What makes you a runner?
- runalivesd
- Oct 20, 2014
- 2 min read
Ah, the eternal question. Is there some specific benchmark that needs to be achieved in order for one to rightfully call themselves a runner? A pace, a distance achieved, a certain number of races completed, owning a GPS watch?
I field this question most frequently from newbies, people who have just begun lacing up their sneakers and hitting the road, trail, or treadmill. They most often maintain that they run, or they jog, but they are not sure that they are “a runner” by title.
When you Google the question, 35.3 million pages come up. That’s 35.3 million different opinions and criteria that each author believes must be met in order to be considered a runner.
Let’s look at a few of them:
Merriam-Webster will tell you that a runner is “A person who runs as part of a sport, for exercise, or in a race”.
Google’s dictionary states that a runner is “A person who runs, in a specified way”.
And multiple websites report that a runner is “Someone who has completed a race longer than a 5k”.
Or “Someone who runs 8 minute/mile or faster”.
Or perhaps “One who owns at least 2 pairs of running shoes”.
Let’s start with the last three on the list. We can throw these requirements out immediately, as they are arbitrary marks and milestones. Many people have never, and will never, achieve these and yet, they are still unbelievable runners (ever read Born to Run by Christopher McDougall? Do it, you’ll understand).
On to the first two definitions. I have no disagreement with the first half of both sentences. A person who runs can be a runner. Agreed. The second half of those sentences is where my disagreement comes in. This is where the source qualifies the runner by stating either WHAT they run or HOW they run.
So we’ve started to narrow it down. To be a runner, you have to run. Got it. You don’t have to reach any specific milestones, you don’t have to run any specific way. But you do have to run. Where is the tipping point? When do you go from running to being a runner?
I believe it lies not in the physical act of running, but in the mental/spiritual/emotional (however you want to describe the non-physical) aspect of running. Every run may not be fun, or pleasant, or easy, or even enjoyable. But running is an undeniable part of your life. You believe and understand that you were made to run.
“Just move your legs. Because if you don’t think you were born to run, you’re not only denying history; you’re denying who you are.” – Dr. Dennis Bramble
In the end, we were all born to run. We were not born to sit in a car, at a computer, or on a stationary bicycle staring at a television at the gym. That innate gift of running may have seeded itself deep in your soul making you a runner, or maybe it hasn’t. Maybe you run purely for the physical gains and benefits for your body.
Either way, when running has become part of your life, it should be a healthy, enjoyable, and long-lived part. Educate yourself, invest in your running and your body, and never forget to #RUNalive.
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