Of course, the sport and its races have long been a vehicle for inciting meaningful change. In 1967, 20-year-old Katherine Switzer famously became the first woman to complete the Boston marathon—and that was after being assaulted by the race manager, who attacked her on the course in the race’s first few miles. Today, some of the sport’s biggest races (and therefore those hardest to gain entry to), like the New York City and Big Sur marathons, have adopted a guaranteed-entry policy for runners who agree to fundraise several thousands of dollars for charity partners that fund research for such conditions as autism, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and ALS. Youth running clubs like Los Angeles’s Students Run L.A. and Philadelphia’s Girls on the Run rely on legions of adult volunteers to coach and mentor city children in after-school programs. And on May 8, several hundred thousand runners across the country used #IRunWithMaud on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to log 2.23-mile runs in commemoration of what would have been the 26th birthday of Ahmaud Arbery.
Despite their different backgrounds and geographic locations, every athlete and coach who spoke to Vogue for this story agreed on one thing: Now is the time for runners of all abilities to consider pulling back on intensity, or even mileage, to better reap the sport’s mental and physical benefits. “It’s important to remember just how you feel after you run,” says Tuliamuk. “Even for me, as a professional athlete, I still struggle with getting out the door. The hardest part of running is dressing up and getting out the door. If you can manage to do that, it’s all good.” And, as more public health authorities issue directives to wear masks while in public, it’s particularly important to ease the expectations runners (new and experienced) set for themselves. “If you’re going to a public place where you are able to socially distance but there are still people around, it’s probably in your best interest to wear a mask,” said Holder, who has worn a face covering—usually a bandana or a T-shirt tucked into his shirt collar—for each of his runs in New York City during the past six weeks. “You realize that your pace and your exertion won’t match what you’re used to because you’re not able to get air in as easily, and it’s covering both your nose and your mouth.”
“You don’t have to go out and run your personal best every single time,” agreed Asher-Smith. “Just go out there and run for fun and run for you.”