Fun, running and the jogging boom in Britain, 1970s–1980s

During the 1970s and 1980s, Britain experienced a ‘jogging boom’. Jogging, a slower form of running, became popular as a leisure activity and to improve health. All over the country, joggers took part in ‘fun runs’, short events which contrasted with longer, more serious competitive running races. By 1978, there were over a million runners in Britain. The sudden, rapid growth of jogging and fun running is a phenomenon that needs explaining, especially as it was one which met with conflicting responses. For some, jogging was the solution to a range of health and social issues, whereas for others it was a symptom of individual and collective malaise. Drawing on an analysis of books that encouraged people to take up jogging; how jogging was regarded in the popular and medical press; and the example of the Health Education Council’s Great British Fun Run; I expose a set of deeper concerns. The jogging boom coincided with, and reinforced, growing consumerism, individualism, and healthism. Reactions against jogging were a rejoinder to these larger shifts. I argue that fun running and the jogging boom thus offer insight into a moment of profound social, economic and cultural change in Britain.