Lockdown Running: How 2020 Got Me Back Out the Door

Gyms Closed, Trainers On

March 2020. Living in Manchester city centre. The gyms shut overnight and suddenly the only exercise option was walking out the front door and running. After barely running in 2019 — 23 runs, 78 kilometres — the timing was almost funny.

The first few runs were rough. Fitness had dropped, the city centre streets were eerily quiet, and running past closed bars at 7am on a Tuesday felt like being in a film. But within a couple of weeks, a routine appeared. Morning run, work from home, evening walk. Repeat.

City Centre Routes

Running in the city centre meant a lot of Deansgate, a lot of canal towpath, and a lot of loops around Castlefield. Not the most scenic routes, but with zero traffic and zero pedestrians, the city was a different place to run. Empty roads, no waiting at crossings, no dodging people. Probably the only time Manchester city centre has ever been pleasant to run through.

The Numbers

129 runs by the end of the year. 869 kilometres. More than any year since 2018. The consistency came from having nothing else to do — no gym, no commute, no after-work plans. Running filled the gap that everything else left behind.

Also got into cycling during lockdown. A Manchester to Liverpool ride in September was a highlight — 55 kilometres along the canal, something that would never have happened without the time and motivation lockdown provided.

What Stuck

The habit stuck longer this time. 2021 dropped off a bit — 61 runs — but it never went back to the 23-run wasteland of 2019. Lockdown taught something about running that years of gym memberships never did: you do not need equipment, a membership, or a plan. You just need the door.