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I picked up running again and have started racing as well. There is definitely a segment of the running population that needs to be noticed and rewarded. Paid for a race and I got a t-shirt and a finishing medal, both of which went into a box never to be seen again. Would rather have paid $15 less for the race than to get that junk. Went over to someone's house and they had a shrine to all of the races they did, kept all of their race numbers, put the medals on the wall and pictures of them crossing the finish line. They could not believe that I finished the race and then tossed my race number in the trash on the way back to the car. Unless you looked in my closet and noticed the multiple pairs of running shoes inside you would never know that I run.
Now don't get me started on color runs, electric runs, over-priced runs for a cause and what not. I'm old school, mark off a course, fire a starting gun and give me my time when I'm done.
The fact this was posted on the Wall Street Journal is more head scratching than the article itself. I'm not surprised there is some loser out that there that gets all sensitive about this. I wonder what he thinks about selfies, baby on board stickers, or my kid is on honor roll stickers.
Stupid comparison to weight lifters and golfers. Weight lifters dont have stickers, but I could say they love wearing skin tight shirts to show of their guns. And golfers?!? He makes an argument about runners buying clothes, but one can argue golfers are worse because they'll spend on big bertha drivers, ping putters, titliest balls and still suck.
I run races, always check my results, and maybe post on Facebook if I hit a milestone (BQ qualifying) or PR a distance. There is a lot more narcissistic crap out there.
People that lift weights do the same thing, post photos on facebook (shirts off). They're probably the worst offenders. Casual runners, casual weight lifters and casual crossfitters do it.
80% of my runs and all of my races are trail races. Every once in a while will post a pic of where I've been running just because it is very scenic. Love the fact that I run to places that a lot of people will never see in a car.
People that lift weights do the same thing, post photos on facebook (shirts off). They're probably the worst offenders. Casual runners, casual weight lifters and casual crossfitters do it.
Lol!
Yes!
My friend's crossfit gym posted a group shot recently and I was like, "are there any crossfit gyms where the guys wear their shirts?" I have a ton of crossfit friends at various gyms, and they post near-naked pics all the time.
Now I know why I dont respond to the zillions of spam emails imploring you to order WSJ at a discount.
Hey WSJ, can you make the connection between your declining readership and stuff like this?
I will never understand taking time out of your day, time you will never get back, to commit a random act of nasty on someone. In this case, millions. There are lots of reasons people run, who cares what they are, Live and let live.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,938 posts, read 36,935,179 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Winter01
Oh boy. I run and I have to say I kind of feel like a fraud. I definitely don't want any attention when I run because I do this really weird thing with my arms and look kind of strange--I know this because I saw a video of myself running. It was horrible. I do the distance and enter some races. I like doing races because it makes me feel like I accomplished something. What baffles me is all these people who "LOVE" to run. I've been doing it for a long time and I have never really felt the love. I do it because it is good exercise and it burns a lot of calories. I can take my dog and I live in a beautiful place so there is a lot of stuff to look at. I have just never really found this love so I don't think I fit in with most runners. The runners I do know don't really strike me as attention seekers either.
I do it 4-5 days a week. Have been for years. I still don't get "runner highs" and hate every step, but it is the only thing that keeps the weight off for me. I am truly envious of people like my boss that do 5 mi everymorning and just go out for 15 mile runs for "fun" and to be outside on weekends. I can't imagine it. And those people with effortless gaits? I hate them. Unless they're a cute woman, then I love them.
Hah, I am not a person who would classify myself as "a runner," in any way, shape, or form (and neither would anybody else). I run (poorly) for the aerobic health benefits, and because it's exercise that is free to do apart from investing in comfortable shoes, and is a more efficient calorie burner, timewise, than walking alone, which I prefer. I will never run a marathon, a half-marathon, or a 10K, and I probably won't run a 5K, either, although I have run/walked a 5K and certainly didn't brag about my time or anything like that, given that I was among the last to finish. I also mostly make a point to run in non-trafficked, isolated areas, and usually when it's dark, so people DON'T see me and my ungainly running. But I def. don't do it for anybody else, just myself.
But of course there are people who run, at least in part, to impress people with their running. It's what athletically competitive people do. I was never a competitive person, athletically, but many people are. So, yeah, lots of people run for the recognition, just as many other athletes do it for the recognition, among other things
And, really, there is nothing wrong with being proud of your accomplishments. I'm not all that impressed with my own running ability, but there are certainly skills I have that I AM proud of, and wouldn't be shy about sharing my successes in those areas. But, no, I'm not attention-whorey about my running, because it's pretty pitiful.
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