Preface:
After running (pun intended) this blog for a few years, sometimes it is a bit tough to come up with topics to write about. Fortunately for me, Sara Kurth has published a massive list of potential blog topics that focuses on running (check out her blog here, ***). The list of the running topics can be found in the Running Topics of my site (Link: ***).
When did you first consider yourself ‘a runner’?
Although I ran cross country and track & field (1600 m and 3200 m) in high school, I never saw myself as a true runner. Well, technically, I did run cross country for about a week in college. During my high school life, I pretty much participated in these sports because they were “easy sports”. I have never really been a sports guy so I was not interested in playing more traditional sports like baseball, basketball, or football. Boy, was my grandfather a bit disappointed that I did not show any interest in baseball as a little kid because “it was in my blood”. Random trivia about my family: my grandfather and two of my great uncles played baseball in the Negro League. Oh wait, I did play soccer until my middle school years, but I was not interested in pursuing it any further.
See, I already became distracted. Let’s answer the question at hand. I started considering myself a runner when I started paying to run New York Road Runners (NYRR)-sponsored races. I guess that would have started back in 2011. For me, I think that’s when running transitioned from a passive hobby to an active hobby because I’m pretty cheap. That said, I often do not consider myself a true or a hardcore runner even though I have run over 5 marathons. Here are some (mostly superficial) reasons:
- I typically own only one pair of running shoes at a time.
- I find it difficult to engage with the local running community. I believe that I have blogged about my issues with running groups. To be perfectly honest, most of these are my issues and not running groups . . . for the most part.
- I do not really keep up with elite runners or new advancements in the sport.
- I rarely stick with my training plans.
- Most of the time, I run just for the sake of running (ie ain’t sh*t else to do).
Since I was beating myself up a bit with this short list, I’ll add some humor to offset the negativity. With the help of the Thrillist article “30 signs you’ve officially become a runner”, I’ve listed the five signs that I identify with. Here’s the list in case you are interested (link: ***)
- You’ve started Googling road races in exotic locations you want to visit.
- You have to do laundry twice as often.
- You’ve started to keep deodorant at your desk at work.
- You’ve hated yourself during a race.
- You’ve started to think of distances in terms of how long it would take for you to run that far.
Question(s) for the Day?
-When did you consider yourself a runner (or an athlete in your favorite sport)?
-Which of the “30 signs you’ve officially become a runner” do you identify?
Social Media Plug:
Run There, Drink That 
I feel like I’ve pretty much always been a runner. I ran on my grade school track team and have run on my own since then but not on a school team since then.
This is for you personally, if you don’t feel like you’re a runner after running multiple marathons, you never will. You are 100% a runner. Who cares how many pairs of running shoes you have or if you keep up with the elites. None of that matters.
Of those 30 signs, I can identify with most of them but there were a few that I don’t identify with.
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Thanks for the comment! I think that I am being a bit hard on myself because of some recent events. While we did not have a track team, I typically was the one of the fastest boys. My “glory days” 😉
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Definitely the laundry twice as often and keeping deodorant at my desk. My own are carrying around Glide and keeping running shoes in my car (and under my desk).
I felt like a runner after my first half marathon, circa 2017.
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It weird how one sock in the dirty clothes hamper “magically” turns in to an entire load of clothes.
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I just run most of the time, I don’t like races very much, but I definitely consider myself a runner! I have done since I joined my running club, though, who encouraged me to think of myself as that even though I’m slow and not in any way an elite!
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Sometimes, the support of a running club is all you need.
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