" Recreational running became popular due to high-profile runners such as Steve Prefontaine. Race courses are usually held on the streets of major cities and towns but they could be on any sealed road . Most road races are either 5 km (3. 1 miles), 10 km (6. 2 miles), half-marathon (21. 097 km, 13. 1 miles), or marathon (42. Running With The Devil Tab195 km, 26. 2 miles), but non-standard distances are also acceptable. "

" For these reasons, "jogger" and "jogging" are considered derogatory terms by some athletes who consider themselves runners. Other people use the terms "running" and "jogging" interchangeably, and see nothing derogatory about "jogging". Jogging is also used for active recovery intervals during interval training. The runner who may just have completed a fast 400 meter repetition at a sub-5-minute mile pace, may drop to an 8 minute mile pace for a recovery lap. The jog might be carried out in much poorer, looser form whose purpose is to "shake out" the body and maintain circulation to eliminate the waste products of exercise metabolism. Competitive running Perhaps the most basic of athletic contests, running races are simply contests to determine which of the competitors is able to run a certain distance fastest. Today, competitive running events make up the core of the sport of athletics. Running A Half Marathon Running competitions have probably existed for most of humanity's history, and were a key part of the ancient Greek Olympics, as well as the modern Olympic games. Events are usually grouped into several classes, each requiring substantially different athletic strengths and involving different tactics, training methods, and types of competitors. "