Reply #108: I've been running for roughly 34 years, run marathons by the dozen

[Javaman]

Never did an ultra but hey, that's me. Have competed in my youth in international competitions against world class athletes, have run everything from a mile up to a marathon in competition and currently training for a half marathon in the masters division.

We all share the road. We all started some place one time, we all were shufflers at one point or another.

For the average person who never worked out or had ever run before, training then running in a marathon, then completing it, is an accomplishment.

Running snobbery is foolish. This is no better than the statement "some animals are more equal than others".

I mean, cripes, it's not like they are getting BMW's or huge cash awards like the winners. (I'll let that sit with you for a while)

I think the heart of a race is in the average runner. They do it for the pure love of the sport. The type of determination displayed by those runners who "walk", takes nothing away from their dream of finishing.

As I get on in years, I used to be a snob runner, being angry at those who "walk" and looking at them as "not real runners". That was so foolish of me, but then again, that was when I was in my teens and early 20's.

The heart of running is in the person, not the time one shoots for.

I have always run to compete, I can't get it out of my system, but that doesn't mean that I as I get older, I don't appreciate the other runners around me.

From the mom, who never worked out or run at all, to the middle aged guy who chugs along, to the little kid who runs and stops, runs and stops and to the 90 year old who finishes the race in 10 hours; my hat is off to all of you. You are the embodiment of what running is all about.

And honestly, at the end of the day, it's just a running race. Not brain surgery. You put on shoes and you run a distance, then you are done.

Get over yourselves.

And so, my snobbish runners, what running is all about? Or have you forgotten?