What is running all about?

Here are some of our favorite running moments. Each video highlights an aspect of being a great runner!

Watch Jakob Ingebrigtsen from Norway run a masterful last 2.5 laps (1,000 Meters) of the 5,000 Meter Final at the 2022 World Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Relay running (passing a metal stick called a “baton” from person-to-person) requires trust, timing, and hard work. The 2012 Jamaican Men’s 4x100 meters team had all three. They also had Usain Bolt, the greatest sprinter of all time on their anchor leg (the “anchor” is the last person to run in a relay).

Watch Athing Mu from the USA. Her style of racing here is called leading wire - to - wire (from the beginning of the race until the end).

Watch Cole Hocker in the University of Oregon singlet here. Notice how he puts himself in the races, doesn’t panic, and saves enough for a big kick (a ‘kick’ is the finishing sprint at the end of a race).

Running is not always about speed - often it is about grit and determination. These qualities are displayed perfectly by Japan’s Yugi Kawauchi in this 5 minute version of a 2 hour and 14 minute race. At the 2018 Boston Marathon, there were 40 mph winds, heavy rains, and freezing temperatures.

Running over hurdles is a challenging but rewarding race. Sydney McLaughlin of the USA is one of the greatest 400 meter (one lap around the track) hurdlers of all time.

Watch Dave Wottle from the USA here (the guy in the hat.) Wottle knows the pace he wants to run, and doesn’t get sucked into a fast pace early by the rest of the field. A big part of running is knowing yourself and pacing yourself!