From our other sites
The story
A personal account posted on 5channel claiming that more and more middle and high schoolers can’t finish a 1,500m run during school endurance-running exercises has become a hot topic. It started as one poster’s individual observation rather than any nationwide statistic, but replies poured in citing plausible culprits: reduced exercise opportunities during the COVID pandemic, fewer places for kids to play outside, and declining participation in school clubs. At the same time, some voiced skepticism, worrying about kids’ health and saying “not being able to run 1.5km seems like a stretch.” The discussion split between doubting the premise of the story itself and hunting for underlying causes.
What people said
What do you mean?
Even if you slow down to a jog by the end, you'd still finish
It's for real
Kids today have had basically every chance to exercise taken away from them
That's probably about right
They probably don't even get the chance to run in the first place
The number of kids doing after-school club activities has dropped off a cliff, that's probably part of it
Not being able to run 1,500m has gotta be rare, come on
I can run 20km in 2 hours though 🥹
You really think grade schoolers and middle schoolers are out there running around playing outside these days?
I ran around near my house in August
Depending on your pace, it's honestly borderline whether you'd even get winded
Anyone gets winded if they sprint it full speed
because of the COVID pandemic that started in 2020, kids missed out on the exercise and learning they were supposed to be doing at that age
so more and more of them are showing clear negative effects from it
Yeah, you really don't see kids running laps around the schoolyard anymore
Probably got cancelled after a flood of complaints
I heard if you don't quit smoking, it gets rough once you're past 70
Guess it figures that Gen Z gives up the moment it gets hard
What are they even doing
No way schools still have that kind of event these days
If anything it's adults who need to exercise more than kids do
People are just avoiding the reality that they need to work out themselves
Pretty much every guy in class could hit 100 reps on the shuttle run
Physical fitness test scores keep dropping too
"Don't go outside, just stay home and play video games!"
And then: "Why can't young people even run 1,500m?"
💁
Banning kids from parks entirely really makes no sense
Though I get cracking down on the ones causing a ruckus in the street or around apartment buildings
No way that's actually true lol
Wish kids still did that
They've probably been torn down by now anyway
I'm nowhere near being a 'kid today' and even we never had that
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Japan’s Sports Agency physical fitness survey has noted a long-term decline in children’s endurance-running scores, so the thread’s general impression isn’t entirely off base. That said, readers should keep in mind that the original poster explicitly flagged the claim as having “no source” — it’s a personal anecdote, with no school names or statistics cited. The debate split into two main camps. One attributes the trend to “today’s kids not getting enough exercise,” pointing to the pandemic, fewer chances to play outside, and declining participation in school clubs. The other is more skeptical, questioning whether calling it an exaggeration to say kids can’t finish a mere 1.5km — a stance that challenges the premise of the post itself. Some also pointed out that school marathon events are disappearing, but that too is anecdotal, and the source material doesn’t let us confirm whether complaints were really the main driver.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5channel (Nandemo Jikkyou G) thread “[Sad News] More and More Middle and High Schoolers Lately Can’t Even Finish a 1,500m Run LOLOLOLOL.”
Leave a Reply