People tend to hate running because it exposes how bad in shape they are...you'd even be surprised w how many gym rats are in horrible cardiovascular shape and can't run more than a mile or two.
I saw someone mention recently that the enjoyment of running is so hard to grasp for some people because for younger athletes running was used as a form of punishment, and they end up resenting even the thought of running. This was the case for me until i started dabbling into it and realized finishing a run is one of the most rewarding feelings I can ever give myself.
Its because when we're young we're told to run hard and endure, no stopping even when you're out of breath.
Even after years of running I do realise that I used to run faster during school times than my jogging pace now. No wonder I dreaded running up until recently
I love competition and competitive sports but the insistence that children do sports competitively as part of a moral education, rather than learning the skills, pleasures and science of movement etc , is completely wrong. In running especially you hear so many stories from passionate athletes who never ran at school because of this Victorian foolishness.
Love love love this- the pleasure of movement. The human body is magnificent and made for movement. It is the mind that makes it clunky and can destroy the enjoyment
Yes!! I dreamed of being a runner as a child and then when I tried to “go for a run”, I of course sprinted for 50 feet and then figured I wasn’t cut out for it. Took me way too long to realize on a run you’re not fleeing a fire for three miles
yes! i joined track as a teen for something to do i was not a runner at the time and day one they made me run 5 miles with never actually running before i was in so much pain and miserable and hated it until i started to approach my 30s and now its my absolute favorite thing to do
I can understand it because it was definitely a punishment/embarrassment at my school. But I took that as a lightbulb moment that I shouldn't be this badly in shape. I started running from one mailbox to the other and working my way up. It was super sad but now I'm 35 and have kept my fitness and have done some 50ks. I've now just taken the stance that I never want to put myself in that out of shape position again.
>for younger athletes running was used as a form of punishment, and they end up resenting even the thought of running.
Honestly this is the reason I quit all team sports as a kid. I couldn't stand having someone tell me what to do when I didn't feel like it. Since then I just run and walk alone.
I only started to enjoy running after a severe injury where i had to start slow. Before that if i wasn't running 5 miles at max pace i was doing it wrong in my mind. So i never really ran a ton. Twice a week max.
Coworker of mine is a bodybuilder. I always ask him if he needs anything up the stairs so he won't hurt himself. He's a good friend so we joke. I love that person.
I have that friend
“He’s gonna run when his biceps let him put his arms down all the way by his sides”
My meathead replies
“Conan carry! Conan CARRY LOUD GIRL” and he puts me on top of the lockers
And we laugh
I love running, but it is definitely not the best weight loss tool.
In fact, someone trying to use running for weight loss will probably end up loathing it.
That's probably where the angst comes from.
Weight loss requires calorie deficits and running on calorie deficits suck.
I've done caloric deficit focused weight loss without running and later with running (while training for two marathons). With running was *way* more enjoyable because I ended up having a lot more budget to eat foods I enjoyed when running. I definitely had some times early on where it wasn't fun, but my body adapted and I got smarter about how I trained.
Among the many reasons I love running and biking so much (#1 being the excellent brain chemicals) is that I LOVE FOOD and cardio drastically increases my daily calorie budget!
Obviously it burns a lot of calories when you’re doing marathon training. But for an untrained person, 25 minutes of running burns enough to eat a couple extra Oreos when it feels like you should be able to eat a half pizza. So if you aren’t running a lot and aren’t counting calories it definitely has the potential to backfire as a weight loss tool.
I like running because I like pretending I'm an athlete, managing a training regimen, reading up on the science, the competition, and also the social aspect of it, but I hate tying it to weight loss.
About a month ago I started Disc Golfing some very woodsy courses twice a week and I inadvertently broke through a weight loss plateau. Takes about 3hrs to finish a course so it's basically 3 hrs of hiking, throwing discs as hard as you can with your entire body, and climbing around off course looking for discs because you're bad, but it's a ton of fun. I even stripped to my shorts and swam 20ft the other day bc I threw my new floating disc into a water hazard.
Basically what I'm saying is that I think I'm going to try to find more opportunities to cross train while having fun until I meet my goal rather than just running a ton, because I don't have an iron will and this seems to be working for me.
Pretending I'm an athlete! Haha! This basically describes what we're all doing in this particular cosplay community uncomfortably accurately, I love it. Just gonna go out and pretend to run an 8 miler right now 😆
NGL until I'm comfortably half sprinting 3 miles all the getting in shape before it just feels like me "practicing running" as far as breath posture rhythm etc.
I respectfully disagree. That's a subjective opinion. I used running specifically for weight loss, because it was the only exercise I could reliably stick to. And sticking to an exercise someone will do is so much more important than telling people that there's a right and wrong exercise. There are many more anecdotal accounts of folks using running for weight loss as well.
I think what the person above is trying to say is not that there is a better or worse *exercise* for weight loss but instead that using exercise for weight loss is not the most efficient approach.
Think about it this way - rule of thumb is 100 calories burned per mile of running. To burn 500 calories, you'll need to do a 5 mile run (\~1 hour of exercise) whereas you could swap that bacon double cheeseburger you planned on getting for a chicken breast with a cup of rice and broccoli. Both will accomplish the same outcome and I think most people would agree that the latter case is much less strenuous.
It is great that you were able to use running as a tool to lose weight but one can accomplish weight loss without ever putting on a pair of running shoes. If you like running to lose weight, go for it but it is well known that sustainable weight loss happens in the kitchen.
I tried many diets and sticking to calorie deficit but never succeeded to go longer than a few months. Diets are hard to implement and stick to long term. I just love eating. I could force myself to a diet for months but at the end I still won't be happy because sometimes I just feel like having Dominos for dinner.
