Who Says Running is Like Skateboarding?

This notion has been floating around our trail media world and I’ve been sitting on it for a bit trying to make sense of it all. Matt Trappe wrote about it on his blog ‘A Matter of Brand’. (The article is now for paid subscribers only, so I can’t link to it, sadly.)

My initial response was that it’s just plain false.

• Running is one of the oldest sports.
• Skateboarding is one of the newest sports.

• Skateboarding has always been an underground, counter culture sport.
• Running is one of the most established, mainstream sports.

• Skateboading is about tricks.
• Running is about endurance.

But then I spoke with a younger filmmaker working in the trail running space and it got me thinking. Many our media creators and influencers have been growing up with skateboarding films, and the brands and culture around it as their inspiration. And while I don’t believe the sport, as an activity performed by the athletes, can be compared to each other, I do think that the media creators are being inspired by skateboarding culture in the way they are telling today’s modern running stories. This can be witnessed especially in the popularity of the city road running clubs which have been courted by brands left and right. These clubs are dating scenes. Folks meet to run for fun, not for competition. Fashion is an important factor and showing off indie brands which are NOT the established giants in our sport are hot right now.

So yes, the current creators and voices in our sport have been inspired in their youth by skateboarding culture and are now bringing this to running in their adult life. Skating is hard as an old person after all. Running still works, mostly.

Creators are looking to communicate with visuals that transcend the seemingly boring motion of putting one foot on front of the other. Insert more movement, more edginess and urban fashion clothing. Running just does not have the tricks.