Even after running for almost 3 years, I actually do not 'run into' other runners very often at all.

Even though local marathon events will gathers hundreds of people seemingly from nowhere, it seems we are still somewhat of a rare bird in day to day society. I work with no less than 200 people in my building, know them all, and I am the only runner I can think of.

Those who do not run imagine the activity as a boring, painful lonely slog along a road or trail that people 'do because they HAVE to' - thus they have no interest in starting the discussion because they think we might not want to talk about our so called 'agony'.

However, WE know how different our experience is from the common perception.....but we never get the chance to tell anyone!

http://This message has been edited by Diesel88 (edited Apr-26-2007).

I agree. Unless you are a runner people really don't get it. Even people who are into sports and athletic don't understand where the competition lies and why we do it.

My husband doesn't run and he really doesn't get it. At first he thought it was a phase I was going thru, however now I think he realizes this is a life style. Sometimes he will even say, "I don't get it... why don't you just drive to where you want to go??"

The other crazy part is like said before. I really don't know that many runners personally, however when I attend a race event all these people come out of nowhere and show up!!

I don't think they're intimidated by runners. I've noticed that either they don't care about your exercise regimen or they can get bored quite easily if you told them about running. Mainly, I keep running to myself. It's obvious that I'm fit, I feel great and not look too shabby either. I really don't have to say a word. Running's my little secret.

I don't know why but my friends and co-workers don't ask me about running or exercise. However, I have noticed that some people may be uncomfortable if I mentioned that I run. It sounds as if I'm bragging and boastful to some folks. It's not my intent but sometimes it may sound this way. I think running's a difficult sport for most people and since it's not exactly a popular sport in mainstream America, they may not have that much in common with you when it comes to the subject of running. Out of consideration, I read people first and then discuss what interests THEM. I'm hugely popular when I use this tactic. They're happy, I'm quietly content and there's peace.

I have friends who don't do any running, and I'm starting to make friends with folks at races and the local running club, but there's zero intersection between the two groups of people.

People who don't run only show friendly interest. They ask what time you ran at a race, but it really doesn't mean anything to them, you could say you did 5k in 15 minutes or 35 minutes and it wouldn't be any different to them. It would to another runner though.

I ran a local small marathon (~180 finishers) and ran a very satisfying PR and just because it was small I won my AG and was actually 10th overall. The folks at work asked about my time which didn't make any impression on them at all, but when they found out I was 10th overall, they were all "Congratulations!" and all that... pretty funny!

quote:<HR>Originally posted by Johnny J:
Can't runners get to the point? Do they have to intimate the subject or can they just spit it out directly? I think it would be too intimidating if they didn't intimate.<HR>

?????? You lost me on that one..

quote:<HR>Originally posted by RRainey:
I love it when I say I ran the ... marathon and they respond seriously with "Did you win?" <HR>

that's frikkin hilarious.

i told my sister i was running a 5k a while back. the next day i got a call from my mom saying "are you really running a marathon?"

i understand if people don't have knowledge of a sport. but knowing the difference between a 5k and a marathon has little to do with sports knowledge. i guess somebody in my family should have paid attention in basic math and history classes.