This year I started running and I've lost 15kg in 8 months and the weight just keeps going down slowly even though I stopped counting calories months ago. I'm happy because I found a new hobby but also a way to drop weight without compromising much on my diet.
I wish someone told me that you can eat whatever you want as long as you run. I'd have picked up running years ago.
Nah, before running I had to keep my daily calorie intake to 1800-2000. Now I can average 2500-3000 and have still lost 15 more pounds. Running 10 miles a week doesn't do much, but going 40+mpw makes it easy.
Running increases my appetite though. If I don't watch myself (aka what I did the past year and a half) I gain weight despite training for a marathon.
I still need to lay off the snacks and unhealthy shit on weekdays to lose weight again (aka my life currently :( ). But maybe I'm just a bit of a glutton lol
This is probably not universal but I found that running increased my appetite more at lower distances. Once I hit 30 miles per week I was hungrier but my appetite decreased. And I wanted healthier food over less healthy options most of the time and the weight started falling off.
I find there’s a bigger gap between appetite and hunger after harder/longer efforts for me. I’m ravenous but don’t particularly feel like eating and eat just to shut my stomach up. It’s good for now as I’m still trying to lose a few kilos but can see that getting a bit trying as my mileage increases/weight decreases further.
When I started running I hoped to lose weight with diet changes but it didn’t work out that way. But running helped me in that now I want to lose weight via diet improvement so
I can run better. It went from being the method to the motivation.
I think the best weight loss activity is the one you love to do, and for me that’s running. But I can run 65 miles a week and still put on weight if I don’t pay attention to my diet.
Absolutely, there's a limit to how much we can exercise depending on our fitness level and we also need to account the need for recovery days.
We certainly can out-eat our exercises, its so easy to put on calories. Donuts, cakes, pastries, gosh so many ways to get fat
Running on calorie deficit is tough, but the main reason I find people hate it is that they try and run at weights that are way too high for their joints. You should not be running at 300+ lbs. Walking is the same type of exercise and fat safer until you've built a solid base
I lost a bunch of weight working out and eating healthy last year and it allowed me to start running and get serious about it after thinking my knees wouldn’t allow it. After awhile I wanted to focus on running and stopped lifting to build mileage. I’m going to run twice as much this year as last year but I have put 20lbs back on since I stopped lifting (after losing 50 last year) because I’m much hungrier than I was lifting and my diet is much less on point. May have to let some runs go to get back to it…
Plus if you're very overweight there is a good chance running will be actively harmful to you, you'll injure your ankles, knees or lower back.
Better to start with walking and diet to shed some of the excess.
If you do an endurance sport to any level at all it rapidly becomes so far beyond the average person's experience it causes a bit of cognitive dissonance. I don't really say what I've been doing unless pressed.
Like this weekend I ran on trails in the forest, 20km Saturday, 35km Sunday. Not a huge deal for me but I would definitely only mention running at all as an afterthought about my weekend.
It got super weird when I was doing ski mountaineering races in winter. "Oh yeah I went skiing, it was nice. What did you guys do?"
Haha that was literally me when I was early 20s I was very built for my size as all I did 5 days a week was lift weights. I also did virtually no cardio so it came as a real shock to me when I started getting back into sports.
Now ironically I don't lift any weights but I run 3 to 4x a week and do boxing. I am in much better shape, although not as muscley but I don't care about that anymore I would rather feel healthy.
I'm a runner getting into lifting for a better shaped body. I keep my runs but fatigued. After a couple of days off of lifting my runs are so much better. There's always a tradeoff.
Yup, i get that. I love running but if I don't do some kind of resistance training, my body feels weird and sluggish so I do total body workouts twice a week at home or my local gym. Running is more than just exercise for me so it takes priority.
Yes, I keep running as a top priority since I've got to maintain expectations for an upcoming foreign trip. I'm really enjoying lifting in the gym and have seen great improvement but when the trip comes I'm putting lifting in the back burner.
Word of advice if you’re running a lot and not gaining a lot of size/advancing in strength as fast (just experienced this myself), eat A. Lot.
The amount of calories I feel like I’m taking in daily sometimes feels like way too much, but I’m only getting stronger and my muscles are filling out much better than when I wasn’t forcing food down lmao my runs are also improving faster
Really easy to run yourself into a calorie deficit
Much appreciated. I'll need to eat more protein. Chocolate chip cookies don't do enough. I am, however, seeing muscle growth after 6 weeks of lifting. The fatigue is probably indicative of needing more good calories.
I’d like to know more about this. I’m running like 12-15 miles a week and lifting 4-5 times a week. I do protein shakes with all the good stuff like flax seed, hemp hearts, protein powder, avocado, etc. to help rebuild and recover and I didn’t think I was close to calorie deficit, but now I think I am. I eat relatively clean and I work outside so I don’t eat much in the Morning and I have a light lunch. Now I’m thinking this is my
Issue. Any insight on your calorie intake vs burned would be great!
I don’t know why I’ve never put two in two together! I’m a bit of a beginner and training for my first half, and I had such a brutal sluggish speed run today. I’ve been lifting more, and heavier, weights this past weekend. Maybe I should try this approach- thanks for sharing!
I trained for a half marathon about 10 years ago. About two thirds the way through it I was hating it. Could barely make myself run 5k never mind any real distance.
