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The best running-inspired memes

Sometimes running photos make for a good joke or two

July 19, 2020
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Every now and then a photo gets taken of a runner, whether they’re professional or amateur, and it goes viral. The picture might be relatable or it could just be a great snapshot that people love immediately. No matter the case, there are a lot of running-related and running-inspired memes on the internet. There are way too many to go through all of them, but here are some of the best and most popular to have graced Twitter and Instagram over the years. 

The Bolt side-eye 

At the 2016 Summer Games in Rio, Usain Bolt closed out his Olympic career by adding three more gold medals to his record, winning the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay. He made headlines all over the world for these accomplishments, but that wasn’t why he was the talk of Twitter. Instead, the internet focused on a shot of him during his win in the 100m semi-final in which he’s smiling broadly as he glances over his shoulder at Andre De Grasse and his other competitors. The internet loved it, and it’s been a lasting meme ever since. 

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Forrest Gump 

The film Forrest Gump has inspired many memes (even though it was released long before internet memes were a thing). A crowd favourite is a shot of Tom Hanks (who played Forrest) looking haggard near the end of his cross-country run. People love using this photo for memes, and although they aren’t always focused on runners, the shot wouldn’t exist if Forrest hadn’t just felt like running.

https://twitter.com/Boffintosh/status/896441779632959488?s=20

 

Mo Farah running away from things

As he crossed the line to win gold in the 5,000m at the London Olympics in 2012, Mo Farah tossed out his arms and screamed in ecstatic disbelief. Since then, people have photoshopped Farah into many pictures to make it look like he’s running away from something or someone. One meme shows him being chased by a bear, another sees him in a scene from Jurassic Park trying to escape a Tyrannosaurus rex. Whatever the setting, most of these Farah memes are quite funny. 

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Little girl runner 

Similar to Farah’s case, a shot of a little girl running away from something has been turned into an escape-themed meme. The girl is carrying what looks like a container of bubbles (which kind of gives the impression that she’s running a relay with a baton in-hand) and looking back over her shoulder, trying to get away from whatever’s behind her. She’s no Mo Farah, but her urgency to run away makes for just as good of a meme as the Olympic champion’s. 

Ridiculously photogenic runner 

Perhaps the most famous running meme is that of the “Ridiculously Photogenic Guy.” A runner named Zeddie Little was participating in an event in South Carolina in 2012 when he had his photo taken. Little spotted the photographer before the shot, and he smiled for the camera, resulting in what could very well be the most relaxed-looking mid-race photo of all time. Little looks like he’s out for a morning stroll rather than right in the middle of a race, and because of that, he’s been named the Ridiculously Photogenic Guy. 

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