Embarrassed to be seen running!

Hello,

I have just started the c25k and I know I shouldn't care what other people think but my biggest challenge seems to be getting over the embarrassment of running past people, especially other runners who are fit and slim. I am very overweight and unfit

I know I should focus on the positive (that I'm trying to change) and not care about others thoughts.

Does anyone else feel like this?

Just looking for a little encouragement

As an accomplished runner, I do not judge people as I pass them. In fact, I can empathize with their struggles as they strive to improve themselves. If those faster runners are thinking anything, they are thinking how good it is to see someone challenging themselves, regardless of their shape or speed.

You are running for you, not anyone else! In my race on Sunday, there were all types of athletes - professionals to first timers. Everyone encouraged one another, cheered for each other, especially for the people who were finishing towards the end of the race.
Keep up the great work....stay focused and you will be fine

First, great job & keep it up! :flowerforyou:

I often run or walk the paved paths in a nearby cemetery because I enjoy how peaceful it is and it's close to my house. As a bonus, there are very few (living) people in there to judge me. :laugh: Just a tip if you need a new location. Otherwise, get your run on and don't worry about what anyone else thinks!

Chances are, those runners think what you're doing is awesome! When I first started running, I had an 80 year old man blaze past me on the trail. At first I was kinda butthurt, but he turned around and gave me a thumbs up and I felt really encouraged to keep going. Just keep on keeping on!! And good luck with your running, it's the best thing I've ever done for myself!!! :flowerforyou:

This for sure.

I've received the encouragement from the "fit" runners too. Truth be told, there will always be someone fitter, faster, stronger, or leaner than you. And the same holds true for them too. We're all runners in the end and the beauty is that we are all each others inspiration from the fastest to the slowest. Next time you pass a runner, smile and say hi. There is solidarity in running and, as solitary as it can be, we have a massive team and we're all winning.

I can not run. I'm afraid that I'm too crippled to run and have been for 26 years. I went into the US Army whole and came home with a limp. I will never run again (unless there is a Zombie Apocolypse). However, don't feel sorry for me. You should see me go around on my bike. I'm a definite nut and I love to zoom. My wife worries that I've finally gone around the bend. I bike on weekend, week nights, and early in the morning before the sun rises. I've watched the rain fall through the light on my bike while I've zipped around. I've lost 10% of my body weight over the summer and may well decide to lose another 10%.

I think what you should remember: You are very lucky. You can run. You are changing your life. Be proud. Be bold. And if anyone ever tells you different, suggest they can kiss your backside.

I felt like that when I first went on a bike ride, especially when out with my OH as he's super athletic and can do ridiculous mph. But really, no one even notices - and there's this sense of great camaraderie where everyone waves and say hi and stuff. I also felt that way at the gym but no one's ever said anything to me.

I think it's one of those things where it's all in our own minds rather than anyone else's x

Run with a dog. No one will notice you.

I run about 25-30 miles a week. I can't tell you anything specific about anything in particular I pass while running. Don't worry about it, because we don't.

PLEASE go do a search on "fatty running on the Westview track". I re-read it EVERY time I go work out in public.

Am I the only person who finds this incredibly gross? From the patronizing tone, to the ridiculous suggestion that the runner must be paying off a "debt." Maybe the other runner is avoiding the author's gaze because he's a damn creeper who is judging his or her every move? I don't see how this is supposed to make a person feel better about exercising in public. Instead, it seems to confirm people's worst fears: other people are judging.



To the OP:
I struggled with this in the gym at first, walking in weighing more than 300 pounds wearing big tshirts and pajama pants. I could have been ashamed or felt self-conscious. Instead, I simply decided to not give a *kitten*. I didn't care if people were judging or staring or mocking. I had a job to do, and I was there to do it.

Turns out no one stared or mocked, and if they judged - I still don't give a *kitten*. My workouts have exactly nothing to do with them. There were certainly times other gymgoers commented to me - but it was more of a "wow, I see you here all the time and your transformation is stunning" - nothing like the "dear fatty" letter above.