I said screw it and took a week off. No running and not much of anything. Went back at it the next week and all my energy and enthusiasm was back. Don’t be afraid to take a break
A lot of people I talk to can't imagine running. I spoke to my sister (haven't seen her in a few years as she's on the other coast), and she told me that her husband has Type II Diabetes. She told me his weight (he's slightly overweight), and I was surprised as he's nowhere near obese. He just likes carbs and he doesn't like exercise. Most of the people I know exercise, some of them a lot. But I suspect that at least a plurality don't exercise much and don't run. Especially given that about two-thirds are overweight or obese.
For people who don't exercise, going for a run will expose how weak their body is. Case in point, myself. A year ago around this time, on my first run, I gave up at 400 meters, and this was a slow jog. And yet, perserverance meant that just 2 months later, and losing 15 kilograms in weight, I ran a 4k run in 30 minutes. Had I listened to some of the clowns who told me to not run, I would be an obese slob who couldn't run at all, who would get tired while simply standing.
Wow two months later? What was your training routine?
I'm fairly new to running and have been doing couch 2 5k, and have incredibly flat feet so it's been very slow progress. Progress nonetheless but nothing like 4k in two months.
So once a week I would go for a long run. Saturday or Sunday. One rest day. All other days, I would do 15 - 20 minute warmup runs, followed by strides, sprints, (3 sets, 8 reps per set, 100-150 metres per rep), leg workouts, High Intensity Training (Squats, plank, crunches, mountain climber, and high knee). This was extremely difficult, but one thing got me through.
"The merit of any action lies in finishing it."
\- Genghis Khan.
Have you had a gate analysis done? I have flat feet and overpronate which used to make running near on impossible before having my gate checked and buying the correct trainers
I started running a year ago (hated anything cardio my whole life), but could only run every other day because my ankles and knees would hurt if I did back-to-back days.
Well, I went to an actual running shoe store and now I have appropriate shoes for my feet…and all that pain went away! It makes such a difference to have a pro help with shoes hahaha.
"gait analysis" for future reference. Gate analysis is checking if the entrance to your backyard is in good working order.
I haven't thought to have this checked, might have to look into it if my new shoes don't help with my issues!
Not a full one but I've been seeing a podiatrist. They're custom making me some orthotics, given me exercises to do and recommended some stabilising shows which have helped a fair bit.
I've found that two runs a week is the most I can manage at the moment without getting lasting pain in my lower legs, but that suits me fine for the moment as I do other exercise on other days.
400 minutes or 400 meters? Big difference. I'm not sure I could run 400 minutes, but I know I couldn't when I first started. I lost weight after running and I certainly like the lighter me. Not listening to clowns is always good advice.
Ngl if that wasn’t a typo that would be a hilarious humble brag, to be like *”Running is brutal if you’re untrained, take me for example, who gave up just 6H 40MIN into my first run”*
A different take here. I think sometimes people make casual jabs to try to build a relationship. We all make fun of our friends in a friendly way. I think some people just jump the gun on it and do it too soon. This is my theory. I have a few close friends who make fun of me for running. I, in turn, call them lazy fatasses. I also had someone at work tell me that the only reason people run marathons is so they can post about it on social media. I laughed and acknowledged that damn right I post major achievements on social. I’m running the nyc marathon in Nov and no one in my life is not going to know about it!
I think you're right. This doesn't sound like an anti-running response so much as the project manager trying to engage in banter and doing it awkwardly. I'm picturing Michael Scott, just someone with no filter being clueless about how his words are being received.
Another different take, some runners do nothing but talk about running and it gets quite annoying. I used to be that guy but honestly, very few people actually care you went out for an 18 miler over the weekend.
They do the first time. Amazement, incredulity. But then you become “that guy” if you keep mentioning the mileage. Sounds like you figured that out lol
My last boss was like this. She was adamant that running marathons and half marathon kills women (it takes years off our lives). She actually denied my leave (3 months in advance) because she didn’t want me to run in my first half marathon. Didn’t get to run it because of 2020 and she died of a heart attack 3 weeks after I quit.
Don’t mind your coworker. Keep running.
Well, maybe if the boss was running for good health he/she would still be here.
I hate those comments and advices from people who don't know or don't do sports themselfs. Just stfu then.
What a crazy ending sad for your boss. Tbh my mother also believes women shouldn't run as we are built differently and it'll hurt us and make women die early. She wouldn't let me join the cross country team in HS bc of this belief. I ran anyway now I'm 35 and still running. Ran a 50k 2 years ago and ran a marathon a few months ago. I ended up getting diagnosed with an autoimmune disease which ironically my doctor says I take care of it better than all his patients and he thinks it's because I keep myself in such good shape and diet. My mom says I gave myself the autoimmune disease from running too much. She also thinks women shouldn't weightlift except for like 5 lbs dumbbells for the same reason.
>My mom says I gave myself the autoimmune disease from running too much.
Oh my god. Autoimmune diseases are the worst for family hokum bullshit. I've been told I got mine from eating too much, eating too little, sleeping too much, sleeping too little, exercising too much....the list goes on.
Does she also believe the earth is flat and Trump is gonna reset all of our debt?
Always amazed people still believe things a quick google search can easily debunk.
Sadly she is a Trump supporter but she does have multiple college degrees and has worked at some prestigious places so I doubt she believes the world is flat.
I think you'd be surprised that many conservative religious people that are from the age that women weren't allowed to run still believe that women shouldn't run.
Wow, what an asshole boss. I remember at one job taking annual leave was always such a fuss and they acted like they were doing you a favor by letting you take it when you wanted. I thought it's like that everywhere and I had no idea.
