From the article: What is Running?
The point at which someone starts to feel like a runner is different for everyone. For some, they might call themselves a runner after a week of regular running. For others, it may take years of casual running before they're willing to embrace that term. When did you start to think of yourself as a runner? Was it after you completed your first race? When you first joined a running team? After you hit the one-year mark? Share Your Story
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
In High School...
- I had been a runner/jogger since middle school, but I was a sprinter. I didn't run a mile or more until I got to high school. That's when I knew I was a runner/jogger. I had been on the cross-country team and track team (in the 800 meters and 1 mile run). I knew then that I was not a sprinter anymore and that I was going run/jog longer distances.
- —LinaJo
Freshman year.
- I began running my senior year for XC to gain endurance for lacrosse. I found I loved it. I ran from 18-23 when I gained a drug addiction. I'm 25 now and finishing college. Running was the only way I was able to quit -- not with therapy, rehab, or methadone. Simply a run every day to keep me from being sick or take the edge off. I will continue to run because in my heart I am a runner, and I can overcome anything with it.
- —Guest Andy
Increase in energy
- The first time I felt better after a 5-mile run than before, I knew I was a runner.
- —Guest kitster
Joined a High School Running Team
- During my freshman year I joined cross country, and found that it was a healthy after-school choice. I now run almost 40 miles a week as a senior!!!
- —Guest Tara
after I ran a marathon
- I had been running for a year before I started training for the Disney World marathon. It wasn't until after I finished that race that I felt like I had earned the title of "runner".
- —Guest Disney runner
on a first date
- I started running to try to lose weight and was running a few times a week for about 6 months before I referred to myself as a runner. I said it when I was on a first date and he was asking me what I do in my spare time. He must have been impressed -- we are now engaged!
- —Guest Debbie
After my first 5K
- I started running in my early 30s and had been running regularly -- 3 - 4x a week -- for a year before I decided to do my first race. After I ran that 5K (without stopping!), I finally felt like a runner. Wearing the T-shirt from the race really made me feel like I had joined the ranks of "runners."
- —Guest shelby
