People started running purely for exercise in the early 1960s, when a small movement in Oregon introduced “jogging” as a health activity for ordinary people. But humans have run for fitness-adjacent reasons for thousands of years. Ancient Greeks prescribed running to prevent disease, and 19th-century competitors walked and ran extreme distances for sport and spectacle. What changed in the 1960s was the idea that a regular person, with no competitive ambitions, should lace up shoes and run slowly around the neighborhood just to stay healthy.
Ancient Greeks Prescribed Running for Health
Running as a physical discipline goes back at least to ancient Greece, where it was one of the five events in the Olympic pentathlon alongside the javelin throw, discus, jumping, and wrestling. But Greek physicians also understood running in medical terms. They recognized that physical fitness could act as a preventative treatment for future diseases, and they prescribed specific forms of exercise to preserve or improve a person’s health. Running, swimming, ball games, and weight training were all discussed in detail for their curative and preventative effects.
This wasn’t recreational jogging as we’d recognize it. Greek exercise took place in gymnasia under the guidance of trainers, and it served overlapping goals: preparing for war, competing in athletics, and maintaining the body. The idea of stepping outside your front door and running a few miles at an easy pace for cardiovascular health simply didn’t exist yet.
19th-Century Pedestrianism Drew Massive Crowds
Before running became a personal fitness habit, it was a spectator sport. In the mid-to-late 1800s, “pedestrianism” was one of the most popular forms of entertainment in America and Britain. These were competitive walking and running events covering ultra-marathon distances, often lasting six consecutive days. At its peak, pedestrianism rivaled everything but horse racing in popularity.
The events were grueling. Endurance walkers logged dozens of miles a day, resting only for a few prescribed hours at a time. In 1867, a 27-year-old named Edward Weston walked from Portland, Maine, to Chicago in 26 active days. In 1879, Weston set the record for a six-day walking match at 550 miles in London. During one well-publicized competition at Gilmore’s Garden in New York that same year, a flagging competitor was kept going with electric shocks and doses of milk punch and brandy. These events drew huge crowds partly because the competitors were often recent immigrants who served as unofficial representatives of their communities, much like the newspaper readers who followed along.
Pedestrianism proved that people were fascinated by endurance. But it was still a spectacle, not a personal health practice. The competitors were professionals, and the audiences were sitting in stands.
The 1960s Jogging Movement Changed Everything
The real turning point came in 1963, when a four-page pamphlet called “The Joggers Manual” appeared in Oregon banks. Sponsored by the Oregon Heart Foundation, it laid out the basic principles of jogging as a new form of physical exercise. The pamphlet was only about 250 words long and didn’t even bother explaining the health benefits a jogger might expect. Still, 50,000 copies were distributed around the state, and it arguably marks the birth of jogging as a mainstream fitness activity in America.
The pamphlet had roots in the work of Bill Bowerman, the University of Oregon track coach who had observed casual jogging clubs during a trip to New Zealand. Bowerman saw something the American fitness world hadn’t considered: that slow, easy running could benefit anyone, not just athletes in training. He brought the concept home and began organizing jogging groups for everyday people in Eugene, Oregon. In 1967, he co-authored a book simply titled “Jogging,” which spread the idea further.
Before this, running on public streets as a non-athlete was genuinely unusual. People didn’t understand why someone would run if they weren’t being chased or competing. The cultural shift required convincing millions of Americans that slow, unglamorous trotting was a legitimate use of their time.
Kenneth Cooper and the Aerobics Revolution
The medical case for running reached the mainstream in 1968, when Air Force physician Kenneth Cooper published “Aerobics.” Cooper had spent years investigating the links between cardiorespiratory fitness, good health, and longevity. His book gave ordinary people a framework: sustained, moderate-intensity exercise like running could strengthen the heart, lower blood pressure, and reduce the risk of chronic disease. He even created a point system so readers could track their weekly exercise and know whether they were doing enough.
Cooper’s work gave jogging scientific credibility at exactly the right moment. The 1960s pamphlets had introduced the habit, and now a military physician was explaining why it worked. The combination sparked what became known as the “running boom” of the 1970s, when millions of Americans took up jogging for the first time. Cooper is still known as the “father of aerobics,” and his 66-year medical career has been dedicated to the connection between fitness and longevity.
Better Shoes Made Running Accessible
The running boom needed better equipment. In the 1960s and 1970s, running enthusiasts at shoe companies began experimenting with improved designs. The most famous innovation came from Bowerman himself, who poured rubber into his wife’s waffle iron to create a sole with small gripping nubs. He received the patent in February 1974, and Nike began producing “waffle” trainers the same year. The sole provided greatly improved traction on pavement, and the lightweight design made running more comfortable for people whose feet weren’t accustomed to pounding miles of asphalt.
Before purpose-built running shoes, people jogged in flat-soled sneakers or tennis shoes that offered little cushioning or support. The arrival of engineered running shoes lowered the barrier to entry. You no longer needed to be tough enough to run in bad shoes. You just needed to buy the right pair and start moving.
Women Were Banned From Distance Running Until the 1970s
For much of this history, “people” who ran meant men. Women were systematically excluded from distance running, and the barriers were both official and cultural. After the 1928 Olympics, women’s track races were limited to 200 meters or less because audiences reacted negatively to women showing visible fatigue and exertion. That restriction shaped policy for decades.
The Amateur Athletic Union officially prohibited women from running distances greater than 1.5 miles as late as 1970. The Boston Marathon, first held in 1897, was restricted to white men. In 1966, Roberta Gibb was refused entry, so she jumped in after the start and finished unofficially in 3:21, becoming the first woman to complete the race. The following year, Kathrine Switzer registered under the alias “K.V. Switzer” and became the first woman to officially run and finish Boston, clocking 4:20. A race official famously tried to physically remove her from the course mid-race.
Change came slowly. The AAU altered its 1.5-mile rule in 1972, finally permitting women to compete in marathons. Boston held its first official women’s field that same year. The first Olympic women’s marathon didn’t happen until 1984 in Los Angeles, where American Joan Benoit won gold in 2:24:52. That’s less than half a century ago.
Running Today Looks Nothing Like 1963
What started with a 250-word pamphlet in Oregon banks has become a global activity practiced by tens of millions of people. Running USA’s 2025 Global Runner Survey received more than 12,700 responses worldwide, a 73 percent increase over the previous year. For the first time, nearly 10 percent of respondents lived outside the United States, reflecting how far the habit has spread from its American origins. The survey uses an inclusive definition of “runner” that encompasses anyone who runs, jogs, or walks at any time during the year, whether or not they participate in organized events.
The ancient Greeks ran in gymnasia under the supervision of trainers. Victorian pedestrians ran for prize money in front of roaring crowds. But the simple act of running a few miles before work, alone, for no reason other than your own health, is a remarkably recent invention. It’s barely 60 years old.