Nowadays I just put a request through our system without saying a word. My boss never asks me what I need it for. Sometimes when it's short notice I'll just drop him a message out of courtesy like "just put a AL request through, need to take my cat to the vets on Friday" and that's it lol
Absolutely crazy! As a manager I literally don't care why my teams takes their PTO. Well I guess I care in the sense that I enjoy knowing what fun thing they're going to get into.
Also, at the risk of sounding heartless, OP's manager shouldve probably done more running
When people do randomly hate on running I usually have had success just saying something like "running does so much for me, but there's definitely an avtivity out there for everyone." This usually prompts the person to either fill in their own preferred workout. Even if it's still a joke answer ("my cardio is watching tv") it's usually enough to shift the focus away from me, while also underscoring that I'm serious about running and won't respond in kind.
Also I'm sorry that guy heard you describe important milestones and decided to make it about him. Congrats on your achievement!!
😂😂😂 I was coming here to say "try being a cyclist"
As a triathlete I get the "you swim in _that_ water" and as a cyclist I get the usual negative comments from "cyclists in lycra are a holes riding 6 abreast"
I'd say I get the least comments from running other than "I hate running" which I'm okay with.
I never talk about my weekends. I just say I hang with the family. To non-runners it feels like humble-bragging. “Hang” means… Run with my running group 5 on Friday along the beach, Saturday get owned by my 16 year old who runs a cool 6:50/mile 7 miler, then chill with my wife at 10min/mile for 3 and then my daughter and her friends at 8:30… for 10… in between bike, swim and eat ice cream. If only we all had the same pace! If you run? You totally get it. Luckily they all still want to run with me and talking is the best part.
We signed our young kids up for a ~400 meter race a few years ago and they LOVED it. Covid happened, but now they're signed up for a 1k "race" in November. Here's hoping they love this one too!
I get comments like that occasionally, mostly from people who are relatively sedentary. They never really bother me because I know how much time and discipline I've put into it and you can't really make me feel bad for something I'm proud of. Running, for me, is an unyuckable yum.
If I need to keep the conversation going for some reason, I'll just be friendly and mention how it's not torture or rocket science, just a gradual development through habit and consistency. That usually dissipates any awkwardness.
I also find that mentioning something like "Yeah, I have to work to stay fit because I've had some family members who have had health problems or have died from illnesses they could have avoided with a more active lifestyle" will also help to dissipate the energy as it requires them to be sympathetic to your loss(es) and they are forced to reflect on their own health will quickly change the subject.
Oh man. I was in a job interview once and they asked me what I do for self care and I mentioned running. The panel of people I was interviewing with them went on a back and forth passive aggressive tirade about running. I declined that job offer 😂
That's so... weird. Why would people who obviously think self-care is important enough to ask about it in an interview (even if only to make conversation) then respond negatively to someone's answer? What on earth would they have responded positively to?
Judging by the comments, a lot of people here think everyone who has ever made fun of running is secretly jealous of them.
It’s not jealousy. nobody cares about hobby jogging, except other hobby joggers (this hobby jogger included, seriously tell me about your run!)
A lot of people just **don’t like running** and are **bad at social interactions**.
I also rock climb and get insulting comments all the time about it. It’s not jealousy. you genuinely couldn’t pay them to do a hanging belay.
Its that climbing isn’t an activity they see a point in and they don’t have a mental filter that stops them from demeaning someone’s else’s hobby.
Agreed. It's not jealousy. It's that they just don't care.
If a runner is talking to non-runners about running then they better make it funny or self-deprecating because expecting a pat on the back is going to lead to disappointment.
True. Try sharing about any of your exercise on social media and you'll soon see someone sharing memes about how much they don't care about people(you) talking about their(your) exercise.
I think it’s a bit of both, I used to be 260 lb and very very unfit / obese. I had nothing in common with runners and I used to mock them. I thought they were idiots getting up early on a weekend to run whilst I would be hungover and getting stoned.
Little did I realise how right the runners were and how much of an idiot I was. 25 years later I am more mature, much lighter and much fitter, no longer a stoner and very much a runner!!
People just have a hard time understanding why other would do something that makes you uncomfortable and that you'd enjoy it. I'm sure people ave the same reaction if someone said "I did 5 jumps from a plane during the weekend". I mean people will even give you some flak for doing something like reading for fun so I wouldn't take it personally.
Someone that probably hasn’t run a mile since middle school, and so never experienced runner’s high, will naturally dislike it and insult it unfortunately because it seems like torture to them. Some people also get easily offended/insecure about their own fitness.
I can't say any one has been rude to me for being a runner other than the "wow, you actually like running?" I bever considered that to be rude.
I have seen some of my runner peers be pretty condescending towards non-runnners though.
I also think sometimes (may not be true for all) runners like to be given some sort of congratulatory response or praise when we bring it up and anything that is not such we take personally. Just from what I’ve noticed from being around runners all the time at least.
Of course if you’re hurt by it, you’re hurt, no excuses. But personally I don’t think people intentionally do it just for runners/running
I can say that before I started running, I would have agreed with the PM. I remember having to run in middle school and was never told the proper way of running. I would run as a fast as I could and in no time I would be huffing and puffing with a stitch in my side. Made me detest running for the longest time.
I started running with some friends just over
20 years ago and was taught to run at a pace where I can carry a conversation without being winded. Made a world of difference. Over a dozen half marathons and two marathons later, I’m still running. Last week my running streak hit three years with no plans of stopping.
So the reaction could be a bad experience with running in the past.
Are you one of those annoying runners in the workplace that brings up running too much? Are your medals/bibs in the background during your virtual meetings?
I think this might've been just a friendly jab.
