STEPS TOWARD BECOMING “THE RUNNER”

You are meeting someone for the first time and they ask you what activities are of interest to you. Without hesitation you say, “I’m a runner, I’m training for *fill in the blank on the name of the race*.” So how did it get to this point where being a runner becomes part of your identity - who you are? From my observation, there are four steps to go through to become “The Runner” - that point where being a runner weaves its way into your identity.

Each step offers a new source of motivation that runners can learn to recognize and enjoy. To help recognize this motivation, I consulted my library of coaching books for a passage that describes this motivation.

THE BEGINNER

~ An Invitation ~

“Running may well turn out to be one of the most significant experiences of your life. Yet it does not always seem fun when you first try it….I ask you to trust me. The goal, I promise, is worth the struggle. Within a few weeks you’ll be covering a mile or two at a time. After a run you’ll feel refreshed. You’ll have more energy, more zest. You’ll take more pleasure in both work and play. You’ll sleep more soundly, lose weight if you need to, and feel better than you have in years.”

~Jim Fixx, author of The Complete Book of Running

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So how were you invited into running? Was it a cross country coach at your school, a friend who just joined a running club, an online source - just to name a few of the many possible scenarios.

For beginners the key motivator is novelty. Everything is new when you're starting out - the act of going out for a run is new, as is every locale run. Important goals the beginner needs to have in mind with their running at this point in the process: 1) consistency - trying to make running a regular event and 2) finding the relaxed feeling and clearer mental state that running brings.

There is no timeline for how long someone stays at the Beginner Step. Believe it or not, I stayed at the Beginner Step for close to 20 years! This means no races, no following a training plan, no being part of a running community - none of that for close to 20 years.

THE NEWBIE

“There’s a term in lifting for the immediate feats of strength you can accomplish in your first months of training: newbie gains. When new lifters first start moving weights, they make quick improvements in both the amount they can lift and the muscle mass they build.”

~Alyssa Ages, author of Secrets of Giants: A journey to uncover the true meaning of strength

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With their running becoming consistent, the newbie looks to follow a structured training plan which gets them running longer and/or faster - pushing the limit of their fitness. Quite often this results in “newbie gains” - making quick improvements in their running. In fact running coaches often say these quick improvements take place the first seven years of consistent running.

Another important motivator for the newbie becomes feeling part of a running community and finding satisfaction in running. A community can be: a local running club, group of friends, online club, running books and resources, or mentor/coach, just to name a few. 

THE COMPETITOR

“An interval workout,” Cassidy once explained to a sportswriter, “is the modern distance runner’s equivalent of the once popular Iron Maiden, a device as you know used by ancient Truth Seekers.” Although overdistance laid the foundation, intervals made the runner racing mean. Quenton Cassidy liked them. Others preferred bamboo splinters under their nails. Cassidy figured that a natural affinity for interval work was the difference between those who liked to race and those who liked to train. And there is a difference. Racers express little enchantment with training for its own sake.”

~John L. Parker, Jr., author of Once a Runner

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For the competitor, their motivation to run attempts to bring out their best and search to find success with every running experience - be it on trails, running a marathon in a major city, or running a flat, fast local 5K. Oftentimes, success for the competitor is thought of as where one places in a race, getting on the podium, and so forth. However, the goal of the competitor is actually to avoid a narrow-minded pursuit of rewards and ego boosts. Instead, the competitor needs to cultivate an internal sense of what success brings. Like the Iron Maiden mentioned in the quote above, competition can serve as truth telling for this internal sense of success.

Is it possible to bypass the competitive motive? Sure, however, beginners and newbies miss out on a great opportunity to develop this internal sense of success such as:

-Pride in one’s athletic status

-A likelihood to take on ambitious goals

-Optimism toward the future

THE RUNNER

“I’m not doing my run to become rich or famous. To me, being famous is not the idea of the run….You are cheering and clapping for me but if you have given $1, then you are part of the Marathon of Hope. Even if I don’t finish, we need others to continue. It’s got to keep on going without me.”

~Terry Fox - July 11, 1980

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"The Runner" finds motivation in the previous three phases mentioned - new experiences, mindful practice, satisfaction in getting fitter, and a competitor's ambition - all are important to the runner. Additionally, a goal for the runner becomes giving back to something that has given them so much. And as illustrated by the quote from Terry Fox, giving back often goes beyond the physical act of running. In fact, Terry Fox ran after one of his legs was amputated. Giving back might be accomplished by being of service to others, like being a mentor or coach to beginning runners, perhaps serving as a race director, or raising funds for charitable causes. Also, running ultra distance seems to reflect going beyond the physical act of running.

THE RACE: WHERE MOTIVES & GOALS MEET

Races seem to be a meeting place for all these motivations and goals. Be it a beginner’s first race, to a newbie checking out their running fitness after following a 10-week training schedule, to a competitor trying to place well in their age group - and all can be under the umbrella of raising funds for a charitable cause; races seem capable of handling this variety of motives and goals.

Therefore, runners can use this information to take stock of their current running step and whether their motivation and goals are aligned or maybe it’s time to try and reach a new step.

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Thanks for reading! 

Beginners, I’ve got you! Check out the Starting Training & Racing section in the EOOC TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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Experiment of One Coaching covers topics ranging from running, strength training, health & wellness, sports nutrition to travel. I usually post once or twice a month. If you have a question about any of these topics that you would like me to address, send it to: info@experiment1coaching.com .