The Women's Running Boom: Progress or Pressure?

Women aged 20–29 were the largest group of UK applicants in this year's London Marathon ballot. That's worth celebrating. But it is also worth asking what, exactly, the statistic tells us.

When I first started running in my late twenties, I did what many runners do. I went from 5k to marathon in the space of a year. The marathon meant a huge amount to me. At the time, running wasn't nearly as mainstream as it is today and completing a marathon felt like a genuinely significant achievement. The training taught me lessons that extended far beyond running. It gave me structure, resilience and confidence during a period of life when many things felt outside of my control. Learning that I could commit to something difficult and see it through changed how I approached challenges at work, difficult family relationships and setbacks elsewhere in life.

But I also got badly injured. Looking back, I realise I thought marathon training was simply a case of downloading a plan and following it. I didn't understand training age. I didn't understand recovery. I didn't understand the stress that marathon training places on the body, particularly for newer runners. So when London Marathon announced that women aged 20–29 were the largest group of applicants in this year's ballot, I found myself with mixed feelings. Partly because it's brilliant. And partly because I recognise some of myself in that statistic.

To better understand what sits behind these numbers, I spoke to four women whose work spans sports nutrition, academic research, coaching and sports marketing: registered dietitian Renee McGregor, researcher Bethan Taylor-Swaine, Nike Run Coach and Ultra Black Running founder Dora Atim, and sports marketer Lara Kazakos. What emerged was less a single answer and more a series of questions about participation, identity, equality and the future of running culture. The question is not whether more women running is a good thing. The question is: why are so many young women being drawn to the marathon in particular, and what happens next?

Why are more young women running?

For Bethan Taylor-Swaine, whose doctoral research at Birkbeck, University of London explores the identities and experiences of women in ultra running, the rise in younger female applicants is not necessarily surprising. Research from the SportsShoes.com Running Report suggests Gen Z are among the most enthusiastic generations when it comes to running more, whilst Strava's Trend Report found younger runners increasingly view running as a way to socialise and build community. In an era where more people work remotely, spend less time in traditional social spaces and often feel disconnected from their local communities, running has become about much more than fitness.

Running clubs have become friendship groups. Training plans have become routines. Shared miles have become shared identities. "This community helps cement their identities as runners," says Taylor-Swaine. For many women, the marathon is not simply a race. It is a visible expression of belonging to that community.

The marathon as a modern milestone

But community is only part of the story. Lara Kazakos, who has worked across sports marketing and sponsorship for organisations including Rapha and the Commonwealth Games, believes the appeal of the marathon also reflects something broader about modern life. For many young professionals, marathon culture can become intertwined with productivity culture, optimisation and identity performance. Many people in their twenties are navigating careers, finances, relationships and housing in a world that often feels uncertain. Traditional markers of adulthood feel less fixed than they once did.

A marathon offers something very different: train hard, suffer, improve, achieve. Progress is measurable, the outcome is clear and success is visible. "You get measurable progress and public recognition in a world that otherwise feels uncertain," says Kazakos. That does not make the motivation wrong. Running can provide confidence, resilience, friendship and structure. But it may help explain why marathon participation has become so culturally powerful. As Kazakos puts it, perhaps a useful question for this demographic is: "What emotional and social needs do you believe running a marathon is going to fulfil for you?" As many of the signs seen around London Marathon like to remind us: therapy is also an option.

A double-edged sword

The rise in participation has been accompanied by an explosion of running content. On one hand, this has undoubtedly been positive. Women now see more female athletes, coaches and runners represented across social media, podcasts, newsletters and campaigns. Running feels more accessible than ever. But Taylor-Swaine describes this content ecosystem as a "double-edged sword". 

The same content that inspires people to run can also normalise overtraining, excessive racing and unrealistic expectations. Through her research, she has noticed that progression through distances has become increasingly normalised. "Running a marathon is almost seen as the next logical step in someone's running career," she says. And perhaps that is where the conversation becomes more complicated. Because inspiration can easily become expectation.

Progress, but not without pressure

Renee McGregor, a registered dietitian and sports nutritionist specialising in eating disorders and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs), is supportive of women pursuing sporting ambitions. But she is also concerned. "I can't help but worry about this age group and feel like societal conditioning is driving this trend," she says. McGregor worries that for some women, the marathon has become less about running and more about validation. "I can't help but be cynical and worry that a high percentage of this age group have signed up for the wrong reasons and running London is just another way for many to attain validation and worth." Her concern is not that women are running marathons. It is that many may be doing so before they have built the foundations to support the challenge. "The marathon distance now feels like an acceptable entry level distance to running," she says. “Professionally and personally, I think 20 is way too young to be moving up to marathon distance.”

This idea surfaced repeatedly throughout our conversations. Not because the contributors believe marathons should be reserved for a select few, but because they question whether the culture around the event has started to blur the distinction between being ready to complete a marathon and being ready to train for one.

