I think I considered myself a runner when I completed my first 10k and posed with my medal proudly around my neck. It felt like an initiation into a club that is enormous and wildly accepting. (At least that’s the vibe in the running community where I live)
When I started running (in the last quarter of the previous century), you were lucky to get a popsicle stick with your place written in it with a Sharpie
I think there are more weird people running now, maybe a lower percentage as the sport grows, but coming from a music background, gatekeeping isn't something I'm fond of.
There's this great quote about athletic identity from Bill McKibben's book Long Distance, in which he spends a year training like an Olympian cross-country skiier:
"Having convinced myself that I was a brain, not a jock, in many ways I truly ceased to care. Debate team absorbed my competitive urges - I was state champion by my senior year. I constructed my identity successfully enough, which seems to be the task of adolescence. But that identity always had a hole - the shameful sense that my body really didn't work - and that hole caused me more unhappiness than I cared to admit. I got through high school and then college without ever putting on a uniform or pinning a number on my chest, without ever challenging my assumed weeniness."
So much of our identity formation goes back to those teenage years. I was a debate kid, a dance kid, an angsty writer kid, not a runner, not a competitive athlete, not a member of the track or cross-country team. As though there was only one way to 'be a runner'! Even though I ran through high school for stress relief and mental health, and have continued that to this day.
I think I finally began to identify as A Runner when my practice of running became 'eudaimonic' - finding meaning in the regular practice and refinement of my skills and abilities. It's possible to find meaning (vs simply hedonic pleasure, not that there is anything wrong with that) in running in many ways. Ask all the people who try and run in all 50 US states, or all the majors, or pace a marathon, or use running to highlight the shrinking Salton Sea. So first: challenging my own preconceived notions of who I was. And second: finding meaning in a structured practice.
Cor. Yeah, I love this, Grace. Just the same as how many people settle not only on a style on music to use in their identity, but they'll even mainly listen to certain albums and songs for the rest of their lives. Takes a lot of work to get into a different headspace.
I think I first took on the whole "I'm a Runner!" identify during the first out-and-back 10k I ever did. Up until then I was so focused on how far back I was from the "real runners" (ie, the folks on the podium) that it hadn't really occurred to me that I was also ahead of a fair number of people, and that all those people were also running! I love Kara Goucher's perspective, that if you lace up those shoes and head out the door you are a runner.
Best pizza near Prospect Park is probably La Flor (on Classon)! You could also brave the line at the new Radio Bakery (great sandwiches… but do you wanna line up for a sandwich?)
I only notice myself as a runner when others I know, or who I meet, who don't run tell me I am. It's just one of many things I enjoy doing. Tying it to my identity would lessen the good things I get from it when Im not paying attention.
So I’ve been running for a long time (I’m 68) but didn’t think of myself as a runner until about 2 years ago when I did my first race. My husband convinced me to jump into a 10K with him because I would be doing a long run on that day anyway 🤣. It has over a 1000 ft of elevation 😳 but I finished 2nd for my age group. I had no idea that 1. I would love racing or 2. That I had that kind of endurance. Since then I’ve run several 10ks and a 1/2 marathon.
I first started thinking of myself as a runner when I first beat Eric Hill in a run around the block, which is probably about 400 m but it seemed like a marathon that age. I started calling myself a sophomore in high school when I ran my 1st mile in 436 and learned Jim Ryun’s first mile was also 4:36. I came to earth when my next mile, run out of cinder track on a cold and windy day was 4:48. My HS PR was 4:25 run indoors and outdoors. In college my focus was on academics (pre-med) and I neither liked nor respected the Okie coach!
It took a few years for me to think "I'm a runner" since I spent the first half of my life thinking, "I hate running." Also, I didn't have what we were conditioned to think of (back in the early 1990s anyway) as "a runner's body" i.e. super skinny and fast. I hope your post gets more people to think of themselves as runners, no matter if they race and no matter how far or frequently they run. If you like to run periodically, you're a runner! In some ways, the reluctance to identify as a runner is similar to the reluctance or self-consciousness to say "I'm a writer" unless and until you're published. If you write, you're a writer! Thanks for this one, Raz.
I think I considered myself a runner when I completed my first 10k and posed with my medal proudly around my neck. It felt like an initiation into a club that is enormous and wildly accepting. (At least that’s the vibe in the running community where I live)
That first medal definitely hits differently. It's like a new era.
When I started running (in the last quarter of the previous century), you were lucky to get a popsicle stick with your place written in it with a Sharpie
Your finishing time was up to you & your watch
Conversations at work usually go like this
“Hey - you’re a Runner, right?” someone will ask me
“I’ve been accused of that” I reply, with 'here we go again,' implied
“Can you coach me to do a 5K?”
