Growing up, what did you do?

dorianaldyn

Just curious - what sports did you guys do when you were growing up, if any?

Growing up, I was first a gymnast, then a competitive diver (springboard, not platform). The sports I was involved in required short bursts of acrobatic energy. I always felt like I did not have a "runner's body" (and by that I mean a distance runner), I thought I was built more for sprinting. As it turns out, I had that all wrong. I gradually increased my distance and endurance and low and behold, my body adapted and I'm more and more resembling what I picture when I picture a distance runner. I started running at age 37; I so wish I had discovered this sport earlier in my life!

CarsonRuns

I wrestled, swam and played football and baseball.

RunnerInVT

I was a cheerleader (HS and College) -smoker and band geek. I am smoke free for 29 years and run marathons.

sammyneb

nothing..I didn't play any sports, actually barely passed PE my Sophmore year because I couldn't run the mile (skated in 30 seconds a head of their time requirement, which I think was around 13 or 14 minutes)

Started running almost two years ago, and quite smoking at the same time...now almost 2 years later I have ran 4 half marthons (my best being 2:00:34) and counless 5k and 10k's..and I'm gearing up for two more halves and my first full this fall..

all with NO athletic ability or training

mellorunner

Played youth league soccer from when I was 5 until I was about 13. Joined modified track in 7th grade but called myself a thrower (despite the fact that I was 5'10 and about 150lbs) so I didn't have to do any real work. Freshman year I dropped soccer and became a marching band geek in the fall, but kept track in the spring. Sophomore year I was roped into XC and the rest is history.

ATT949

Just curious - what sports did you guys do when you were growing up, if any?

Growing up, I was first a gymnast, then a competitive diver (springboard, not platform). The sports I was involved in required short bursts of acrobatic energy. I always felt like I did not have a "runner's body" (and by that I mean a distance runner), I thought I was built more for sprinting. As it turns out, I had that all wrong. I gradually increased my distance and endurance and low and behold, my body adapted and I'm more and more resembling what I picture when I picture a distance runner. I started running at age 37; I so wish I had discovered this sport earlier in my life!

I played lots of sports because I was born and raised in Bermuda with a quick side trip (ages 5-10) in Maryland and college in Canada - basketball, tennis, soccer, rugby, sailing, swimming, cricket (a form of torture that's mistaken for being a "sport"), even ice skating (NOT in Bermuda!) and even played a little golf along the way. I tried playing softball - thanks to cricket, I can catch barehanded but I can not hit a pitch. American football - never played - too dangerous - played rugby - much safer!

Running wasn't a sport for me but I wish I'd kept running after I got out of the Army. I did 2 miles in 11:09 which is pretty good for a 30 year old who had never trained in the sport.

The adaptation process for running has been painful for me. I ran (about) 500 miles in the last 6 months of 2011 and the same in the first 6 months of this year. Problem is, I had so many injuries last year that I ran less than 500 miles in the entire year.

When I spoke to an ortho specialist (who's a tri-guy) he told me that he wasn't surprised about the injuries - 25 years being sedentary, 10 years of overweight, and 3 years right at the border of morbid obesity all took their toll on my skeletal strength.

That was then, this is now.

At age 56 I've only got about 20 years of running left but I'm doing my best to catch up!

ZenInTexas

I played all the sports in school at one time or another, softball, volleyball, basketball, badminton. I did track and field but running was not one of my events. I was always too slow. I would describe my youthful self as being athletic but after I gained a lot of weight I got too self conscious to even try out for the team so that was the end of that. And I took up running at the ripe old age of 36 last year. I'm still slow and I don't think I'm genetically gifted to be "good" runner but I have a lot of determination and a willingness to work hard so that makes up for it.

KateRunsColorado

When I was really young I think I tried almost everything - gymnastics, swimming, dance, softball, tennis, track...But I usually only ever got 1 season out and then I quit.

I did play volleyball from 7th grade to 11th grade...didn't do it my senior year because I knew I would end up sitting the bench the whole season...

So pretty much I tried a bunch of stuff, but never felt good at any of it! I always felt like I wasn't athletic at all.

Then I found running last summer and I LOVE it! I wish I had tried cross country in high school because I wonder if maybe I would've found a love for running sooner. But I'm just glad I have it now! It's been SO good for me, both physically and mentally!

WebbyShoo

I've always been long and lanky, running came naturally to me and having the upbringing I did, having running trails next to our house by the river did me a lot of good growing up. I did lots of mountain biking, trail running, since the age of 11, then in high school I played soccer (mid field), x-country, marathon club, golf and bowling. Mostly running stuff though. I also ran long in track (distance depended if they had enough people to race that distance... not many chicks in our area signed up for the long distance). LOL. Edited to add, non competitive rec hockey, powerlifting meets at noon hour on the mez (something my gym teacher set up for people interested) and volley ball (I sucked at it... LOL).

barrpc

From Jr. High up I played baseball, football, basket ball, cheerleader (yes, a guy cheerleader....it was actually common in high school 40 years ago). I discovered I was a distance runner by accident. We used to have something called Presidential Fitness award. One of the events was a 600 yrd run in under some time limit. I noticed as all the sprinters fell back around 75 yards, i passed them and held the same speed until the end. The coach immediately put me on the Cross Country team and the rest is history.

