Social distancing and Exercise ?…How about a Run or Walk?….

With little else to do — no spinning classes, lap swim hours, boot camps or barre — a lot of people are turning to (or getting back to) running.

It’s the perfect sport for a pandemic. All you need is a pair of shoes and a six-foot buffer from the next person. (Some New York City paths, however, have gotten crowded with runners and walkers, making social distancing even there a challenge.)

Cabin fever is driving out the masses. Kids on scooters are chasing their huffing and puffing parents, some of whom have coaxed their own children to run, with mixed enthusiasm. Teenagers on bicycles are barking at their parents to catch up, like an elite coach prepping an Olympic hopeful.

There are runners in jeans and runners in expensive “athleisure” kits that look like they have never seen sweat. There are people wearing classic Converse and Nike Vaporflysand every shoe in between. There are families pulling each other with games of “first one to the light post wins” and friends running with an awkward amount of space between each other.Image

The newest runners are easy to spot, falling into one of three camps: overexcited, overstriding or overly dramatic about the hill up ahead. But a transformation comes quickly. A few blocks later and it’s easy to see the release on the faces of runners who have found their new outlet….

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