Running is in fashion, although it could be said that it always has been. Experts believe thatour ancestors hominids developed the ability to run long distances approximately 2.6 million years ago, with the primary purpose of hunting animals or escaping from them. Racing races arose under the cover of festivals or religious ceremonies in various parts of the world. There is evidence and records of this activity with a sporting sense since the Tailtean Games in Ireland, around 1829 BC. C.The first Olympic Games took place in Greece in 776 BC. C. and, in them, there were, of course, pedestrian races.In short, running is considered the most accessible sport. A pair of sneakers is enough or sometimes not even that, because in many regions of the world they run barefoot. Be that as it may, today it is more in vogue than ever.
Jogging – jogging or running – has millions of practitioners in the world, but there are twisted minds that see in this healthy sporting activity the possibility of hiding other purposes.In the Republic of Burundi,a small sovereign nation located in the Great Lakes region of East Africa, in 2014,the dictator Pierre Nkurunziza prohibited running to prevent political opponents disguised as runners from demonstrating in popular racesor used training as a way to conspire against power. In passing, he imprisoned members of the Solidarity and Democracy Movementfor promoting marathons to gather potential supporters. Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world and has the second lowest GDP per capita according to the World Bank, after the Central African Republic. For this reason, running is one of the few affordable sports for the population. Hopefully its politicians will soon come to their senses, but other countries are not exempt from prohibitionist temptations.
Two years ago, in Spain they were on the verge of imposing limitations on running down the street and they were included in the draft of the citizen security law, which was never approved. In Granada, in the García Lorca Park, the 2014 coexistence ordinance prohibited large groups of runners in training from meeting , officially to respect the rest of the citizens who enjoy its facilities and services, although the political opposition considered that this meant treating kids as criminals and sports and games as dangerous activities. Today there is a biosaludable area where you can walk, run and exercise, but the general prohibition against massive and spontaneous sports competitions that may disturb the neighbors , except those previously authorized, persists. There are also limitations on hunting grounds, whose holders can prohibit runners from running at certain times of the year at the request of hunters, in order to prioritize hunting activities. In order to preserve the natural environment, in national parks and other protected areas you can run, but as long as the environment is respected , without making noise so as not to disturb the animals or the rest of the people who share that space, and without leave the established paths or leave garbage in our path. One last, curious and logical limitation: the municipal ordinance of Pamplona prohibits running in the San Fermín bull runs with high-heeled shoes, flip-flops, sandals or clogs , as a safety measure and to avoid falls.
