Laura Clugston started running as a way to get over a bad breakup after high school. “I needed to find something to do with myself,” says the 22-year-old recent UCLA graduate. “I didn’t want to self-destruct.” With running, she latched on to a healthier, long-term way to deal with her emotions rather than curling up on the couch with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and watching “Friends” reruns for a week. “Running is the only time my mind is completely clear,” she says.
The support of friends pushed Clugston to increase her target distances from a few miles to a half marathon. Last year, she ran in the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco — her third half marathon, but the first that focused on women. Men aren’t barred from the race, but the goal is to give women a comfortable environment and opportunity to place. “[It’s] empowering to be around other women who have this passion for running and a healthy drive to be very active in life,” Clugston says.
Half marathons are quickly becoming a favored event for women like Clugston because of their festival-like nature. Clugston was one of roughly 1.2 million women to finish a half marathon last year — a record high, according to recent data from Running USA, a nonprofit organization that compiles annual reports on running events. Women also accounted for over 60 percent of half marathon finishers.
Half marathons are becoming the most preferred race for both genders, according to Running USA’s 2015 National Runner Survey, which asked 15,206 participants which distances they liked best. Over 40 percent of participants said half marathons were their favorite distance. In comparison, only 16 percent said favored 10Ks, 18 percent preferred 5Ks and 11 percent favored marathons.
In the last five years, Rich Harshbarger, CEO of Running USA, has noted an increase in women participating in half marathons and 5Ks and a shift in running from a solitary to social event.
Harshbarger says one explanation for the popularity of half marathons is that women see the distance as more doable than a marathon, but a more rewarding challenge than a 5K. They can also take on the 13.1 miles with their girlfriends. “Really, all you need is time and shoes,” he says. “We are finding more and more women who are reclaiming their athleticism.”
He adds that more people, specifically women, are drawn to interactive fun runs that provide more than just a course with water stations. For example, The Color Run, dubbed “the Happiest 5K on the Planet,” hosts roughly 300 5K runs throughout the world in which participants gleefully splatter each other with colored powder. Another messy race, Tough Mudder, takes runners through 10- to 12-mile muddy obstacle courses nationwide. Participants in nontraditional races like these doubled from 2 million in 2012 to 4 million in 2013, according to Running USA’s report on nontraditional running events.
Bring on the Bling
From pink tutus and tiaras at the starting line to Tiffany & Co. necklaces and flutes of Champagne at the finish, women-only races like the Nike Women’s Half Marathon and the Divas Half Marathon & 5K Series have transformed the idea of long-distance running from a competition to a weekend girls’ getaway.
“It’s girl power to the nth power,” says Robert Pozo, CEO of Continental Event and Sports Management Group LLC, which sponsors the nationwide Divas series held in 10 U.S. cities and Puerto Rico. “[Women] come out and make a weekend out of it. They eat, drink, buy, have a great time and, oh, there’s a running event associated with it.”
Perks like firefighters handing out necklaces at the end of a race — which happens in the Nike Women’s Half Marathon– are one way races can be more inviting to women. “Every mile they don’t leave you dry,” Clugston says. “There’s either a band or a cheerleader squad or a little snack to keep you energized. It makes it fun and not as serious.”
For many women, the races provide a stress-free environment where they can feel inspired, empowered and comfortable in their bodies, no matter their size. “People are taking back what it’s like to be an athletic woman,” says Elizabeth Corkum, a running coach in New York City who has run nearly 20 marathons. “Men will always be faster … but it gives [women] the opportunity to showcase who they are without having males in the field.”
Camaraderie and Empowerment
Social media has also played a role in engaging more women in running because of the community support it creates, Pozo says. “Women are social creatures. Guys, not as much,” he says. “The first thing [women] do is get on social media and tell all [their] friends to ask, ‘Who wants to come with?'”
In fact, nearly 67 percent of participants in the 2015 National Runner Survey said they went online to network with other runners.
“It’s the camaraderie that brings women to the sport of running. If you stop and walk, no one is going to judge you,” says Lisa Zimmer, co-owner of Fleet Feet Sports Chicago, which sponsors the Magnificent Mile Chicago Women’s Half Marathon & 5K. Zimmer started the race last year with her husband, Dave Zimmer, to provide a comfortable running atmosphere for women who don’t see themselves as athletes.
For Clugston, her support system of five girlfriends motivated her to keep running, even on days she didn’t want to get out of bed. While their finishing time goals varied, for five months they pushed each other physically and mentally through the ups and downs of training. All of them made it across the Nike Women’s Half Marathon finish line, and Clugston set a new personal best of 2 hours and 22 minutes. “It’s like stepping over [the finish line] and making yourself a stronger woman,” she says, “and feeling good about your body.”
To find upcoming half marathons near you, c heck out the Running in the USA calendar.
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Why More Women are Running Half Marathons originally appeared on usnews.com