Training age matters

McGregor's argument centres on training age. Whilst a runner may become aerobically fit within a few months, the body often takes years to adapt to the repetitive loading, recovery demands and resilience required to tolerate marathon training well. For runners who are relatively new to the sport, she believes this is often overlooked. "Professionally and personally, I think 20 is way too young to be moving up to marathon distance," she says. Her concern is not capability. Plenty of young runners can complete marathons. Her concern is durability. A 14, 16 or 20-week training plan may improve fitness, but it cannot replicate years of accumulated adaptation. Many runners will get away with it. What worries her is what they may not see: the injuries that appear later, the hormonal disruption, the chronic fatigue, and the relationship with exercise that becomes harder to sustain.

Equality is not the same as sameness

This becomes particularly important when considering women's physiology. McGregor argues that women are often expected to prepare for races using models that have historically been shaped around male athletes. "Women feel the pressure and expectation to follow the men's race," she says. By that, she means there is still relatively little discussion about the different considerations women may need to arrive at the start line physically optimal. Hormonal health. REDs. Recovery. Pregnancy. Postpartum rehabilitation. These are not niche topics. They are central to female participation. Yet they often receive far less attention than mileage targets and finish times. Treating women equally does not necessarily mean treating them identically.

Beyond the start line

The conversation becomes even more complex when discussing motherhood. McGregor is particularly concerned by the pressure some women feel to return quickly after pregnancy. "Pregnancy is like running a marathon every day for nine months," she says. Yet postpartum recovery is often framed as something to overcome rather than something deserving respect.

At the same time, Taylor-Swaine points out that whilst participation among younger women is rising, the pattern changes after 30. Female participation drops in a way that is not mirrored among men. The reasons are not mysterious. Parenthood affects sporting participation differently for women than it does for men. Women continue to perform a disproportionate amount of domestic labour and caregiving, leaving them with less leisure time and fewer opportunities to train.

"We cannot claim equality in sport if it is only a specific demographic of women who are experiencing that perceived equality," says Taylor-Swaine. The question is not simply how many women are entering. It is which women are able to keep going.

Who gets to be visible?

This is where Dora Atim, Nike Run Coach and founder of Ultra Black Running, believes the conversation needs to expand further. "It's not as simple as getting women just to participate," she says. "It's about access, creating visibility, and which women are visible?" 

Women are not a single demographic. Race, class, sexuality, age, disability and geography all influence who feels welcome in running spaces and who sees themselves represented. For Atim, improving female participation starts long before the marathon start line. It starts in schools. It starts with creating environments where young girls stay connected to sport rather than dropping out. It starts with initiatives that remove barriers rather than simply celebrating those who overcome them. She is equally encouraged by the growing number of older women discovering running later in life. Participation should not only be celebrated among younger demographics. It should be celebrated wherever it happens.

Atim also challenges the expectations placed on women in sport. Can women be competitive? Political? Stylish? Ambitious? Can they define running culture rather than simply participate in it? "Women are more than just participants," she says. "Women push the sport forward."

Who is responsible?

As participation continues to grow, all four contributors raise questions around responsibility. McGregor would support more robust screening around factors such as training age, hormonal health, injury risk and an individual's relationship with running.

Kazakos would like to see greater emphasis on experience, suggesting runners should demonstrate competence over shorter distances before progressing to the marathon. "The 'I went from 5K to marathon in a year' narrative is overly romanticised," she says. “We’re not gatekeeping, we’re safeguarding.”

Atim also believes greater precaution is needed, though she is conscious of creating additional barriers to participation. "I think some kind of medical clearance should be obtained, however, this can obviously become a barrier to entry," she says. Any system, she argues, should exist to educate runners and raise awareness rather than discourage participation. "This should be done not to scare runners, but to raise awareness."

Perhaps the most important point is that responsibility cannot sit solely with runners. "I think the responsibility of safeguarding falls on race organisers, brands, and organisations to ensure safety for all," says Atim. 

Beyond the medal

For all the discussion around participation numbers, perhaps the most important question is what happens after the finish line. "The real value to society would be in more people not being marathon finishers, but becoming runners," says Kazakos. That distinction feels important. Because the marathon itself is only one day. The real lessons happen beforehand. "Marathon training teaches you to trust yourself. To do hard things when they're inconvenient. To show up in the rain, the cold, the dark, long before anyone claps for you at the finish line. The marathon day and all the content you see online, that's the victory lap, not the lesson." Perhaps that is the question sitting beneath this entire debate. Not whether more women should run marathons. But whether the sport is creating a culture that encourages women to stay.

So, is it progress or pressure?

The honest answer is both. It is progress that more young women want to run. It is progress that endurance sport feels more visible, more social and more attainable than ever before. But it is also worth asking why the marathon has become such a powerful cultural symbol. Why so many women feel drawn to it. What needs it fulfils. And whether participation alone is enough to claim success.

Looking back, I don’t regret running that marathon. It taught me a huge amount. But I do wonder whether the process would have been safer, and my body better supported, if I’d understood what marathon training was really asking of me. The record number of female applicants tells us one thing with certainty: young women are highly motivated to apply. What it does not tell us is whether running is becoming more equal, more sustainable or more accessible for all women. For that, we need to look beyond the ballot. 

We need to ask who gets supported, who gets seen, who gets to recover, who gets to keep going, and whether we are building a culture that helps women become lifelong runners rather than simply marathon finishers. That would be progress worth celebrating.

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