Seeing your mate do a 5k in the park is a much more realistic prospect to those who dreaded cross-country at school than becoming the next Usain Bolt. “Mass participation is just so accessible,” says Jessica Frey, general manager at Virgin Sport. “It’s a welcoming environment with all ages, shapes, paces. It feels more attainable than other types of sport. We try to offer something for every ability – both physical ability, and your ability to pay.”

And it’s chiming with another trend: that of personal wellness rather than fitness: confidence rather than competitiveness. “Running helps clear my mind in a similar way to yoga,” says Cathryn. “I have never really been one for competitive team sports and I love that while running makes me competitive to myself in that I want to improve my time and distance, it is not to the detriment of other people’s success. I’m just as proud of my running friends’ achievements as I am my own and I love how supportive the running community is.”

Jessica agrees. “I personally think the mental benefits outweigh the physical. There’s been a lot more focus recently on what physical activity can do for mental well-being. Just being around other people and being surrounded by your community is really uplifting.”

Is there a downside to mass participation? Could it be taking people away from traditional team sports, for example? Jessica doesn’t think so. Rather, she says, mass participation events are allowing people to discover new ways of getting fit.

“At Virgin Sport, we mash different kinds of sport together, so that one’s not detrimental to the other,” she explains. “At our Hackney Festival of Fitness, we had goalposts for people that want to play football, a rock climbing wall, and a cricket set up.