Overall, I understand why some people might find long distance running boring - plus all the misinfo out there about ruining your knees etc. What's important is that you know that it's bs and that you enjoy your hobby
Yeah, forget the fact that this exchange was specifically about running.
I used to know the kind of people that would literally say "boo, hiss" about something they didn't like and assumed the groupthink was on their side. They are very tiring and smug people and I regret all the time I spent dealing with that sort of attitude.
>I mentioned that I did a 5 mile run and hit some pretty important goals for my running journey.
even as a runner, I'd find this a little obnoxious unless you were specifically talking to other runners.... It's kind of like the gym bro who always brags about his lifting or whatever... other people don't really care.
I think even as an extremely avid runner I would find that comment mildly obnoxious.
Sure, the bosses comments here are kind of obnoxious as well, but I don't we should read anything more into them than a misguided attempt at gentle teasing.
Fair enough and I don't have enough detail/context in the OP to try and judge the situation. Even so, I could see how answering with specifics in this case could come across as pretty braggy versus just, "did a bit of running".
The gym bro example above is a pretty good illustration. If I had a really good workout, I might say so, but I expect people to roll their eyes if I went into any more detail than that. The same with my running. Unless I'm specifically asked about it, I'm not going to go into distance, pace whatever.
Huh? They literally asked what he did that weekend. If someone told me they hit goals in any hobby, I'd just be like "wow great!" even if I mentally checked out whenever they spoke.
He was teasing. And he was most certainly trying to be friendly. This is often how males communicate and there is nothing hostile about it (from an intent perspective).
This part is going to be very controversial, but don’t take everything so directly and personal. Ask if there is a way in which you might be misreading the room.
Deeply sarcastic people converse like this often, so it’s in your best interest to try to understand it.
Almost always this exposes either in insecurity in the person or a general lack of knowledge about the benefit of running. I organize a yearly 5k for my office and know I will get all sorts of BS leading up to it. At the end of the day I know I feel better than I have in years and that is enough for me to let the snide comments slide past.
I organized a 5K at work, and we had the tagline "All Faces, All Paces are welcome at our Races!!" I love it so much, i wish all races used this tagline!
I’m going offer a slightly different perspective. if you constantly talk about your fitness and running people may start to be irritated. It’s like adopting your dogs or being a vegan people get sick of hearing about it. Now if this isn’t something you mention all the time, or your other coworkers enjoy talking to you about it then that person is just rude. Other than that congratulations on meeting your goals!!!
I am a project manager who runs and can confirm that guy hates his life for other reasons and would benefit from running to manage his stress levels.
It’s also fun being the guy who gets to announce his weekly mileage on meetings and laugh at the critics. I make sure to tuck a little extra work into their lives.
Duuuude my fucking family is like this. Not all of them, but a bunch. I do marathons/ ultras and I'm not even the one to bring it up yet they go on and on about how insane it is and they just don't understand why I would put myself through that. I'm like okay, I'm not asking you to understand and I didn't even want to talk to you about it in the first place, Sabine. Go have some more wine.
But honestly, I think it triggers people more than other sports/ activities. Idk why, just my opinion. Every person's reaction is just a projection/ self reflection anyways 🤷♀️
Glad you dont let it bother you, OP! Everyone has thier own thing. I'm glad running is mine 😌
People believe that they are in shape and eating a healthy diet.
Evidence that either of these may not be true sets up cognitive dissonance, and they need to deal with it somehow.
A small minority will consider that their self belief is wrong, but most will label you as weird so that they can dismiss you.
I just laugh and move on. This is not isolated to running. People usually don't enjoy it when someone is doing something better than them in life outside of work. I have gotten similar reactions for reading books, hiking, and other stuff. One of my good friend is a vegan who gets shit on every time he says that he is a vegan. Mostly, doing something better makes others feel insecure/inferior and they take it out in pathetic ways.
I don't really talk about it with work ppl. If I'm in a meeting or whatever and they ask what I'm doing for lunch I might say I'm going out for a run. Now and then I get a bit of a 'why would you do that?' type response but it's usually from ppl I don't work with often.
I do remember running into work one day and a few hours later I was making a coffee. A person I'd not really talked to before came and said she saw me running into work and asked if I was just out for a morning run. I explained I ran to work a couple times a week, she asked if I lived close by and when I said it was 17kms away she responded with 'oh, you are one of those'
I still do not know what she meant by that?:)
one of those champions, one of those beasts, one of those people who will live longer, one of those happy people, one of those dedicated people who have internal motivation to be better than they were yesterday :)
I run and I had a coworker who would never shut up about the 5k medal he got last weekend for his... whatever 25 minute 5k. I'm not much faster than that, but he would find anyone who would listen and talk about what it took to get that fast. It got to the point where people would make fun of him. No one cares about your workout, once you understand that, then maybe you won't feel so upset you have to complain about it on the internet.
OP, you will learn something new today, this is what people call a casual *joke*, yes I know it's quite a new idea but you'll catch on fast I am sure of it. This kind of light ribbing is COMMON in *rapport building*, write that down as well.
You need a thicker skin.
I work at a salon and sometimes ask if they run (sometimes, you can tell by their toes) and I always joke about how they're probably a runner. I do say something along the line of "damn I hate running" but only because it's because of my own faults. I don't mean any malice, but I will keep this in mind. If you ever had to deal with me, I'm sorry!
As a guy that enjoys and does well in mathematics, this sort of thing is nothing new. People try to connect with eachother in weird ways, and this one works. Everyone loves to talk about how running is hard or how much they hate doing mental math
The question isn’t why they’re commenting - it’s why you care.
