I just started running, for some reason

5k a day keeps the bad thoughts away…maybe?

I’ve been training for a half marathon for just over seven months.

Before last September I hadn’t undertaken any lengthy running since I was in school, an entire decade prior. In fact, since leaving education I’ve had a turbulent relationship with health and exercise, fluctuating between being a gluttonous sloth and an obsessive gym rat every year or so since about 2019.

My problem is mostly consistency. I can fixate on something if I make it part of my routine, but if I fall out of my schedule I can quickly lose focus. Anyone at the Thred office will tell you that I’ve had phases of doing hours of cardio a day at the gym six times a week. I turned up to our office after the first lockdown of the pandemic having lost three stone and looking like a rake with legs.

When I moved to Bristol last year I had to relocate gyms. This is a bit of a pain in itself. You’ve new subscriptions to sign up for, fresh machines to figure out, and an entirely new rhythm of daily life to establish. Long story short – I preferred my London experience and needed a new way of exercising, one that would be flexible and cater to my fluctuating enthusiasm.

Last summer I’d seen my brother complete a marathon in Iceland after raising thousands for a charity that helped us navigate the passing of our mum the year prior. I spoke to my newly-single friend who’d also relocated to Bristol, and she swore she’d found solace in running, despite having never done it before.

So, as a single 28-year-old with not much else going on, I decided to dust off my battered trainers and try a 5k at my local park.

Fast forward to April 2025, and I’m now running at least 50k every single week over six days. I do at least two 15k runs, two 10ks, and a few 5ks here and there. I am glued to Strava, checking my pace, splits, local routes, the whole nine-yards. I’ve lost quite a bit of weight and I’m absolutely in the best shape of my life. Flex over, I promise.

Although my sudden fixation for running is undeniably a cliché and a product of approaching thirty with nothing else to show for it, it’s a pattern that more young people are following into adulthood.

We recently wrote about how Gen Z have been labelled the ‘gym generation’, with one in six owning a membership and regularly exercising for both physical and mental health benefits. We also looked at the recent spike in popularity for running events, with more young people than ever flooding marathons and novelty days out in order to raise money and beat their personal times. Exercise and running is all the rage right now.

Speaking from personal experience, it’s not hard to see why. Being a young person in our current climate is turbulent and frantic, with very little that feels controllable. Taking on a physical sport, running, or diving into a healthy hobby can give you a sense of agency, especially if other areas of your life aren’t going quite as you’d like. Plus, running is so accessible. You just need some decent shoes and something to carry your phone in.

Whenever I’ve felt sad or melancholy over these past seven months, I’ve taken myself out and ran, almost every day. It helps to channel feelings of grief into something productive.

For the hour or so that you’re pedalling yourself round a field listening to music and trying to beat your pace times, you’re only really focusing on the present moment. For a brief while you become detached from the everyday weight of adulthood and are solely fixated on the task at hand. You’re born anew, with better stamina and overall health than an hour or so before.

At risk of sounding like every other 29-year-old single man, I encourage anyone to give running a go. It won’t fix your problems, but it’ll make things feel more manageable and offer a little positivity if things feel overtly negative. I’ll see you on the track, friend.

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