when are you really a runner?

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vickster82
vickster82 Posts: 108
in Fitness and Exercise
i joined this to loose that annoying 12 lbs that prevent me from looking fabulous. ive been a runner for some years, but not a distance runner, but good 5-6 mi. however i don't run every day, maybe 3-4 times a week. im curious what others think a true runner is? i've never done a marathon and most likely never will since to me running for 4 hours is just not realistic. i can do an hour at most. maybe w/some serious dedication i can attempt. what do you guys think??

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  • vickster82
    vickster82 Posts: 108
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    i joined this to loose that annoying 12 lbs that prevent me from looking fabulous. ive been a runner for some years, but not a distance runner, but good 5-6 mi. however i don't run every day, maybe 3-4 times a week. im curious what others think a true runner is? i've never done a marathon and most likely never will since to me running for 4 hours is just not realistic. i can do an hour at most. maybe w/some serious dedication i can attempt. what do you guys think??
  • momto3hmn
    momto3hmn Posts: 67
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    Maybe this is all perosnal opinion. But I guess mine is this: If you run for exercise at any rate then I could consider that a runner. If you're running 5 to 6 miles each time you run, than kuddos to you sister. I can get 1 mile in then I have to walk for a go and go again later. I consider myself a runner in training. I have heard the term distacne runner, and I frequently hear terms like jogger or avid jogger, avid runner. But in my mind You're a runner! :flowerforyou:

    Have a wonderful Sunday. I will go try to run 2 miles instead of one... hehe :happy:
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    I cant run so anyone that passes me on the trails is a runner to me!

    (btw I have been adding jogging to my walking, and finish a mile in 12 mins now!)
  • jedfar21
    jedfar21 Posts: 3 Member
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    Being "called a runner" seems a subjective thing.

    When I was in college, I was on the track team for a brief while. My boyfriend was a sprinter, long jumper, and trained with the cross country team. The men's X-C team considered that anyone who did not run in a "training" mode at least six days a week was not a runner.

    Under their "rules", I was not a runner (and neither was my boyfriend, even though he was a track champion in relays). All of my non-sport friends looked at my running habits and considered me a runner.

    SO - you are a runner when YOU consider yourself one. And you're a runner to me - my knees were badly damaged from training for a marathon. I always hold out hope that someday a miracle will occur and I'll be able to walk more than 4 miles with out pain. Until then, please run a few miles for me!
  • allaboutme
    allaboutme Posts: 391 Member
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    I have wondered the same thing, wondering when I would enter the realm of a "runner" or a "jogger" unitl my hubby informed me one day after I came back disappointed cause I couldn't do the whole distance without stopping, he said, it doesn't matter whether you continue to run the whole way without stopping, you went out and did more than most people would, and I realized what I do doesn't need a category to fit into, I enjoy running and how it makes me feel afterward. Some days I can run 5 miles without having to walk, some days, I can't. I stopped being disappointed in my performance for having to stop and said this is what my body can do, and it makes me feel good, I don't care if other people think I am a runner or a walker or whatever. I improve every day for myself, not for what others think, cause as we know everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and it isn't often it is exactly the same as yours.
  • connieq288
    connieq288 Posts: 1,102 Member
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    You guys are great that can run. Right now I can maybe jog for about a minute on the treadmill then I have to walk for about 2 and then I can jog again. I cant wait to be able to run for a distance. Great Job to everyone.

    Connie
  • jessmomof3
    jessmomof3 Posts: 4,590 Member
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    I think I really started to consider myself a runner when I hit the outdoors. I started walking/ running on the treadmill about 4 years ago, but it wasn't until I took to the outdoors that I really *felt* like a runner. Then I signed up for my first 5K and the rest is history... 2 half marathons, 1 full marathon, and lots of shorter distances later! :wink:

    I think you're a runner when you feel like a runner!

    Jess
  • vickster82
    vickster82 Posts: 108
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    thanks everyone! appreciate the responses. running outside definitely takes over the treadmill any day. even now when it's getting cold, the fall colors are just so gorgeous that it takes my breath. it makes the run fly by!:flowerforyou:
  • chipper15173
    chipper15173 Posts: 3,981 Member
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    thanks everyone! appreciate the responses. running outside definitely takes over the treadmill any day. even now when it's getting cold, the fall colors are just so gorgeous that it takes my breath. it makes the run fly by!:flowerforyou:

    i have been in "training running" starting my 3rd week. it is a 10 week training to start very new runners out. anyway. i wanted to take it outside, but, in the cold and running doesn't match well for asthmatic.:ohwell: i tried yesturday, running while pushing the lawn mower. didn't work, sucking in the cold air, boom asthma attack:frown: . oh. well, i open the blinds and look outside and dream. wait until spring...:tongue:

    keep on running, i am loving it...
    chipper

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