What Makes a Real Runner?

by Anna
(NYC)

On my run today, I was thinking about a comment made by one of my running mom friends over what makes a real runner. I was wondering if you could help me with this.

The thing is, I find myself going back and forth between congratulating myself for my success and comparing myself to other runners and finding myself greatly lacking in comparison.

I realize that sometimes I even go as far as to make excuses for why I shouldn't be out there running in the first place, because I am not a "real" runner.

So far this is what I came up with that makes a real runner.

- A real runner knows when to tell her head to shut up and keep running and when to stop and take a rest so her legs can survive to run another day...

- A real runner goes out for a run in the early morning and recognizes another runner passing by, not because she is so fast or looks so fit, but recognizes the look on her face, the husband and children she is enjoying a momentary break from, the boss she is having a conversation with in her head, the blog post she is planning to write, the meal she is calculating whether she has the groceries in stock to make...

What do you think makes a real runner?