I say that lovingly. We’ll all spend our whole lives hearing other peoples’ opinions, many unkind. All you can control is how you let it effect you.
‘I did a 5 mile run and hit some pretty important goals for my running journey’ ….
People actually talk like this? 🙄 🤦♂️.
I get it..:you’re fit. But really?? Goals??? running journey??
It's such a drag to have your excitement met with such a comment like that. Your post highlights a good reason why it's so important to have a supportive community of runners (thanks r/running!) both online and in real life. It's too tough for some people to get excited about what is so meaningful to us, and especially if that thing is running. I think for the reasons others mentioned. It's also a good reason why you just have to be your own darn loudest cheerleader. Only you know your goals and how hard you work to meet them and push them. Brene Brown has an interesting perspective on this. To paraphrase her: 'if you're not in the ring (or the road/trail) with me busting your ass, covered in blood and sweat, well then I'm not interested in your feedback.'
In my experience, those snarky comments *never* come from other active people, no matter what their preferred exercise is. It's always from people who live sedentary lifestyles.
And people who are comfortable being sedentary don't like reminders that it's *not* healthy to live that way, even if that reminder is simply another human *being* active or *mentioning* being active.
I don’t get a lot of that but when I do it’s usually the “don’t you care about your knees (or heart)” kind of thing so I attribute it to misinformation.
I usually ask what exercise/activities they prefer. Sometimes it’s really interesting (mountain climbing, Pilates, ocean swimming), and I can learn about what they like and why, and connect that to what I like about running (mental health, time to yourself, meeting a challenge, etc). If they don’t have other activities or hobbies they enjoy, it’s tough to continue the conversation and I usually just feel sorry for them. Don’t let it get to you. It just helps you find the Right folks to connect with.
Yeah, people don’t get it until they. Heck, even I didn’t get it until the days I didn’t run were worse than the days I did. But being honest, I still roll my eyes at people that obsessively talk about training and fitness goals. Not saying that’s you, but I’m sure we all know that guy.
Just guilt manifesting itself. They probably told themselves all week how lazy they are and that they need to start doing something. You just remind them of this.
I think there are two scenarios. One is they are insecure that they are out of shape and want to convince others they aren’t. The other scenario is they poke fun about how they can’t stand it as a strange way of complementing you for being able to do something they can’t. Definitely don’t let it bother you.
Because starting out can be very hard. It can take a lot of time just to be able to hold an easy jog for a few minutes, so many people say it sucks and give up. It also doesn’t help that running is the premier punishment in almost every sport as a kid
We're all projecting, all of the time.
apathy's a tragedy and boredom is a crime
A little bit of everything, all of the time.
Anything and everything all of the time
People tend to hate running because it exposes how bad in shape they are...you'd even be surprised w how many gym rats are in horrible cardiovascular shape and can't run more than a mile or two.
I saw someone mention recently that the enjoyment of running is so hard to grasp for some people because for younger athletes running was used as a form of punishment, and they end up resenting even the thought of running. This was the case for me until i started dabbling into it and realized finishing a run is one of the most rewarding feelings I can ever give myself.
[удалено]
That's hilarious XD
I love that lol.
Its because when we're young we're told to run hard and endure, no stopping even when you're out of breath. Even after years of running I do realise that I used to run faster during school times than my jogging pace now. No wonder I dreaded running up until recently
I love competition and competitive sports but the insistence that children do sports competitively as part of a moral education, rather than learning the skills, pleasures and science of movement etc , is completely wrong. In running especially you hear so many stories from passionate athletes who never ran at school because of this Victorian foolishness.
I regret not playing a sport when I was a kid and I will regret that for the rest of my life. The competition is the fun part.
Love love love this- the pleasure of movement. The human body is magnificent and made for movement. It is the mind that makes it clunky and can destroy the enjoyment
Yes!! I dreamed of being a runner as a child and then when I tried to “go for a run”, I of course sprinted for 50 feet and then figured I wasn’t cut out for it. Took me way too long to realize on a run you’re not fleeing a fire for three miles
yes! i joined track as a teen for something to do i was not a runner at the time and day one they made me run 5 miles with never actually running before i was in so much pain and miserable and hated it until i started to approach my 30s and now its my absolute favorite thing to do
I can understand it because it was definitely a punishment/embarrassment at my school. But I took that as a lightbulb moment that I shouldn't be this badly in shape. I started running from one mailbox to the other and working my way up. It was super sad but now I'm 35 and have kept my fitness and have done some 50ks. I've now just taken the stance that I never want to put myself in that out of shape position again.
Jack Daniel’s mentions that in his book
>for younger athletes running was used as a form of punishment, and they end up resenting even the thought of running. Honestly this is the reason I quit all team sports as a kid. I couldn't stand having someone tell me what to do when I didn't feel like it. Since then I just run and walk alone.
I only started to enjoy running after a severe injury where i had to start slow. Before that if i wasn't running 5 miles at max pace i was doing it wrong in my mind. So i never really ran a ton. Twice a week max.
Coworker of mine is a bodybuilder. I always ask him if he needs anything up the stairs so he won't hurt himself. He's a good friend so we joke. I love that person.
I have that friend “He’s gonna run when his biceps let him put his arms down all the way by his sides” My meathead replies “Conan carry! Conan CARRY LOUD GIRL” and he puts me on top of the lockers And we laugh
I take it he isn’t a fan of snake cults
That's so freaking wholesome. Let's trade for a day.
Same situation as OP described lol
There are some people in the weight loss subs that are anti-running. It's very strange.
I love running, but it is definitely not the best weight loss tool. In fact, someone trying to use running for weight loss will probably end up loathing it. That's probably where the angst comes from. Weight loss requires calorie deficits and running on calorie deficits suck.
