More people than ever are running marathons thanks, a Time article says, to Facebook and other social media platforms.

Running USA reports that last year there was a 10 percent jump in marathon finishers. About 467,000 runners finished marathons last year, which is the highest number of finishers to date.

The largest increase in marathon runners from 2008 to 2009 is women ages 18 to 24. The second largest increase was in men ages 25 to 34. Both are regular Facebook users.

Having run marathons for several years, it’s easy to understand why they attract a wide range of people from various backgrounds. They’re a great way to meet people who have similar interests and, more importantly, to cope with stressful situations.

It’s also easy to understand why when one person in a group — even a loose associate within a large social network like Facebook — starts running marathons others join in. Most training manuals encourage runners to share their training with others. It helps keep them from getting frustrated while they work to meet their goals.

Each time you plan to run a marathon and announce it, it becomes impossible to back out unless you’re suffering from a major injury or sickness that keeps you from running.

And, once a seemingly un-athletic person completes their first marathon, others believe that they can too. 

That’s how it worked for me: I ran a marathon and my friends jumped on the bandwagon. Since then, at least a handful have completed at least one. Others, like me, have become addicted to the distance.