlock and you can’t use that machine because someone’s on it. I really love with running that you’re just, “alright, I’m off”. If it’s 2:30 and I need to be back at 3pm for the school run then all that time is good running, not wasted.’
RW: Does that ease and flexibility running has help when you’re travelling?
JW: ‘One of the great things with touring is that you go to new places and running gives you a better way to explore them than just walking down the high street. I’ve found it a really good way of getting lost in various towns around the country. I don’t really tour abroad because no one finds me funny outside of the UK. But were I to go to, say, Australia, I’d run there. I never go running on holiday though. I think my kids would need to be older. And the problem with running shoes is they’re so big to pack. I find this with going on tour, too. You think you haven’t got much stuff until you try to fit your running shoes in. I’ll shove six pairs of pants and six pairs of socks in each one to make them worth packing!’
RW: You’ve spoken about experiencing anxiety, has running become part of your toolkit for managing that?
JW: ‘Definitely. For me it does exactly the same thing as meditation. It calms you for the rest of the day. It makes everything easier. It makes your family life easier. It makes your work life easier. And it’s a good perspective-giver – when you go for a run it makes you care less about who’s doing what show, or whether that’s selling or whatever. But I’d say it’s better generally day-to-day for keeping me calm than as a fix if I’m feeling really anxious. Because getting your blood and adrenaline pumping if you’re already too full of adrenaline is a bit of a mistake. It’s fight or flight I suppose… well, it’s flight! So sometimes I’ve found if I’m feeling really anxious and my system is quite jangly then running isn’t actually a good idea, because you’re feeding the pumping adrenaline and all that kind of stuff. You have to call it on how you’re feeling because sometimes running can be the thing that makes you more manic rather than calmer.’
RW: Have you been surprised by any aspect of running or the running community?
JW: ‘That’s interesting. I think running has changed a lot in my lifetime. In the 90s, when I was growing up, runners felt otherworldly. Now it seems much less serious. Things like parkrun help. In the past, for most people. I don’t think it was ever even seen as enjoyment. It was seen as a punishment. I hated cross country at school. Now it’s fun, but I don’t really know why, because it shouldn’t be fun. Though I think a lot of people now seem to think I’ll just go running for ten minutes and then I’ll be thin and I’ll feel great. And obviously it doesn’t work quite like that.’
RW: How do you feel about running with other people?
JW: ‘So I run with Ali, but because I really like the music side of it I have my headphones on. When I was watching Sara Cox do her big run, I was thinking my main issue with this would be all these people talking to me. Leave me alone! I just want to listen to music. So I don’t really want it to be a social thing. Though when we go to Cornwall there’s an incredible run I go on – down to a harbour, up along a coastal path, down to a beach – and we’ll do that in a group. We went as a three last time, but I might as well be on my own because I don’t say a word and I listen to music. In my job, I talk to people a lot, so I don’t want to bring it into my running as well. I know it sounds mad when you do the job I do, but naturally I’m quite introverted. I like time on my own and with running or reading and all these things that I like doing solo, I find it difficult to think of doing them with other people. Having said that I do like the idea of doing a parkrun. If other people I know in Exeter did the parkrun, I’d be quite up for it. But then instantly you get into that thing of, “Oh, are these people going to be much faster? Are we running together?”’
RW: Do you have any advice for anyone thinking they aren’t a runner or are intimidated by running?
JW: ‘It’s the same advice I imagine you’d get from Romesh or anyone who isn’t a serious times-orientated runner, which is, you can be crap at it and that’s fine. It’s not a competition, it’s actually for yourself and to enjoy it. Oh, and make yourself a good playlist.’
RW: Do you identify as a runner now?
JW: ‘I don’t know. I think the phrase I’d probably use would be “I run”. I wouldn’t say “I’m a runner” because “I’m a runner” implies I’m Seb Coe or something. It implies you’re going to start talking about PBs and all those things. In a similar vein I play the guitar – badly – but I’m don’t call myself a guitarist. Actually, if someone asked me if I was a comedian, I’d probably stumble on that as well!’
Catch Josh Widdicombe’s Museum Of Pop Culture podcast on all podcast platforms and see him live on his Not My Cup of Tea UK tour. See joshwiddicombe.com for info and tickets