"The Mercury" newspaper published an article I wrote about a fun run. On the 21.2.86. The original article is reprinted below. The newspaper edited the article and added a few photos.
My first
fun run coincided with the very beginning of the running boom. The running boom
was triggered by James Fixx. James Fixx’s story began in 1967. He was 97 kgs
and smoked two packs of cigarettes a day. Ten years later he was 27 kg lighter
and smoke free. He attributed his changed lifestyle to running. James Fixx wrote a book called “The Complete
Book of Running”. In 1977 it became a best seller and sold more than one
million copies. The book discussed the
physical and psychological benefits of running.
The running boom began. James Fixx was a media star. Virtually everybody
in that first fun run I entered knew of or had read James Fixx.
James Fixx had a heart attack and died in 1984 at the age of 52. His
heart attack was attributed to a genetic predisposition for heart problems and
his previous lifestyle. The running boom continued unabated. It was around the time of James Fixx the
phrase fun run was first used to describe an organized run for multiple disparate
people. Fun runs began, originally in
USA, and the idea quickly spread around the world. Other sports should be jealous of fun runs.
They introduce non-athletes to running. Some of these fun run participants will
go on to enter competitive athletics. Other sports don’t have a way of getting
non-participants to participate in their sport. Most fun runs are open to all
who want enter. There is no restriction. And the rules are simple. Everybody
can easily enter and easily follow the rules.
My first fun run was about 1978 when I was at university in Melbourne and
was around Albert Park Lake. The place appropriated today by F1 cars. My last
fun run was Cross the Bridge in Hobart 2017. Almost 40 years of fun runs.
Almost 40 years of standing in a crowd of people waiting to start
running. Some are stretching. Some are
jogging. Some are standing on one leg and stitching the other leg. Some are
talking or greeting friends. We are standing outside the massive stadium that
houses cricket and football. There is no uniform. Nobody is dressed identically.
There are some similar shirts or tops. Advertising or promoting something;
commemorating some past event. Some of
the shirts tell people what team they are in. Very egalitarian. Everybody is
treated the same. And very global. Anywhere in the world the procedure would be
similar and easily understood. Anybody anywhere in the world could run in any
fun run occurring anywhere else in the world. It is a global event not an event
specific to Hobart. People all around the world run in similar ways. Everybody runs
uniquely.
What changes have occurred in the last 40 years? James Fixx said that regular running would
increase life expectancy. Ignoring the potential physical benefits has it been
worth it? Has it been fun? Has it been a good way to spend my ideal
moments? Have I benefitted? How have the
changes in society of the last 40 years mirrored the changes in the fun
runs?
Back in 1978 the fun run was promoted and advertised in the local
paper. My recollections are: you turned up on the day; you paid your entry fee
at a trestle table; you were given a number to fix to your shirt; the gun went
off; everybody followed the guy in front; you ran; you finished running; they
gave you a certificate with your time written on it; you went home.
Today on-line entering of races exists. The internet also makes results
and photos available on-line. It is possible to have instantaneous on-line
recording of results. I remember the Gold Coast Marathon. A few years ago when
running the race I wore an electronic timing device. At the half way point I
crossed over a bump in the road which recorded my time. It was possible to sit
in Hobart and see a live recording of my time at the half way point of the
race. The race hadn’t even finished. At
the finish my time was once again recorded and uploaded. Nobody rang to ask me
how I’d gone. They already knew. The information was available instantaneously
to the whole world.
In fact the system works so dramatically well I tend to get upset with
slight glitches or the slightest slowness.
With entries and results and race calendars the change has been
dramatic. With this change caused by the internet my expectations have gone up.
I now expect to be able to enter any race any time I like and to view any
results instantaneously. I get upset at the slightest gremlin. I would tend to
think that the internet has resulted in positive changes to fun runs and that
it would be impossible to separate fun runs from the society hosting them.
The other change to entries nowadays is the waive you have to sign.
This is a change in society which has resulted in a change in fun runs. Today expect
to sign a form saying whatever happens you will not sue anybody. Years ago,
whatever happened, nobody sued anybody. Nowadays everybody signs a form and
then nobody sues anybody. Once again fun runs and society have changed together.
I s search the crowd of runners for someone I know and somewhere to
stand. I head towards the back for security. The race starts and I don’t. I
walk and eventually cross the line and start dodging other people and jogging.
