Global pop star Taylor Swift recently released a six-part documentary on Disney+ that chronicles the behind-the-scenes of her Eras Tour. In it, she candidly shares the training she does offstage, including her claim that she ran about 12.8 kilometers during one show.
After the clip aired it immediately drew the attention of running enthusiasts; many online users even tried to carefully calculate how far she might have run during an entire concert and said that while it's possible she ran 12.8 kilometers, it's unlikely.
But that doesn't mean Swift sat at the piano for more than three hours; anyone who's seen her show knows she's dancing, running, walking and moving almost the whole time. In the documentary she tells viewers: “I've never worked out this much in my life!”
Addressing the claim that Taylor Swift "ran 12.8 kilometers during one show," Canadian Running Magazine conducted a special analysis and noted that Swift's stage is roughly the length of an American football field (about 110 meters).
Taylor Swift runs from one end of the stage to the other about 118 times per show, which means she averages a run every three minutes. Or to put it another way, she sprints the full length of the stage two or three times per song, and the concert has 45 songs. Therefore, the magazine estimated her actual distance run is closer to about 8–9.5 km — not 12.8 km（but don't forget she's wearing high heels!）。
In any case, the training Taylor Swift does for her shows is something many runners can only admire. In 2023, Canadian Running Magazine did a similar calculation, estimating the distance she covers on the treadmill. She runs and sings through the full tracklist of the Eras album, adjusting speed to each song's tempo. They calculated that each of her workouts totals about 25.7 km.
All in all, putting on a concert is physically demanding for a pop star; for reference, soccer players typically cover about 10–12 km per match (excluding goalkeepers).
David Beckham ran an astonishing 16.1 km in a 2001 World Cup qualifier against Greece, already a model of diligence, while Bulgarian forward Dimitar Berbatov, known for his laid-back playing style, once registered just 2,032 meters in a single match. Concert stars probably wouldn't dare slack off like that.
So, many concerts last only 90 minutes.
