I have been running on and off for years. It started second year uni when my good friend Chris and I decided to get into shape (she had a boyfriend who was a runner - say no more) I ran until I was 5 months pregnant with Sam and had to stop because of hypertension. I gymed it for the next few years until I got too bored with being inside and decided I needed a challenge. I think I was 32 when my sister and I decided that we should train for a half marathon and for a couple of years I caught the bug again. Then having young kids, school, sport and running a business intervened and it was back to the gym interspersed with long walks with my dog.
All through this time I never considered myself a runner. Of course I ran but giving myself that title seemed too pretentious. Real runners ran most days of the week and racked up many kilometers. When I started running again about a decade ago I still didn't consider myself a real runner. I was running about 4 times and 30k a week. It really wasn't until I joined a running group that I finally allowed myself to own the label runner. I think that being around people who thought of themselves as runners, no matter how fast or how slow they ran, finally gave me that freedom. And now, having a running injury/condition, no-one can dispute what I am.
I am a runner!
When did you finally label yourself as a runner? Or are you not there yet?
I first considered myself as a runner when I got my first running related injury. I figured that if I suffered for the sport and still wanted to do it, than I was truly committed to it.
ReplyDeleteI always thought, 'I run.' Not so much I am a runner until I did my first marathon. Crossing that finish line, I became a runner.
ReplyDeleteYou ARE a runner!
ReplyDeleteI think I considered myself a runner when I crossed my first finish line... or maybe that's just the moment I was hooked!