Run To The Top Podcast | The Ultimate Guide To Running

We know that’s a sensational title, but hear us out. A study published by RunRepeat.com, an independent review aggregator for running shoes, analyzed 34,680,750 race results over the course of 21 years to conclude that American runners are steadily getting slower across distances from the 5K up to the marathon. We know what you’re probably thinking: with Olympians like Galen Rupp and Molly Huddle continually setting national records, how can that be? While it’s clear US elites are steadily advancing, the study found that the remainder of the field is, on the whole, slower than it was in the 90s. Now this could be due to a variety of reasons, and some argue one of those reasons might just be that the sport has gained a lot of popularity in the last couple decades. More runners of varying age and gender? We like the sound of that. While this is certainly plausible, others argue there’s another, less favorable culprit behind the trend: the rising rate of obesity in America. This is the hypothesis behind the stu