There's no requirement that you have to meet or test you have to take to say that you're a "runner". Some people start calling themselves a runner as soon as they start running on a regular basis, while others are running for years before they fully embrace the title. For one About.com reader, she waited for both external and internal confirmation before she felt comfortable calling herself a runner. Here's how she responded to the question, "When did you first think of yourself as a runner?":
"External confirmation: I was getting hooked up to a heart rate monitor before my age-induced colonoscopy, when the nurse asked me if I 'exercised vigorously.' I answered that I run every other day. She asked how long? I answered 2-3 miles. She then exclaimed 'Oh, you're a runner!' Internal confirmation: The first time I ran BECAUSE I felt tired and bloated and knew that no matter what my final time/pace would be I would feel much better after the run instead of skipping it."
How about you? When did you really feel like a runner? After you ran your first race? When someone else referred to you as a runner? Share your thoughts here:
When Did You Call Yourself a Runner?
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Still working up the feeling to call myself a runner. Slowly getting their though. Thinking that when I buy running shorts then I will be a runner. Got everything else, so it will be soon, very soon.