With around 13 million participants, running is a major sport in France. Even the least athletic can do it.
Running is one of the most popular sports activities in France and around the world. The latest survey shows that France has between 12 and 13 million regular runners, or nearly 45% of the population aged 20 and over. This makes it quite widely the most popular sport, particularly because of its ease of access and its adaptability to each person’s physical condition.
Running is indeed experiencing a very significant craze in France, both as a leisure activity and as a competitive activity. You only have to look at the number of people registered for the last Paris marathon (more than 52,000) to understand that this discipline affects all sections of the population. The periods of confinement have notably contributed to the increase in the number of runners, since it is estimated that around 1.5 million people started running during these periods.
However, running is a fairly traumatic sport for the joints. In addition, it can be difficult to get into running due to one’s physical condition, as endurance can be difficult to improve. For this, the American Jeff Galloway created a running method in the 1970s, “jeffing”, which allows you to gradually increase your physical effort.
By combining walking and running, “jeffing” allows you to manage your endurance and improve your physical condition without risking injury. The principle of this running method is to alternate running times of a few minutes and walking times that are relatively slow and longer than the running time, for at least twenty minutes.
Although this method is not intended to increase average running speed, it allows you to improve your endurance by gradually increasing your running time over the sessions and reducing your walking time. It also helps to limit joint pain, as running is particularly traumatic for the knees and ankles. Although progress is sometimes slower than in continuous running, “jeffing” allows you to manage your fatigue and improve at a regular pace.