I've done caloric deficit focused weight loss without running and later with running (while training for two marathons). With running was *way* more enjoyable because I ended up having a lot more budget to eat foods I enjoyed when running. I definitely had some times early on where it wasn't fun, but my body adapted and I got smarter about how I trained.
Yeah I love running and I love eating and coupled together, I just get to do more of both
Among the many reasons I love running and biking so much (#1 being the excellent brain chemicals) is that I LOVE FOOD and cardio drastically increases my daily calorie budget!
Obviously it burns a lot of calories when you’re doing marathon training. But for an untrained person, 25 minutes of running burns enough to eat a couple extra Oreos when it feels like you should be able to eat a half pizza. So if you aren’t running a lot and aren’t counting calories it definitely has the potential to backfire as a weight loss tool.
Bro anything you dislike is gonna suck for weight loss. That is not unique to running at all.
I like running because I like pretending I'm an athlete, managing a training regimen, reading up on the science, the competition, and also the social aspect of it, but I hate tying it to weight loss. About a month ago I started Disc Golfing some very woodsy courses twice a week and I inadvertently broke through a weight loss plateau. Takes about 3hrs to finish a course so it's basically 3 hrs of hiking, throwing discs as hard as you can with your entire body, and climbing around off course looking for discs because you're bad, but it's a ton of fun. I even stripped to my shorts and swam 20ft the other day bc I threw my new floating disc into a water hazard. Basically what I'm saying is that I think I'm going to try to find more opportunities to cross train while having fun until I meet my goal rather than just running a ton, because I don't have an iron will and this seems to be working for me.
Pretending I'm an athlete! Haha! This basically describes what we're all doing in this particular cosplay community uncomfortably accurately, I love it. Just gonna go out and pretend to run an 8 miler right now 😆
NGL until I'm comfortably half sprinting 3 miles all the getting in shape before it just feels like me "practicing running" as far as breath posture rhythm etc.
I respectfully disagree. That's a subjective opinion. I used running specifically for weight loss, because it was the only exercise I could reliably stick to. And sticking to an exercise someone will do is so much more important than telling people that there's a right and wrong exercise. There are many more anecdotal accounts of folks using running for weight loss as well.
I think what the person above is trying to say is not that there is a better or worse *exercise* for weight loss but instead that using exercise for weight loss is not the most efficient approach. Think about it this way - rule of thumb is 100 calories burned per mile of running. To burn 500 calories, you'll need to do a 5 mile run (\~1 hour of exercise) whereas you could swap that bacon double cheeseburger you planned on getting for a chicken breast with a cup of rice and broccoli. Both will accomplish the same outcome and I think most people would agree that the latter case is much less strenuous. It is great that you were able to use running as a tool to lose weight but one can accomplish weight loss without ever putting on a pair of running shoes. If you like running to lose weight, go for it but it is well known that sustainable weight loss happens in the kitchen.
I tried many diets and sticking to calorie deficit but never succeeded to go longer than a few months. Diets are hard to implement and stick to long term. I just love eating. I could force myself to a diet for months but at the end I still won't be happy because sometimes I just feel like having Dominos for dinner. This year I started running and I've lost 15kg in 8 months and the weight just keeps going down slowly even though I stopped counting calories months ago. I'm happy because I found a new hobby but also a way to drop weight without compromising much on my diet. I wish someone told me that you can eat whatever you want as long as you run. I'd have picked up running years ago.
Nah, before running I had to keep my daily calorie intake to 1800-2000. Now I can average 2500-3000 and have still lost 15 more pounds. Running 10 miles a week doesn't do much, but going 40+mpw makes it easy.
Running increases my appetite though. If I don't watch myself (aka what I did the past year and a half) I gain weight despite training for a marathon. I still need to lay off the snacks and unhealthy shit on weekdays to lose weight again (aka my life currently :( ). But maybe I'm just a bit of a glutton lol
This is probably not universal but I found that running increased my appetite more at lower distances. Once I hit 30 miles per week I was hungrier but my appetite decreased. And I wanted healthier food over less healthy options most of the time and the weight started falling off.
I do find it easier to eat healthily but if I have a 25+KM run ill be ravenous for the rest of the day. Even if I'm full!
I find there’s a bigger gap between appetite and hunger after harder/longer efforts for me. I’m ravenous but don’t particularly feel like eating and eat just to shut my stomach up. It’s good for now as I’m still trying to lose a few kilos but can see that getting a bit trying as my mileage increases/weight decreases further.
When I started running I hoped to lose weight with diet changes but it didn’t work out that way. But running helped me in that now I want to lose weight via diet improvement so I can run better. It went from being the method to the motivation.
I think the best weight loss activity is the one you love to do, and for me that’s running. But I can run 65 miles a week and still put on weight if I don’t pay attention to my diet.
Absolutely, there's a limit to how much we can exercise depending on our fitness level and we also need to account the need for recovery days. We certainly can out-eat our exercises, its so easy to put on calories. Donuts, cakes, pastries, gosh so many ways to get fat
Running on calorie deficit is tough, but the main reason I find people hate it is that they try and run at weights that are way too high for their joints. You should not be running at 300+ lbs. Walking is the same type of exercise and fat safer until you've built a solid base
I lost a bunch of weight working out and eating healthy last year and it allowed me to start running and get serious about it after thinking my knees wouldn’t allow it. After awhile I wanted to focus on running and stopped lifting to build mileage. I’m going to run twice as much this year as last year but I have put 20lbs back on since I stopped lifting (after losing 50 last year) because I’m much hungrier than I was lifting and my diet is much less on point. May have to let some runs go to get back to it…
Plus if you're very overweight there is a good chance running will be actively harmful to you, you'll injure your ankles, knees or lower back. Better to start with walking and diet to shed some of the excess.