And just so you know, now that I no longer weigh 300 pounds and I am one of those fit runners out there, I smile at runners I pass and don't think a thing about whether they're unfit or overweight or anything like that. The way I see it, we're all in it together.

You're not the only one who feels that way. This was supposedly written by the person running at the track:

To the man who judged me on the Westview track,

I see that you wrote a Facebook status about my journey and me. It described me on the track and from what I gather it was supposed to inspire after a little insult. It went viral.

So let me tell you what I think of your post…

First off I would suggest you not judge me at all. You have my journey all messed up. My journey did not start twelve days ago. It started over a year ago. You see me at 300 pounds but what you do not know is I was over 400 pounds. You did not know this because I was embarrassed to run in front of other people. So I would come to this track when no one else was around. Sometimes I would go for a couple of minutes. Sometimes I would go for four minutes. It all started when I went for 48 seconds my first time running. Yes, I timed it. Yes I was upset. And yes, I promised it would never happen again.

When I was over 400 pounds and decided to make the commitment to change my life I would wake up and look in the mirror. I would find at least 100 negative things about my body. All the descriptions you made about me…I was even harder on myself.

Then after losing a few pounds I looked in the mirror again. I did not look at my body. I looked in my eyes. I saw determination and character. I saw a man who did not want to be an inspiration for others but one for himself. I was that man.

Your whole post insults me like no end. I do not eat midnight snacks or drink beer. You probably think all “fat” people do this. Well, we do not. I ate better than most at 300 pounds. In fact, I have not had a drink in well over 20 years.

I look down because I see you stare at me all the time. I do not want to give you the satisfaction of looking into my eyes. There are people who were supporting me all along. Not people who made up fictional parts of my life.

I also do not listen to music because I hear everything. I hear the laughter and I hear the snickers. They are never about me except they always are. I have been overweight my whole life. I have not had my blinders on for some time.

There are no mantras going through my head. When I run it is clear. I have no anger or happiness. I am there to complete a task. I am good at that.

You fooled people on Facebook but you have not fooled me. You do not have respect for my journey because you do not know it. I have told my story to thousands of people. I have been told that I have inspired many as well. Not because of the way I run but because of the person I am. Not because of my 200 pound weight loss but because of the words that I have had inside for years.

Many of us have been that person being judged and then twirled into some weird inspirational story. I was judged at the gym at 400 pounds. I was laughed at in Panera at 350 pounds. I was embarrassed at 300 pounds and honestly I was the same person at 195 pounds as I was at 420 pounds.

I tell people now that weight loss should not make you love yourself more. That is the mistake I made.

So next time you look at me on that track do yourself a favor. Look away. I do not look like I once did. I do not want to be your inspiration or your motivation.

I am a runner. I was a runner at 420 pounds and I am a runner today.

And runners do one thing.

They run. Not write about other runners.

Regards,

Tony Posnanski

I am about 100 pounds overweight and when I jog I resemble an injured penguin wading through peanut butter. I’m probably about that speed also. I occasionally get harassment and jeers but I also get encouragement. Most of the cheers and jeers go unheard because I’m so wound up in my music. In all honesty though, I’d say about 95% of the other humans I encounter don’t even notice me.

The advice I give my family when they are feeling self-conscious is to not be so self-centered. The rest of the world really doesn’t focus on us as much as we might think they do. The rest of my town isn’t sitting around waiting on my daily jog. The interaction we share is probably 2-5 seconds out of their day. I’m sure they don’t sit there for the next hour thinking about ME or bring my jog up at their dinner conversation. In the big picture, my exercise routine is a miniscule and insignificant part of everyone else’s existence. It would be very egotistical of me to rearrange my entire life and fitness routine based on the assumption that the rest of the world is paying that much attention to me. Chances are, they simply don’t care.