Training to run 26.2 miles is a vigorous mental, physical and emotional test. Yet more people young and old are going for it, Axios' Natalie Daher writes.

• Why it matters: Long-distance running, which experienced a pandemic-era boom, is becoming a more democratized sport. Marathon participants in their 20s are even embracing the race as a life milestone.

"A theme that I see a lot is people are using running as a way to get through something," New York Road Runners CEO Rob Simmelkjaer tells Axios. It could be grief over a loss or the everyday stress of raising kids.

• Training for a marathon demands structure, discipline and commitment.
• "Everybody who trains for a marathon has moments of challenge, moments of pain, moments where they wonder how it's going to go," Simmelkjaer said.

👀 The intrigue: Young people are posting about marathon training on TikTok as their "quarter-life crisis."

• The prospect of running the race "promises a profound sense of control that may be especially appealing to those coming into adulthood," The Atlantic recently reported.

🏁 State of play: Participation in the Boston Marathon has ticked upward across the race's more than century-long history. About 30,000 runners signed up this year for the April race, compared with only 140 men in 1924.

• Finish times have also increased, suggesting people who are older, less fit and less experienced are still securing a bib, despite the race's qualifying time requirement.

The New York City Marathon, which will take place in November, has seen turnout of 20-somethings jump in the last five years.

• The number of runners in this group increased by 21% from 2019 to 2023 — from roughly 8,230 to nearly 10,000 participants.

👟 Between the lines: Running a marathon can offer a sense of purpose, responsibility, self-esteem and identity formation, according to Kevin Masters, a University of Colorado, Denver professor who's researched marathon participants for decades.

• It offers community, the satisfaction of reaching a goal, and lessons about your body and health. (And the chance of injury, so don't overdo it.)
• While running, people also think — and it can lead them to solve tricky work problems, or remember people they miss and decide to reach out, Masters said.

It can force participants to reorganize their lives.

• "Even eating becomes interesting because you can't really slam down a big burger and then go out and run 10 miles," Masters said.

💭 Natalie's thought bubble: I'm 30 and running my first marathon in Philadelphia this fall.

• I've been inspired reading Haruki Murakami's "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" and adapting to a lifestyle with no alcohol and restorative rest.
• Building out a training plan is also a fun way to map out the rest of the year and connect with marathon runners in my life.

The bottom line: Making it to the marathon starting line is an accomplishment, the culmination of much perseverance and resilience.

• "I want to say to all of you, congratulations," Simmelkjaer told runners at the starting line in Staten Island at the 2023 New York City Marathon.
• "The actual day of the race is more of a celebration than it is the hard part."

Share this story ... Running an ultramarathon

Finish Line readers have been sharing the unique aspects of their front yards that bring them joy. Today's dispatch comes from Pam Jennings in Wildwood, Mo.

• "This swing hung on my grandparents front porch in Metropolis, Ill. It's where I learned life lessons from my grandmother and held hands with my boyfriend at 15."

🏠 "Now, repaired, repainted and over 60 years later, the swing hangs on my own front porch. It is a place of welcome for my grandchildren, family, friends and neighbors."

• "I would never have guessed all those years ago that this swing would become such a valued sharing spot or that I would still be swinging with the same 'boyfriend' and, yes, still holding hands."