“I’m the last person you should ask”
“You run a lot, don’t you?*”
“Yeah, but I’m weird. Running is weird. I would avoid it if I were you”
Is running the weirdest sport/exercise? (I think so 🤣)
It used to be - now, it's sorta lost its edge
#MakeRunningWeirdAgain
#MakeRunnersWeirdAgain
I think there are more weird people running now, maybe a lower percentage as the sport grows, but coming from a music background, gatekeeping isn't something I'm fond of.
There's this great quote about athletic identity from Bill McKibben's book Long Distance, in which he spends a year training like an Olympian cross-country skiier:
"Having convinced myself that I was a brain, not a jock, in many ways I truly ceased to care. Debate team absorbed my competitive urges - I was state champion by my senior year. I constructed my identity successfully enough, which seems to be the task of adolescence. But that identity always had a hole - the shameful sense that my body really didn't work - and that hole caused me more unhappiness than I cared to admit. I got through high school and then college without ever putting on a uniform or pinning a number on my chest, without ever challenging my assumed weeniness."
So much of our identity formation goes back to those teenage years. I was a debate kid, a dance kid, an angsty writer kid, not a runner, not a competitive athlete, not a member of the track or cross-country team. As though there was only one way to 'be a runner'! Even though I ran through high school for stress relief and mental health, and have continued that to this day.
I think I finally began to identify as A Runner when my practice of running became 'eudaimonic' - finding meaning in the regular practice and refinement of my skills and abilities. It's possible to find meaning (vs simply hedonic pleasure, not that there is anything wrong with that) in running in many ways. Ask all the people who try and run in all 50 US states, or all the majors, or pace a marathon, or use running to highlight the shrinking Salton Sea. So first: challenging my own preconceived notions of who I was. And second: finding meaning in a structured practice.
Cor. Yeah, I love this, Grace. Just the same as how many people settle not only on a style on music to use in their identity, but they'll even mainly listen to certain albums and songs for the rest of their lives. Takes a lot of work to get into a different headspace.
it wasn’t until after I got multiple ultramarathons under my belt that I gave in and embraced myself as a runner.
I think I first took on the whole "I'm a Runner!" identify during the first out-and-back 10k I ever did. Up until then I was so focused on how far back I was from the "real runners" (ie, the folks on the podium) that it hadn't really occurred to me that I was also ahead of a fair number of people, and that all those people were also running! I love Kara Goucher's perspective, that if you lace up those shoes and head out the door you are a runner.
A little real-time perspective goes a long way! And yes, Kara knows what's up.
Best pizza near Prospect Park is probably La Flor (on Classon)! You could also brave the line at the new Radio Bakery (great sandwiches… but do you wanna line up for a sandwich?)
La Flor added to the list! And I'm going to try and line up as little as possible haha, (but if it's a really necessary sandwich, I will).
While we are on the topic…. Best coffee near Prospect Park is probably Villager (also on Classon).
Best spot for an after-run beer – Gold Star Beer Bar
There is also the Brooklyn Running Co shop on Bergen which is a very good indie run store… but I think you know about them already.
I only notice myself as a runner when others I know, or who I meet, who don't run tell me I am. It's just one of many things I enjoy doing. Tying it to my identity would lessen the good things I get from it when Im not paying attention.
It's a difficult balance (but you're definitely a runner 😄)
So I’ve been running for a long time (I’m 68) but didn’t think of myself as a runner until about 2 years ago when I did my first race. My husband convinced me to jump into a 10K with him because I would be doing a long run on that day anyway 🤣. It has over a 1000 ft of elevation 😳 but I finished 2nd for my age group. I had no idea that 1. I would love racing or 2. That I had that kind of endurance. Since then I’ve run several 10ks and a 1/2 marathon.
So, I now call myself a runner 😊
That's amazing. Sounds like a tough race, but I do love 1000ft of elevation
I first started thinking of myself as a runner when I first beat Eric Hill in a run around the block, which is probably about 400 m but it seemed like a marathon that age. I started calling myself a sophomore in high school when I ran my 1st mile in 436 and learned Jim Ryun’s first mile was also 4:36. I came to earth when my next mile, run out of cinder track on a cold and windy day was 4:48. My HS PR was 4:25 run indoors and outdoors. In college my focus was on academics (pre-med) and I neither liked nor respected the Okie coach!
I love a cinder track! I hope that coach didn't change too many things for you.
It took a few years for me to think "I'm a runner" since I spent the first half of my life thinking, "I hate running." Also, I didn't have what we were conditioned to think of (back in the early 1990s anyway) as "a runner's body" i.e. super skinny and fast. I hope your post gets more people to think of themselves as runners, no matter if they race and no matter how far or frequently they run. If you like to run periodically, you're a runner! In some ways, the reluctance to identify as a runner is similar to the reluctance or self-consciousness to say "I'm a writer" unless and until you're published. If you write, you're a writer! Thanks for this one, Raz.