26.2 Things Only Runners Understand
Running is not simply a form of exercise. It’s a way of life.
For runners, this primal mode of bipedal conveyance can be the organizing principle that connects everything from diet to ambition. More than a way to escape the workaday stressors of modern life, running can be a way to find things out about oneself and the wider world outside every door.
Here are 26.2 things that might only make sense to those intrepid terrestrial travelers who live to run and run to live.
1. Every runner is an explorer.
2. Running for the shortest amount of time isn’t always the goal.
3. All trips — to the office, the grocery or just about anywhere — are measured in terms of running distances.
4. Weekend plans mean long runs.
5. Mileage totals matter more than calorie counts.
6. Toenails are luxury items.
7. At any moment, you can name the mileage on your shoes.
8. A bad run is better than no run.
9. Regardless of your music taste, Katy Perry’s “Roar’’ speaks to you while you’re running.
10. Knowing the location of public restrooms is important, but peeing outside is always an option.
11. Passing nods of acknowledgement between runners say everything.
12. The chafing fear is real.
13. Reaching a marathon starting line makes every participant a winner.
14. Every secret you know about your neighborhood you learned while running it.
15. Mid-run mantras contain truths, especially when they’re basically gibberish.
16. Runners don’t really stop. They just walk sometimes.
17. Fartleks are not as funny as they sound.
18. Nature is your gym.
19. Bad weather just means privacy on your route.
20. Even when you jog, you’re still a “runner.’’
21. Life is too short not to spend time running.
22. Mapping your run can be as satisfying as doing it.
23. Vacation running > Sightseeing.
24. If you can keep running, you feel like you can do anything.
25. Running clothes are only for running.
26. Getting a finisher’s medal feels very special – and totally appropriate.
26.2 Those last 0.2 miles are not as short as they sound.
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