大象传媒

Writer, poet and runner Helen Mort continues on the trail of the history of running, asking why we run and what it has meant to humanity through the ages.

In this final episode she rounds the the corner into the 20th Century, and finishes by examining the role running plays in our life today.Helen explores how distance running became the sport we know today. She heads back to the races of one hundred years ago and finds out who took part, and who wasn't allowed to.

She heads into the heart of the 'running boom' of the 1970s, which saw the emergence of 'jogging' as a phenomenon and the mass participation of running we see today, including big city marathons. One major factor was the creation of the cushioned running shoe by Nike, and Helen talks to the company's first employee, who thought up the name of the iconic sports brand.

Helen charts the emergence of running in mass media, from adverts to cinema, and considers how narrative of running have changed. As she reaches the 21st century, Helen heads inside the mind of the modern runner and finds out about the psychology of running, its benefits and also its downsides. Thousands of people line to run a Parkrun each weekend, what does that tell us?

'Mass participation' still only reaches some however, and Helen also finds out about the movements to make running more inclusive which are gaining pace throughout the world.

Contributors:
Sabrina Pace-Humphreys, Author of Black Sheep: A Story of Rural Racism, Identity and Hope
Dr Sam Edwards, Loughborough University
Katie Holmes, Historian
Vybarr Cregan Reid, Author of Footnotes: Why Running Makes Us Human
Pro Steve Haake, Sheffield Hallam University
Jeff Johnson, early employee of Nike
Dr Peter Olusaga, Sheffield Hallam University

With thanks to Thor Gotaas, author of 'A Global History of Running', Dr Nathalie Hager, Matt Rimmer and the MyRaceKit North team.

Producer: Sam Peach
Readings by Nuhazet Diaz Cano