FUN RUN

noun (Health and Fitness) (Lifestyle and Leisure) An organized long-distance run in which amateur athletes take part for fun or to raise money for charity rather than competitively. Etymology: A transparent compound of fun and run, exploiting the rhyme. History and Usage: The first fun runs took place in the US in the mid seventies as a way of bringing together people who had taken up jogging or long-distance running recreationally. The idea was introduced into the UK in the late seventies, and by the mid eighties the fun run was an established part of many Western countries' culture, with large races such as the annual London Marathon attracting thousands of participants. Often the fun runners, who are only competing for the enjoyment of running or so as to raise money for charity from sponsors, run alongside serious international athletes in the same race. Thousands of fun runners and disabled competitors pounded the same rain-soaked course as the stars. New York Times 21 Apr. 1986, section C, p. 6 A fun run over 8km was held at the Phobians Athletics Club. South African Panorama Jan. 1988, p. 50 Before the main race, limited to 150 runners, there will also be a charity one-mile Family Fun Run. Northern Runner Apr./May 1988, p. 6