Are there any early historical examples of people running purely for the enjoyment of running?
What about ancient examples of running for exercise outside of military or hunting training?
Edit: Not counting competitions either, if at all possible. Just running to run or running for health.
The Odyssey has a footrace in book 8. Not the best translation below but gets the story across... http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/Odyssey8.htm
And also the Aeneid, taking its cue from Homer... http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/VirgilAeneidV.htm