麻豆约拍

Writer, poet and runner Helen Mort continues on the trail of the history of running, asking why we run and what it has meant to humanity through the ages.

In this final episode she rounds the the corner into the 20th Century, and finishes by examining the role running plays in our life today.

Helen explores how distance running became the sport we know today. She heads back to the races of one hundred years ago and finds out who took part, and who wasn't allowed to.

Roger Bannister's Four Minute Mile lives in running legend, but it was the product of a very different running culture than the one that exists today. Helen finds out what has made the 4 minute mile so influential, and also about its unexpected precedents.

She heads into the heart of the 'running boom' of the 1970s, which saw the emergence of 'jogging' as a phenomenon and the mass participation of running we see today, including big city marathons. One major factor was the creation of the cushioned running shoe by Nike, and Helen talks to the company's first employee, who thought up the name of the iconic sports brand.

Helen charts the emergence of running in mass media, from adverts to cinema, and considers how the narrative of running has changed. As she reaches the 21st century, Helen heads inside the mind of the modern runner and finds out about the psychology of running, its benefits and also its downsides. Thousands of people line to run a Parkrun each weekend, what does that tell us?

'Mass participation' still only reaches some however, and Helen also finds out about the movements to make running more inclusive which are gaining pace throughout the world.

Producer: Sam Peach