TheBrolympus

Football and Track (Shot put and Discus) but mostly Band Geek. I avoided running like the plague.
I started Mountain biking in my early 30s and fell in love with it and started to get into shape. I ran a little bit in my 20s and early 30s but didn't get serious until a couple of years ago. So between running and mountain biking my legs are ALWAYS sore!

timeasterday

I was not into sports at all in school. Hated running too. I played trumpet in the band as well as guitar for jazz band and musicals. With all the band stuff and taking advanced level courses I didn't have time for anything else.

TriLifter

As a kid I did gymnastics. In middle school I played softball and basketball. In high school I did cross country, winter track, and spring track. In college I did cross country and played lacrosse. I stopped running after my freshman year of college and didn't pick it up again until I turned 30.

glin23

I was a choir geek. I still love to sing, but I wasn't active at all.

SonicDeathMonkey80

I played a pretty mean Ryu on Street Fighter II. Other than that, nothing really physically productive.

GiddyupTim

Back in my pre-teen days, every kid played Little League baseball. We switched to other sports in season, but baseball was really the thing.
I laugh now because kids start in T-ball (way too early) and they get trophies if they sneeze. Back when I started, the winning team got to go have an ice cream at the Dairy Belle. The losing team got nothing.
My first year, my team lost every single game. We got no ice cream, ever. The other teams laughed and whooped and got in cars and drove off to get their rewards. And, we stood there in the dust of the diamond and watched them go, and then quietly picked up our bikes and made the long ride home.
Not once did my coach take pity on us, and offer to buy us a consolation ice cream.
Nobody got a trophy for playing either. You got a trophy for first or second place in the league.
I also began playing soccer when I was about 10 years or 11 years, and that was extremely unusual. It came about because my brother made friends with a German family that was living in our town. The German father got my brother to start playing, and I followed suit.
Soccer was perfect for me. The big three American sports put a premium on size. You can play if you are smaller, and do okay, but you are never going to be the star.
Basketball? Forget it; guys are reaching over your head the whole time. It is humiliating.
In soccer, on the other hand, you use what you have. If you are tall, you use that and learn to head the ball well, and you can be a defender who is hard to get around. If you are a natural athlete, who has the instincts for games, but cannot run well, you can play striker with your back to the goal.
Whatever you have works. I was fast. I could be the star on the team, only sport where I could.
Of course, we were terrible. My coaches were great. But nobody knew the game. We could not watch it on TV.
It was funny, when I got older, and continued to play. The kids coming up now not only have skills we did not have, they have skills we did not even know existed! It was a bit frustrating trying to play as the old guy.
It is rather funny, too, that I played soccer because I hated running long distances. Everybody did in those days. In a sport, you don't notice and soccer running never bothered me. But, just running? Hated it. We had a four-minute run test in school every year, and kids turned pale at the thought of it.
More strange, we lived in an area of steep hills, and we loved riding our bikes to the top so we could zoom down.
I did not find long-distance running -- then known as jogging -- until I was about 20-years-old.

Linli_Anne

My only "sport" was swimming, and I completed all the required levels to be a lifeguard, but never followed through with the requirements to be an instructor-guard.

I was also involved in dance; tap, jazz, ballet and did Highland dancing as well in my youth.

I tried one season of talking my parents into letting me play baseball, which I loved, but it always interfered with piano or dance, so, I couldn't keep it on.

I have only been running seriously since February.

amandamurdaugh

I did nothing good in high school, I can tell you that! I thought I was too cool for sports. I just started running 3-4 years ago as a way to exercise. I really liked it & discovered it was somewhat easy for me. Wish I had started sooner.

HornedFrogPride

Played a little bit of baseball (not my sport) & swimming. Played football growing up until my doctor told me I was too lightweight to keep that up so took up running and poured all my energy into it. Ran track in jr. high & HS (long distance & 2mi relay) & X-country (captain of XC team in HS). Also played BB (terrible benchwarmer!). By age 17 or so, I became a very serious runner and lengthened the distance. Kept running through college, took a running class in college from a marathoner who semi-coached me to run my first marathon 25 years ago. Rest is history, just kept runnin' mostly.

thepetiterunner

Oh gosh, I did a ton of stuff.

In my elementary days, I did tennis and swimming, tap and ballet dance. In middle school, I did basketball, gymnastics and ice skating. In high school I did basketball and weight lifting.

Ironically, I used to HATE running. I had exercise induced asthma as a kid (or maybe that was all a load of BS, who knows), so running was torture for me. But now things are different... I think sometimes different sports, much like other things, come into our lives for a reason and at a very particular time.

jessicasloan91

NOTHING.. absolutely nothing.. never had a hobby or did anything that required physical activity!