Abstract
The huge increase in running as a lifestyle choice has become a global trend characteristic of our contemporary world. Running, as its enthusiasts usually call it using the English term, is structured around a set of practices and representations that go far beyond a specific choice of ‘going for a run.’ The sport mobilizes a series of emotional configurations that crystallize into certain ideals of behaviour, relationships, and feelings that define a ‘true’ runner. Setting out from a diverse set of ethnographic resources, the article analyses the ways in which runners build a moral universe that distinguishes them not only from those who have not adopted such a lifestyle, but also from those who do not completely embody their supposedly virtuous ideals.
Keywords: Lifestyle; ethnography; sport; ethics; aesthetics; identity