Seeing people exercising more should be an exclusively positive thing for someone like me \u2013 a fitness<\/a> journalist and coach hell-bent <\/a>on helping people enjoy fitness<\/a>. But I have one major issue with running\u2019s latest episode<\/a>: it\u2019s become exclusive. <\/p>\n A certain clique-ishness online among the sub-20-minute 5K crew and marathon (n\u00e9e, ultramarathon) runners has deterred several people<\/a> I\u2019ve spoken to from even trying the sport. I chatted to one man who, despite running<\/a> four times per week and hitting upwards of 20km in some sessions, said he wasn\u2019t sure if he could call himself \u201ca proper runner\u201d. <\/p>\n And when you do start, running<\/a> is expensive. Between multiple pairs of shoes<\/a>, physio fees, gels, recovery tools, travel costs and paying for the race entry itself, it\u2019s easy to see how it all stacks up – to more than four figures in the case of some people I\u2019ve heard about.<\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing wrong with diverting a chunk of your finances to something you\u2019re passionate about. But some voices are suggesting we need to be decked out to the nines, and a run doesn\u2019t count unless we log a standout time or distance. This is my issue. <\/p>\n The irony <\/p>\n To counter deteriorating activity levels and health in the UK, authorities are encouraging people to exercise<\/a> and move more. Walking and running should be two of the most accessible remedies. But to make money and earn clout online, certain brands and influencers are raising the barrier to entry. <\/p>\n This is the opposite of what I think \u2013 as someone who runs semi-regularly for fun and fitness<\/a> \u2013 the sport is all about. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the most accessible sport in the world,\u201d Ben Parker, founder of coaching app Runna<\/a>, previously told me when quizzed on why running was so in vogue. \u201cThe barrier to entry is so low when you compare it to equivalents like cycling. All you need is a relatively cheap pair of shoes and some old clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more: Are you ever too old to run? Here\u2019s what scientists have found<\/a><\/p>\n This is how running should be: readily available, enjoyable and open to all. <\/p>\n \u201cI think running boomed in a way that fed itself with a lot of virality too, due to the fact that people don\u2019t shut up about it,\u201d Parker adds. \u201cAnyone who achieves any kind of endorphin [release] or does something good wants to tell people about it.\u201d<\/p>\n This idea might make some people roll their eyes and recall a long, unwanted conversation about somebody else\u2019s exercise<\/a> habits. But if something is free, it makes you feel good and it benefits your health, then by all means, shout about it from the rooftops. <\/p>\n But don\u2019t gatekeep it by bragging about Strava scores, sneering at slow paces and insisting a \u00a3200-plus pair of race shoes is essential for any organised event. Instead, why not find ways to open up your newfound passion to as many people as possible?<\/p>\n Read more: Walking experts reveal the number of daily steps you need to boost health \u2013 and it\u2019s not 10,000<\/a><\/p>\n The hidden cost of exclusivity for athletes <\/p>\n It is not just everyday exercisers and would-be runners<\/a> who suffer the effects of exclusivity. The rising cost<\/a> of sport could be preventing promising athletes from realising their full potential. <\/p>\n The career of Bolton-born Sinead Bent<\/a>, a Gymshark<\/a> athlete, physio and one of the world\u2019s top Hyrox racers, was almost kiboshed by costs before it even began. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was younger, [my siblings and I] had to do a lot of ferrying ourselves around,\u201d she says. \u201cI would walk myself to school, walk home and jump on my bike if my parents asked me to go to the shop, so everything we did was quite active. <\/p>\n \u201cThen at primary school I noticed that I loved anything to do with sport. We would do races against the other primary schools and I\u2019d always win. That’s when my PE teacher said, \u2018Maybe you should join a running club, because you\u2019re actually quite good.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Bent tried a few different clubs, with some proving unaffordable as they charged a membership fee plus a fee each time she used the track. <\/p>\n But her love of running continued to grow, and in secondary school, she earned an interview to study sports at college. <\/p>\n \u201cI really wanted it,\u201d Bent says. \u201cI wanted to look the part too, but I didn\u2019t have a good pair of running shoes. They were out of our budget. My parents weren\u2019t wealthy \u2013 if our shoes weren\u2019t from Asda they were from Wynsors World of Shoes. I was a little bit embarrassed about that. <\/p>\n \u201cBut my PE teacher said: \u2018No, this is an important step for you, getting into college.\u2019 Then he took me out and bought me some using the school budget. I\u2019m forever grateful to him for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more: I made a lot of mistakes during my first Hyrox race \u2013 here are six things I wish I knew beforehand<\/a><\/p>\n Bent is a phenomenal athlete. She can run faster carrying two 24kg kettlebells (part of a Hyrox race) than most people can run without them. The idea that she wouldn\u2019t have the same opportunity to express this athleticism as someone from a more affluent family is an unpleasant one. <\/p>\n \u201cBeing a physio, I see a lot of different types of people, and I still find cost<\/a> is a big barrier for people who are underprivileged,\u201d she says. \u201cThere are great events like Parkrun for kids, but there\u2019s still the fact that some kids don\u2019t have anybody to take them. We\u2019re still not there with learning how to approach that.\u201d<\/p>\n Greater awareness of the free events available could provide part of the solution, Bent suggests. Sharing of equipment could also help. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re done with it, pass it on,\u201d she says. \u201cNowadays, people who do have money buy so many pairs of shoes, and they probably get rid of them before they need to. Think about giving them to somebody who could really use them.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more: This is the most boring fitness article you\u2019ll ever read \u2013 but also the most useful<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Stage your own running revolution <\/p>\n Running\u2019s exclusivity is not universal. There are brilliant organisations, running clubs, charities, athletes and coaches out there doing excellent work to open up the sport to as many people as possible. <\/p>\n Many of the issues mentioned above require wider societal change too; government-level interventions and schemes to make sport more affordable, like equal opportunities for all and subsidised transport to make clubs more accessible. <\/p>\n However, on a personal level, I\u2019ve started to rebel against running\u2019s exclusive and immaculate visage by embracing \u201cthe ugly run\u201d. <\/p>\n If you want all the gear and you can afford it, go for it. If you are training for a longer race and you require more advanced fuelling techniques such as gels, go for it. <\/p>\n But for the vast majority of people, I think we could benefit from removing a lot of pomp, ceremony and stress from the semi-regular run. Much of the World Health Organisation\u2019s physical activity advice<\/a> hinges on the idea that \u201cevery move counts towards better health\u201d. The lower the barrier to entry for movement in all its many forms, the better. <\/p>\n Anyone who can don an oversized charity shop top, slip into some comfy shoes, swig some water and stride away from their house is \u201ca proper runner\u201d. This is the hill I will die on \u2013 perhaps after running up it a few times first. <\/p>\n![\"Parkrun](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-06-11T171341Z_1249011944_RC2TRLAIYVPY_RTRMADP_3_ATHLETICS-PARKRUN.JPG\")
Parkrun is an example of a free event making running more accessible and lowering the barrier to entry for the sport (Reuters)<\/p>\n