The strange thing about being a runner, for me anyway, is that the novelty never wears off. As much as you try to perfect a routine by eating a certain way or by speedwork or whatever else, there’s always going to be those odd days where something just doesn’t feel right. Often times, it’s these unexpected days that remind runners that they’re human.
That said, the novelty does wear off for everyone else. Your friends and family get used to the idea that you run. Though they support you and encourage you, the routine is established for them. They leave you messages that say “oh you’re probably out running, call me when you get in” or “If you don’t have a race to go to that weekend, I hope you can make it to the wedding.” Their idea of you is not you the runner, it’s you the person that runs.
Most successful life-long runners get past this. They fit their running into the schedule of life because it’s something they have to do. Whether you’re trying to stay in shape, keep up with the kids, train for races, blow off steam or maybe all of the above, you have to run. The day is not right without it. This is where the two paths tend to converge, or crash.
Throughout my years of running, I can say that no one except other runners (and possibly an enthusiastic cyclist or two) can understand. They don’t see how you prioritize running like they prioritize lunch- except you prioritize lunch too because you’re a runner and therefore, you eat a lot. They don’t see how it’s part of who you are and how you define yourself. A lot of things can cause bad days but for a runner, not getting to run is often at the top of the list.
With as many people as there are that run marathons these days, you’d think this idea would be more wide spread. Still, even with all those millions of runners, only something like .015% of the population participated in a marathon in 2005. That, I suppose, sheds some light on the reason we still get the “crazy” comments when we get up at 4:00 a.m. for a run or save all our vacation days to travel to races. But the numbers are growing and hopefully, the two paths will converge one day and not crash. Hopefully they’ll just coexist and maybe even get a few converts over to the “other side.” It would really work out well for all us runners if the rest of you could just join us because, after all, we’re runners and we really don’t want to change.
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