Running science, race culture, and the world beyond 26.2 miles
The Abbott World Marathon Majors launched in 2006 with five races and a prize pool. Two decades later it has eight, the Six Star Medal has turned marathon running into a global collecting habit, and Cape Town has just become Africa's first Major.
MarathonPassport · 7 min read
Gen Z and younger millennials are remaking running's social code. They are driving record entries, reviving run clubs, and treating endurance sport as community infrastructure.
John Burton · 5 min read
Marathon entry fees have climbed steeply. London now charges over £90 for ballot entries; some US destination races have crossed $250. Here are the routes that actually work.
Chris Bye · 5 min read
Guide running began with visually impaired athletes. It has expanded to support runners navigating invisible barriers too. Here is how it works, and how to get involved.
John Burton · 5 min read
Run-tracking platforms like Strava and Nike Run Club have built a social layer around running that is changing who joins the sport and why they stay.
Simon Patrick · 4 min read
Each of the seven World Marathon Majors has its own entry architecture. Here is how to navigate ballots, qualifying times, charity places, and guaranteed pathways for all of them.
Simon Patrick · 6 min read
Run clubs are not replacing race series, but they have taken over some of their most important jobs. Here is how the balance of power in running culture is shifting.
Chris Bye · 5 min read
Marathon running is booming because it now offers more than a finish time. Participation is rising across age groups and countries, and the World Marathon Majors have turned the distance into a global destination sport.
Chris Bye · 6 min read
Official marathon pacers do far more than hold a balloon and jog steadily. Here is what they actually manage on race day, and how to become one.
Paul Cooper · 5 min read
Elite marathon times keep falling, but average finish times are drifting the other way. Here is why the gap is widening, and why that is actually good news for the sport.
John Burton · 5 min read
The runners you compete against in older age groups are a self-selected group. Understanding who is still racing at 55 or 65, and why, changes how you think about GFA prospects in ways that raw time standards do not capture.
John Burton · 7 min read
Elite marathon times keep falling. Average times are barely moving. The sport is simultaneously accelerating at the front and broadening at the back — here is why both things are true.
Simon Patrick · 5 min read
Warmer mornings, fewer cool days, and unpredictable conditions are forcing marathon organisers and runners to rethink everything from pacing to event design. The era of reliably optimal conditions is over.
Paul Cooper · 5 min read
Mitochondria are not a training concept or a supplement marketing claim. They are physical structures inside muscle cells, and what happens to them over years of training goes a long way to explaining why some runners hold pace at 35km while others fall apart.
Paul Cooper · 7 min read
For generations, the locker-room explanation for mid-race muscle cramps has been dehydration and low salt. Sports science has spent two decades unpicking that assumption. The picture is considerably more interesting.
John Burton · 5 min read
Eight races, eight cities, eight very different experiences. What actually matters when planning a Major trip is neighbourhood, logistics, season, and how the city treats the race.
Simon Patrick · 8 min read
Running a marathon abroad sounds like the natural overlap of two things you already know how to do. It is not. Here is what actually matters in the weeks and days before you fly.
John Burton · 6 min read
Jet lag disrupts temperature regulation, glycogen storage, and muscle strength. None of those are optional when you are asking your body to run 26.2 miles. Here is how to manage it.
Paul Cooper · 5 min read
Super shoes deliver their 4% running economy improvement on flat road surfaces. At altitude and on hilly terrain, the picture is more complicated. Here is what the research says.
Chris Bye · 5 min read
Hoka, On, Salomon, and ASICS have all crossed from specialist sport into everyday style. Here is how it happened, why the brands are building their futures around it, and what it means for runners.
Paul Cooper · 5 min read
Carbon-plated super shoes work very well for some runners, are roughly neutral for others, and can actively cause problems for a third group. Here is what the research says about who benefits.
Chris Bye · 5 min read
Carbon-plate super shoes improve running economy by around 4%, translating to a 2 to 3% performance gain over marathon distance. Here is what the research says and how to use the technology well.
Paul Cooper · 5 min read
A single large pasta dinner the night before a marathon does not significantly alter your glycogen stores. Here is what actually works, and why doing it wrong is worse than not doing it at all.
Simon Patrick · 6 min read
The pre-marathon breakfast is a targeted attempt to restore a specific fuel reserve lost overnight. Here is what sports science says to eat, what to avoid, and how to solve the hotel problem.
Chris Bye · 5 min read
