Interesting Facts About Running
Eker I Run, as we always say, is more than just a race.
As an organization that loves running and encouraging others to run, we share interesting facts, funny or incredible details about running on this page.
Useful running information, lesser-known details, the history of running, or extraordinary athletic records, scientific facts, and surprising running statistics.
If you learn a different detail that is not here, please share it with us.
You can contact us via @ekerirun or through the contact page.
The average person takes about 2,000 steps to run one mile (1700m).
The human body can lose up to 2.5 liters of water per hour while running.
Until the 1960s, drinking water was banned in races shorter than 10 miles (approximately 17km).
During a single running step, approximately 200 muscles are activated in our body. While moving the entire weight of the human body on two legs, 26 bones, 33 joints, and 112 ligaments are involved in the process.
The first modern running races were organized starting from 1825.
The world's largest marathon is the New York Marathon, with over 50,000 finishers every year.
In 2017, 18.1 million people in the U.S. registered for various distance running races. It was estimated that the number of regular runners in the U.S. was 60 million that same year.
In the first modern Olympic Games, held in Athens in 1896, a run of approximately 40 km was organized from the town of Marathon to Athens to reenact the historical story. The distance of 42.195 meters was first run in the 1908 London Olympics, and it was only in the 1924 Paris Olympics that this became the marathon standard.
The treadmill was originally invented in the early 1800s as a punishment for prisoners.
According to Guinness World Records, the longest recorded run on a treadmill is by Suresh Joachim in 2004, clocking 517 hours and 37 minutes.
Humans can outrun nearly every animal on Earth over long distances. The few exceptions are long-distance animals like cats, rabbits, and kangaroos.
The ideal temperature for running is 7-7.5°C (45°F).
Running stimulates the nervous system: it activates FNDC5 molecules in the brain, making it easier to remember things and learn challenging subjects. That’s why it’s recommended to run in the morning or afternoon, run when your mind is tired, and listen to podcasts while running.