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, ***).
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.