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
I have to!
- At the moment I am training to be able to run for 3 miles, right now I can do 2.5! This for me is a massive achievement and I feel addicted to keep on improving. I can't ever imagine stopping so yeah I guess I could call myself a runner! Im a 17 year old female by the way! :D
- —Guest Izzie
Fun, passion and a happy escape
- When running became a passion, and a top priority. I run one hour most days if the week, and get grouchy by not running on day two ...that's when I sat back and thought I'm a runner.
- —Guest Runner27
MUST DO!!
- When all other daily routines get bumped down the priority list so that you can fit in a jog, you KNOW you are a runner.
- —Guest Radar
Track
- I had ran XC for two years at my high school and I never thought of myself as a runner. It was just something I was doing in my spare time. It was not until I first joined track and on my last meet got a 5:39 on the mile. That's when it hit me, I'm a runner.
- —Guest Noel
5 am in the SNOW!
- I had run a couple 5k races and 3 triathlons, as well as a half-marathon but didn't think of myself as a runner until I ran in snow at 5 am and was the only person in sight. :-)
- —Guest Marcus
Still not sure
- I have been running distance for 3 years. Winning a 55k, breaking 5hr at a 50k, I have been a pacer for a marathon, I am a RD for an event, Just ran a 77mile {DNF} at mile 69.6 miles. I am not sure I would call myself a runner yet.
- —Guest Joe
Long wait
- After running +/-5km's regularly for 11 years, I finally considered myself a runner after I finished my second ultramarathon in just over a month.
- —Guest Dr G
Are you crazy?
- For me it was the moment when my friends were like: "Are you crazy? You should take a break, why are you running every day in this weather?" Lol I run every day, be it -20 celsius or +32 celsius. I'm 16 years old female and I love the feeling after finishing my 10 kilometers track!!:)
- —Guest Khamza
My first day of xc practice
- I first considered myself a runner when I look back at how I spent my time running through the freezing winter snow and the humid 100 degree summer instead of doing something a sane person would do.
- —Guest Tay
external vs internal confirmation
- 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.
- —jrcdawg
after my first 10k
- After my first 10k, I thought: I want to take running to a higher level. After a run, I feel so motivated, so on top of the world....and I know I will be doing it as long as I can.
- —Guest Jo-Ann
First Pair of Running Shoes
- When I was serious enough about jogging/running to buy a very expensive pair of running shoes. I was motivated when I saw some women in the neighborhood who were all older than me by at least five years all out jogging/running. I couldn't let them be fitter than me. LOL. So I got off the dime, so to speak and began a jogging program. My husband was skeptical at first but eventually was impressed by dedication. My two sons even called me a "jogger" to their friends. I only wish I had started sooner - I'm 39 but better late than never!
- —Guest First pair of running shoes
She was right...
- My girlfriend pointed it out to me I guess. I had been running on and off for a couple of years but had solidly for about three years before we met. When I would get out of bed after being out late and run in the cold or heat she started telling people I was a runner. I was just doing what I wanted to do. She was right, I am a runner. :)
- —Guest BnNC
House Hunting
- I knew I was a runner when the first thing I put in consideration when house hunting is the location of a nearby park or any running tracks.
- —Guest Moi
"I'm a runner"
- I first started calling myself a runner after I had run/walked a couple of 5Ks then set my goal to run a 5K with no walk breaks. Doing all of those "public" runs required training and the discipline to run often--I was 67 years old and had been walking, doing weights and yoga for several years but was restless to do more. Once I knew I could do run a full 5K, I became a committed "runner"--I still wake up every morning thinking, "what's my running goal for today?" That, and the follow up run, seems to me to confirm that I am "a runner."
- —Guest Roberta
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