i'm a runner now!
- The first time I realized I was a runner was when I started planning my day, weekends even, around getting in my runs. Now it's all I think about! I'm slowly recruiting more and more of my friends to share my love of running with me...what a wonderful way to connect! I'm totally a runner, and I love it!!
- —Guest Abakazam75
Barefoot!
- I've been running for several years now. Completed several 5k, 10k's and 2 half marathons. I always called myself a "jogger". Now that I'm a barefoot/minimalist runner I think I can start saying I'm a real runner. :) Doing my next half marathon in my VFF's.
- —Guest Debi
Not sure but I know am
- I not really sure when I became a runner. I first started it to lose weight and dragged my late 30 somethine self round for 1 year then did a race; still not sure, did a half marathon; still not sure, I became a runner in Aug 2009 when I got told could not run for six month as I lost my eyesight in my left eye. I now got it back, my point is: It does not matter if you are not or if you are. If you enjoy it, miss it, proud of it or just feel better after it... do it!
- —Guest Ian
When I hit the 20 Minutes Mark
- When I first started following the About.com Running Program, I could barely wheeze my way through for a minute. Two weeks ago, that changed when I ran 2 miles in 25 minutes. That's when I knew - this is it. I am a runner!
- —tanushreeb
My daughter said it first!
- My 14-year-old daugther thought of me as a runner before I did. I had been running for a couple of months, and I overheard her tell one of her friends that "my mom is a runner now." She convinced me.
- —gail
After my first injury
- After 30-something years of being a couch potato, yo-yo dieter and gym tourist I finally decided to buckle down, hire a personal trainer and work on the goal of a 5k. Once I accomplished that I set my sites on a half-marathon, but strained my piriformis and had to cut my mileage down significantly. The disappointment I felt made me realize that I was a runner.
- —Guest Andy
When I found myself wanting to run...
- My first goal was to complete a 2 mile circle without having to stop or feeling like I was dying. I dreaded every time that I went out. However, with time, my dread turned to anticipation. I looked forward to my runs. I missed them when I couldn't go. I even set the alarm 30-60 minutes earlier to go out before work. Several 5K's, 5 1/2 Marathons and 2 Marathons later, running is part of who I am rather than just something I do. This has to define the term "runner."
- —Guest Neil
When rain no longer stopped me
- I hate rain. I hate rain with a passion bordering on religious fervor. So when I realized that I was really heading out the door for a run in a virtual winter monsoon I figured I could call myself a runner.
- —Guest Barton
After 2 weeks
- I began running on impulse after a snow storm in Colorado. The hills and ice forced me to go slowly enough that I was finally able to pace my asthma and enjoy the spectacle. After two weeks, I was still going out in the snowy subzero night. I thought, "This is it. This is the thing I want for myself forever."
- —Guest Leah
First runner's high!
- The first time I ran 5 miles, I felt that incredible runner's high. After that, I became really hooked and started to talk about running as a hobby and passion of mine. I knew I was a runner!
- —Guest natalie
After I ran my first 5k
- I consider myself a runner now that I have completed my first 5K run. I try to run every day (started January 1st) and now that I know I can push myself to 3 miles I know I can go farther. I think anyone who runs consistently and can push their limits is a runner.
- —Guest
After my first race
- I knew I was a runner after I crossed that finish line and said, "Oh yea, I so want to do that again -- only faster!"
- —runnerchick69
In my senior year of high school
- I had been running since 8th grade but I didn't feel like a runner until I ran my first half-marathon my senior year then PR-ed 2 days later in a 5K.
- —Guest Melanie
After my first marathon...
- I started out running to lose weight, and set myself a goal of 'getting fit enough to run a marathon', after achieving this I had no plan to continue running. Long story short: One week after the marathon I found myself outside, before dawn, trotting along in the cold. Somewhere along the line running became an integral part of who I am, so I guess I'm a runner now.
- —Guest Craig
In High School
- In my sophomore year of high school, I joined my cross country team. I felt like a runner when I ran faster than some the kids on the team that have been runners for years. I beat them in a 5k race by 2 minutes. I realized that 2 minutes really does make a difference. Even one second can determine first or fourth place.
- —Guest David