I spend my time working out where to run. Should I go around them or not. If I
follow this person they may drag me. The other runners slow me down and speed
me up. They slow me as I avoid them. They carry me along in their
slipstream. I am stunned by the number
of people. And I know virtually none of them. Where have they all come from?
There are crowds and crowds of people I would like to know. Most of them must
live in Hobart and yet I have never seen them before. They have appeared and
they are running. With me. We are all in this together. All heading in the same
direction.
The fun runs. The basic idea hasn’t changed. You start together, run
the same course and people are defined by the time it takes them to run the
course. Prizes to the fastest. My memory is that all the early races had
watering tables. Trestle tables with plastic cups. Much like today’s
system. Right down to people chucking
their used cups on the road. The road still gets littered. Nothing has changed.
Today more runners are fussy about what they drink. Their particular drink. There
has been an increase in knowledge has meant more people have an opinion on what
should be drunk and eaten.
Today every fun run seems to be raising money for a particular
charity. The charity and the fun run are promoted simultaneously. Both sides
seem to benefit from this symbiotic relationship. Any fun run appreciates support. And any
charity needs additional promotion. A charities, business or government
department will provide some sort of support. To aid with marketing and
managing the event. A lot of fun runs need to run somewhere exciting. Or somewhere unusual. They need a gimmick. Like
the bridge. You can run a cross the bridge any time but to have a lane of the
road closed to all except runners is exciting.
To run across the bridge with other people is exhilarating. It’s
special.
More people run as a member of a team now compared to 1978. People seem to like running as part of a
team. With their workmates. Once again I see both groups benefitting. The fun
run gets more entrants. The work place gets improved team spirit at work. The
staff should work together better. Might even make them fitter and take less
sick leave. The average fun run is within the limits of the average healthy
adult.
Since 1978 the type of person running in fun runs has changed. In 1978
my memory is of predominately young males. Like me. Now I see a lot more
females running. Often more females than
males. Fifty: fifty would be ideal. It
would accurately reflect our society.
The age of the entrants has also changed. The average runner now is
older. In 1978 it was rare to see an old man. It was worthy of a comment. Not
now. Once again the more the age of the entrants accurately reflects society
the better. A certain age doesn’t consign you to certain things or areas. Age
should not limit or restrict people. People of all ages should mix with people
of all ages and then all people will benefit.
If you compared the time of the average runner 40 years ago with the
time of the average runner today I feel that today the average runner is
slower. The other area fun runs have to reflect society is in disabled people
competing. The number of disabled people competing should accurately the
society we belong to. The disabled people should compete with the able bodied.
There should not be a line in the sand which separates the disabled form the
able bodied. Everybody should be in together.
Whatever the disability. The physical disability is the obvious one.
Intellectual or emotional disabilities are more difficult to address. How do we
encourage participation from someone suffering a mental illness? That’s the new
frontier.
Clothes have changed. More special running clothes. More clothes
specific for a purpose. More materials which are designed for sweating bodies.
Less people throw on the shorts they spend all day Saturday in. Shoes have
improved. Which is good not only sartorially but helps prevent injuries. More
females wearing make-up. So I have been told. This is something I don’t notice.
The finish teases us and then we run past it, up the road and back
towards it. At the finish is a clock which gives the race time and a bump in
the road. My partner tells me there is a
table with bananas. I head towards it. I
would love a banana. Another improvement over the years is multiple events
starting or finishing around the same time. It means people of different
abilities and ages can participate together. It results in more people running for fun.
Over the years every fun run I have entered I have never come first or
last. Is that glass half full or empty? Have I beaten the guy who came last or
been beaten by the winner. Neither. It is a personal challenge. A personal test.
An activity that brings enjoyment. It does
more than that. It has helped increase my self-awareness. It has helped keep me
fit for work. It has help me make friends. It has improved my social life. It
has improved me emotional. It is 40 years of positives.
The prize giving. There are prizes for different ages and sex. Some races have prizes for certain
disabilities such as wheelchair athletes.
I don’t even consider getting a prize. If there was a prize for my
particular age, sex and disability I would win. I would be the only one entered
in my special category. I look around and most people are the same. Prizes were
given for their particular category they would win. Which means everybody wins.