Lately there has been some talk amoung my running friends and my non-running friends about how running is the new “craze”. Is it the new aerobics videos from the 80s?
And in a way, how is that negative? The running fever can spread like wildfire. I love motivating people and encouraging everyone. And I truly feel that if I can run, anyone can run. I was the girl trying to get out of gym class in high school. I thought one of my college roommates, Erin, was crazy because she would go for a run once or twice a semester. I thought exercise meant taking the stairs instead of the elevator. And then – something changed. And I want communicate to everyone that if I can do it, you can do it.
But, there are a lot of people out there that have the same attitude I do. The same love and passion for the sport. And when you get a bunch of us in one room, or one running event, or one bar after a running event, it can get kind of annoying. If you have 10 of your closest friends saying to you, if I can do it, you can do it – it’s gotta get old.
I recently caught wind of a “secret society of runners” of sort – people who have quietly started practicing the Couch to 5K. Or who sneak out and go for a jog without posting bragging rights on Facebook or their mileage on Twitter. People who have wives or boyfriends or friends who are runners – and they don’t want us to know about their running.
Why don’t they want us to know? Because we are annoying about it.
I read this blog post a few days ago and it reminded me of all of this. This marathoner makes a very good case for why we don’t all have to be marathoners, or even runners. I also love the case she makes against the Biggest Loser Marathon – that marathon never did quite sit right with me, and she found the words to explain why.
Also, Scott showed me this hilarious video the other day about the reasons not to train for an Ironman. Hilarious because of how much truth there is to it!
Just a reminder to those of us who have found a love of running – that just because we drink the kool-aid, doesn’t mean everyone else has to …