As the running culture progresses, it has become more than just a physical activity or a “sport” – for many, it’s a way to socialise and meet new people; for some a form of meditation; and for others, simply, a way to commute. By viewed through a wider lens, new goals and intentions emerge that surpass medals and competition.
If we travel back in time, to an era when speed and efficiency were not yet dominated by machinery, running played a significant role during times of war. Just as carrier pigeons were sent over centuries to transport messages, fluttering over bombs and clouds of smoke, risking their fragile bodies to bring hope across borders, war runners—often known in modern times as “trench messengers”—were sent to deliver crucial communications from point A to point B.
Indeed, we owe the marathon to one of these runners—Pheidippides, who, in ancient Greece, ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the Greeks' victory ("Nenikékamen" – we won!) and died immediately after his proclamation. He was the first to mark the 42.195 km distance that would later become an iconic course in the Olympics. Furthermore, according to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, Pheidippides also ran 246 km from Athens to Sparta, inspiring the modern Spartathlon, one of the most iconic ultra-running races today.
Despite how heroic this task may sound, in modern conflict, being a runner was far from a gratifying job. Troops usually will sent more than one runner to ensure the communication would reach its destination. However during an assault in WWI, a lone runner was sent and, after being shot, the failure to deliver the message resulted in the injury or death of 600 men.
Some of them became renowned long-distance runners, this time as competitors, like Tom Longboat “Cogwagee” or Lewis Bennett “Deerfoot” both Native Americans, who went on to have impressive running careers far beyond the trenches.
Whether the journey was as long as Pheidippides' course or just a few meters between trenches, the stories of war runners blur the meaning of distance as well as the concept of "victory" as an individual achievement, revealing running not as a personal choice, but as a response to something greater.
