“I run but I’m not a runner”

Being a runner is a big part of my identity. Sure, it’s my job, it’s my hobby, it’s my main form of socialising – but being a “runner” goes to the very core of who I am. At parties, I identify myself as a runner, seeking out “other runners” to huddle with close to the snack table. As ice-breakers, I start with “as a runner…” before pulling on some adventure to make me sound far more interesting than I am. Being a runner gives me a community, a label to attach myself to, a social indicator.

Chatting to someone with my Business Hat on, I was delighted to find out they were a “fellow runner”, when they quickly corrected me to say:

“I run but I’m not a runner”

Which made me think… where is the boundary between someone who runs and being a runner?

Am I a runner?

I passionately believe that the biggest barrier to building a sustainable running addiction is confidence. It’s the self-belief that you can achieve something that feels impossible. That with the right support and framework to help you overcome the other obstacles, anything is possible.

Is that identity separation then based on some perception of not being “good enough” to class as a runner? Not running fast enough, or far enough, or frequently enough? Who gets to decide where that line is? Is a runner someone who runs three times a week, a minimum of 5k? Or someone who runs marathons? Or can do a sub-50 minute 10km? And as we as a running community run faster and further, do those classifications change? Could someone wake up one day having previously been a runner and then find themselves as someone who runs?!

Perhaps there’s no such assessment. Perhaps it’s entirely subjective; a label that is acquired by an individual when they want it. Being a runner can be frightfully boring (see how I spend my time at parties), maybe people don’t want to identify as a “runner”. Maybe being someone who runs implies a wide range of activities, a rich and varied life who has multiple identities. Maybe I should stop trying to draw in people to my identity cycle who are quite happy as they are.

If you want to be…

Identity is a complex, socially mediated concept dependent on a whole range of factors which are playing out socio-politically right now. It’s certainly not for me to say how you can or should identify. But what I can say is – if you are someone who runs but would like to be considered a runner, you are by the very definition “a runner”.

If you put your shoes on, your sports bra on, and you move in that running cycle you, my friend, are a runner. It doesn’t matter one hoot if that’s at 15 minute mile pace or once a week. Whether you follow a plan or run for fun. Doesn’t matter in the slightest what your PBs are – if you even know – that you don’t have a fancy watch or enter races or do tempo sessions or know the difference between a mile and a km. There is no magical hierarchy between runners and people who run other than how you want to identify. I’ll see you at the snack table soon.

• I coach runners and people who run; have a look at my coaching page to see how I can help Run Coaching