Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Diane, 37 years old

How much do you run? 
For the past few years, 15 - 20 miles a week but it really depends.
I've gone months without running at all just because I haven't felt like it. I like to run every day but every other day is good enough. When work is intense, it might be one morning and that morning could be a Sunday.

How long have you been a runner?
25 years

How did you start running?
As a child, I was often the first boy or girl "to the fence and back" for warm ups in gym class so I was encouraged to run competitively but didn't enjoy distance so I don't think of that as my start.
My father is a runner. It was mysterious. He always came back from a run so happy. I wanted to see what that was about. When I was around 12, I started to occasionally join him.

Best running experience
Running the last few miles of the New York City marathon with my dad, knowing he spent much of the time I had spent running working at the water station with my teammates. It all seemed to come together.

Unexpected benefit of running
My interest in the park I run in led me to a wonderful job. My spouse and I met in a running club. My life would look very different without running.

Running-induced crazy story
Planning vacations around running. I look up places to run before I travel, sometime going to a race but mostly finding the spots the locals enjoy and understanding the place through the eyes of the runners who live there. A beach in Bali in the morning, watching Hindu morning offerings floating off to sea. Traversing the bridges from Prague to Pittsburgh. Bullets of hail crossing a bridge in the Hamptons.  Touring the Tiergarten in Berlin. Jogging as best I could to the top of Banff. Waiting for a family of big horn sheep to pass in the middle of a long-run in Sonoma.

Advice for new runners
Don't force it. A physical activity that you love is enough. It doesn't need to be running but it might be.



Tuesday, August 28, 2012

About This Blog

What does it mean to be a runner? When can you call yourself a runner? Is it about frequency? Distance? Speed? Thinking about these questions, I came up with the idea that it isn't about any of these things.

Feeling that running makes your life better overall, if you are actively running or not, makes a runner. Here is a place to read about other runners and submit your own biography to inspire others.

Each post is a runner biography touches on the following 10 points.
1 Photo
2 Name
3 Age
4 How much do you run?
5 How long have you been a runner?
6 How did you start running?
7 Best running experience
8 Unexpected benefit of running
9 Running-induced crazy story
10 Advice for new runners