Whats the difference between running and jogging

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PotsyLee
PotsyLee Posts: 9 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi There
I have never been one for being outdoors and do most of my exercise fast walking on a treadmill inside. However I have recently had a thought that I would like to go a bit faster and get myself outside now that its light at night.
But can you tell me please what is the difference between running and jogging. Is it purely the speed? or are their different techniques to use for each. I would like to start running, I though I was but my husband tells me I was just jogging, is that just because I was too slow?
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Replies

  • wolfgate
    wolfgate Posts: 321 Member
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    All semantics. Different people have tried to come up with definitions, but none of them are definitive. Essentially jogging is a lower intensity form of running but how that gets defined isn't universally accepted.

    Personally, I tend to think I jog on my recovery days and run the others. But that is just me.

    Some people have started to consider or use it as an insult, which i guess was inevitable. I would call somebody out who told someone they were only jogging and not running. Pure ignorance and sounds like an attempt to knock the runner down.

    So don't worry, it's a not clearly defined subset of running.
  • mreeves261
    mreeves261 Posts: 728 Member
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    Did you feel like you were running? If you did then you were running! There's no speed at which anyone can say definitively you are running or jogging. I RUN a 14 minute mile. I don't jog but it also doesn't bother me if someone else calls my running jogging. I know what I am doing and that's what matters.

    Run for fun, fitness will follow. Never let anyone else dictate your speed!
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    All semantics. Different people have tried to come up with definitions, but none of them are definitive. Essentially jogging is a lower intensity form of running but how that gets defined isn't universally accepted.

    Personally, I tend to think I jog on my recovery days and run the others. But that is just me.

    Some people have started to consider or use it as an insult, which i guess was inevitable. I would call somebody out who told someone they were only jogging and not running. Pure ignorance and sounds like an attempt to knock the runner down.

    So don't worry, it's a not clearly defined subset of running.

    There is a definitive definition:

    One foot in contact with the ground at all times during the stride= walking

    Both feet leave the ground at the same time during the stride=Running

    Physiologically, there is no such thing as "jogging".
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
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    All semantics. Different people have tried to come up with definitions, but none of them are definitive. Essentially jogging is a lower intensity form of running but how that gets defined isn't universally accepted.

    Personally, I tend to think I jog on my recovery days and run the others. But that is just me.

    Some people have started to consider or use it as an insult, which i guess was inevitable. I would call somebody out who told someone they were only jogging and not running. Pure ignorance and sounds like an attempt to knock the runner down.

    So don't worry, it's a not clearly defined subset of running.

    There is a definitive definition:

    One foot in contact with the ground at all times during the stride= walking

    Both feet leave the ground at the same time during the stride=Running

    Physiologically, there is no such thing as "jogging".

    Unless you're a horse.
  • wolfgate
    wolfgate Posts: 321 Member
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    All semantics. Different people have tried to come up with definitions, but none of them are definitive. Essentially jogging is a lower intensity form of running but how that gets defined isn't universally accepted.

    Personally, I tend to think I jog on my recovery days and run the others. But that is just me.

    Some people have started to consider or use it as an insult, which i guess was inevitable. I would call somebody out who told someone they were only jogging and not running. Pure ignorance and sounds like an attempt to knock the runner down.

    So don't worry, it's a not clearly defined subset of running.



    There is a definitive definition:

    One foot in contact with the ground at all times during the stride= walking

    Both feet leave the ground at the same time during the stride=Running

    Physiologically, there is no such thing as "jogging".

    Which is consistent with my point. :-) The word, of course, has been used for centuries but not consistently with running until Bill Bowerman's book "jogging" published about 50 years ago. So a common word with an unclear meaning.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    There is a definitive definition:

    One foot in contact with the ground at all times during the stride= walking

    Both feet leave the ground at the same time during the stride=Running

    Physiologically, there is no such thing as "jogging".

    Beat me to it!
  • ryanwood935
    ryanwood935 Posts: 245 Member
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    Running, to me, is jogging with a purpose. You set goals, maybe even have a training plan mapped out. You strive to get better. Maybe you are working towards your first 5k, maybe you are trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon, but you are running with a purpose.
  • Jenn842512
    Jenn842512 Posts: 41 Member
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    The difference between running and jogging, to me, is your intent. Joggers move it for fitness. Jogging makes me think light, easy, happy, only vaguely concerned with time/pace, mainly in it for some "active time".

    Running. My Love. My Passion. Stronger, farther, faster, race bibs, foot strike and stride analysis, fuel, hills, sprints, work.

    I admire joggers for their choice to move. I am a runner because I am always pushing.
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
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    Running is a broad category that includes sprinting, jogging, escaping predators, fun runs, etc. Jogging is a consistent speed activity typically done for fitness or recreation.
  • sanfromny
    sanfromny Posts: 770 Member
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    On the Life Fitness treadmills at my gym it has a button specifically named "jogging" and the speed is 4.0, there is also another button for "running" and the speed is 6.0. I've always went with the idea that speed dictates what is considered a run and what is considered a jog.
  • 748marie
    748marie Posts: 61 Member
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    Jogging- Fast walking, slow running... This is just my definition lol.
  • sfbaumgarten
    sfbaumgarten Posts: 912 Member
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    In for thoughts on the matter...
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
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    Running = a stride wherein both feet leave the ground at once (versus walking, where one foot is always in contact).

    A jog is a slower run. A sprint is a faster run. These are subjective. What's faster or slower for you may not be what is faster or slower for me.

    That doesn't matter though: it's all running. Jogging, to me, is a word people use either to self-deprecate ("oh, I wasn't running...it was just a jog") or Serious Important Runners (tm) use to disparage more casual runners.

    "It was being a runner that mattered, not how fast or how far I could run. The joy was in the act of running and in the. . . It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run." - John Bingham
  • somefitsomefat
    somefitsomefat Posts: 445 Member
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    The difference between running and jogging, to me, is your intent. Joggers move it for fitness. Jogging makes me think light, easy, happy, only vaguely concerned with time/pace, mainly in it for some "active time".

    Running. My Love. My Passion. Stronger, farther, faster, race bibs, foot strike and stride analysis, fuel, hills, sprints, work.

    I admire joggers for their choice to move. I am a runner because I am always pushing.

    I understand this but at the same time it sounds super snotty. Like you're looking down at a puppy and saying "awww."
  • 19TaraLynn84
    19TaraLynn84 Posts: 739 Member
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    If you aren't walking, then you're running. If jogging is just slow running, then wouldn't there need to be a definitive speed at which it turns into running? We humans can complicate the simplest things.

    ETA: It's funny to me how we never say a small child is jogging. They're either walking or running. When did we grow out of that?
  • monstergirl14
    monstergirl14 Posts: 345 Member
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    I run, either at 4.5 mph, 5 mph, or 6 mph. It depends on if my legs can handle it that day, but if I'm not physically walking, then I consider it running.
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
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    ETA: It's funny to me how we never say a small child is jogging. They're either walking or running. When did we grow out of that?

    ha - excellent point! "No jogging in the house!"
  • fayefayee5
    fayefayee5 Posts: 87 Member
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    When I run I cannot talk to others, when I jog I am able to hold conversation still somewhat.

    I run at the gym, my friends and I go out for a jog on the weekends, and still chitchat while we are on the go.
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
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    No difference. It is what you say it is. I say I run.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,527 Member
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    IMO, it's going to be stride length and pace. If one's stride length is longer, then intensity is usually going to be much higher than taking a stride half the length.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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