Runners Hear These Things All. The. Time.

Things People Say To Runners

Members of the running community have a lot in common.
We’ve all been sweat-drenched from a tough run. We’ve all contemplated sleeping in to skip a scheduled run. And, we’ve all heard some pretty ridiculous stuff from our friends about our love of running.
If you’ve run for years — or even for months — a well-intentioned friend has likely said one of the following to you.
Maybe you’re tired of hearing it, or maybe you find it funny. For sure, though, you’ve heard it before.

“Running is Boring”

I hear this one a lot, actually. People love to tell me how boring running is. Funny — I don’t see it that way.
Running is so enjoyable to me that I want to do it every day, and I never wear headphones to help the time pass more quickly.
Maybe other people find running to be boring because they’ve never seen the sun rise over the horizon right at the finish of a grueling run; or, because they’ve never heard nothing but the sound of their feet against the pavement on a cold, winter morning.
Don’t tell me running is boring. Especially as you’re celebrating the latest episode of The Bachelor.

“Run Forrest! Run”

I get it. Really, I do. I’ve seen the movie over two dozen times and the soundtrack is Alan Silvestri’s second-best behind Back to the Future. But, that doesn’t mean I think you’re funny for yelling like Jenny does.
Especially when you’re passing me at 45 MPH on Montgomery Rd.
It was funny in 1994. Today, not so much.
True story: I ran the Los Angeles Marathon in 2012 and had my race bib printed with “FORREST”. For 26.2 miles, spectators screamed at me, “RUN FORREST RUN”. I kind of liked it in that situation. I’ll probably do it again.

“Running is bad for your knees/back/ankles/feet”

Look, running can be harsh on your body. No arguments there. The constant pounding of pavement can batter not just your lower body, but your upper body, too.
Luckily for us, we’re humans and our bodies were meant to run. Plus, we’re smart enough to take steps to protect ourselves from injury.
We can stretch appropriately. We can strength train and work on good form. We can rest when we’re tired, and we can purchase new shoes if we need to.
Like any athlete, a runner who takes care of its body will have better results than a runner who does not.

“Did you win your race?”

No, I didn’t win the race. But, here’s the thing. Running a race is almost never about finishing in first place. Not for recreational runners, anyway.
For most runners, running a race is about being the best runner you can be on that given day. If your effort puts you in first place, so much the better. Most of us are thrilled just to set a PR (“personal record”), however.
Don’t ask whether I won my race. I’m going to tell you no. Instead, ask how I ran. That’s a question I can honestly answer.

“You don’t look like a runner!”

That’s funny, because you don’t look like an insensitive clown who thinks all runners look alike!
Runners, like people, come in all shapes and sizes. If a person likes to get out there and go for runs — from several blocks to hundreds of miles — that person, to me, is a runner.

“You’re spending HOW MUCH to run that race? You could run at home for free.”

Yes, races can be expensive. And, during the fall and spring race seasons, costs can add up. But, that’s okay. Running a race is as much about the experience as anything else.
Plus, many races are run to benefit a local charity.
I don’t mind spending $$$ to run the right race — or even the wrong one. Running races is fun for me.

“You ran how many miles!? You’re crazy.”

Okay, well this one I actually like to hear. When a person tells me I’m crazy for running 20 miles on a Sunday morning before the sun’s even come up, I feel a sense of pride for doing something that’s a challenge.
Runners pride themselves on weekly mileage counts, so just don’t scoff at us,
This one we may brag about a little bit, but we aren’t crazy. It feels great even running one more mile than we have before. We do pride ourselves on the number of miles we rack up in any given week, but please don’t scoff at us.

“I only run when chased” / “I get tired just driving that far”

There are a million one-liners for the never-running crowd and these two lines are the most common. Like the Forrest Gump line, they’re funny the first time and much more funny to the non-running crowd.
I don’t mind that you don’t run, and I’m not passing judgment on you. I also know you’re not passing judgment on me. However, if you keep recycling these jokes, I might start to.
Did I miss any of your (least) favorite sayings? Shoot me a tweet @dangreenoh.