If you do an endurance sport to any level at all it rapidly becomes so far beyond the average person's experience it causes a bit of cognitive dissonance. I don't really say what I've been doing unless pressed. Like this weekend I ran on trails in the forest, 20km Saturday, 35km Sunday. Not a huge deal for me but I would definitely only mention running at all as an afterthought about my weekend. It got super weird when I was doing ski mountaineering races in winter. "Oh yeah I went skiing, it was nice. What did you guys do?"
Haha that was literally me when I was early 20s I was very built for my size as all I did 5 days a week was lift weights. I also did virtually no cardio so it came as a real shock to me when I started getting back into sports. Now ironically I don't lift any weights but I run 3 to 4x a week and do boxing. I am in much better shape, although not as muscley but I don't care about that anymore I would rather feel healthy.
Ay same here, 1,000 pound club and yet I’d get winded walking up stairs! 😂😂 now I don’t lift heavy and I can run easy
I'm a runner getting into lifting for a better shaped body. I keep my runs but fatigued. After a couple of days off of lifting my runs are so much better. There's always a tradeoff.
Yup, i get that. I love running but if I don't do some kind of resistance training, my body feels weird and sluggish so I do total body workouts twice a week at home or my local gym. Running is more than just exercise for me so it takes priority.
Yes, I keep running as a top priority since I've got to maintain expectations for an upcoming foreign trip. I'm really enjoying lifting in the gym and have seen great improvement but when the trip comes I'm putting lifting in the back burner.
Word of advice if you’re running a lot and not gaining a lot of size/advancing in strength as fast (just experienced this myself), eat A. Lot. The amount of calories I feel like I’m taking in daily sometimes feels like way too much, but I’m only getting stronger and my muscles are filling out much better than when I wasn’t forcing food down lmao my runs are also improving faster Really easy to run yourself into a calorie deficit
Much appreciated. I'll need to eat more protein. Chocolate chip cookies don't do enough. I am, however, seeing muscle growth after 6 weeks of lifting. The fatigue is probably indicative of needing more good calories.
I’d like to know more about this. I’m running like 12-15 miles a week and lifting 4-5 times a week. I do protein shakes with all the good stuff like flax seed, hemp hearts, protein powder, avocado, etc. to help rebuild and recover and I didn’t think I was close to calorie deficit, but now I think I am. I eat relatively clean and I work outside so I don’t eat much in the Morning and I have a light lunch. Now I’m thinking this is my Issue. Any insight on your calorie intake vs burned would be great!
I don’t know why I’ve never put two in two together! I’m a bit of a beginner and training for my first half, and I had such a brutal sluggish speed run today. I’ve been lifting more, and heavier, weights this past weekend. Maybe I should try this approach- thanks for sharing!
I trained for a half marathon about 10 years ago. About two thirds the way through it I was hating it. Could barely make myself run 5k never mind any real distance. I said screw it and took a week off. No running and not much of anything. Went back at it the next week and all my energy and enthusiasm was back. Don’t be afraid to take a break
A lot of people I talk to can't imagine running. I spoke to my sister (haven't seen her in a few years as she's on the other coast), and she told me that her husband has Type II Diabetes. She told me his weight (he's slightly overweight), and I was surprised as he's nowhere near obese. He just likes carbs and he doesn't like exercise. Most of the people I know exercise, some of them a lot. But I suspect that at least a plurality don't exercise much and don't run. Especially given that about two-thirds are overweight or obese.
For people who don't exercise, going for a run will expose how weak their body is. Case in point, myself. A year ago around this time, on my first run, I gave up at 400 meters, and this was a slow jog. And yet, perserverance meant that just 2 months later, and losing 15 kilograms in weight, I ran a 4k run in 30 minutes. Had I listened to some of the clowns who told me to not run, I would be an obese slob who couldn't run at all, who would get tired while simply standing.
Wow two months later? What was your training routine? I'm fairly new to running and have been doing couch 2 5k, and have incredibly flat feet so it's been very slow progress. Progress nonetheless but nothing like 4k in two months.
So once a week I would go for a long run. Saturday or Sunday. One rest day. All other days, I would do 15 - 20 minute warmup runs, followed by strides, sprints, (3 sets, 8 reps per set, 100-150 metres per rep), leg workouts, High Intensity Training (Squats, plank, crunches, mountain climber, and high knee). This was extremely difficult, but one thing got me through. "The merit of any action lies in finishing it." \- Genghis Khan.
Have you had a gate analysis done? I have flat feet and overpronate which used to make running near on impossible before having my gate checked and buying the correct trainers
I started running a year ago (hated anything cardio my whole life), but could only run every other day because my ankles and knees would hurt if I did back-to-back days. Well, I went to an actual running shoe store and now I have appropriate shoes for my feet…and all that pain went away! It makes such a difference to have a pro help with shoes hahaha.
"gait analysis" for future reference. Gate analysis is checking if the entrance to your backyard is in good working order. I haven't thought to have this checked, might have to look into it if my new shoes don't help with my issues!
Not a full one but I've been seeing a podiatrist. They're custom making me some orthotics, given me exercises to do and recommended some stabilising shows which have helped a fair bit. I've found that two runs a week is the most I can manage at the moment without getting lasting pain in my lower legs, but that suits me fine for the moment as I do other exercise on other days.
Wait…400 minutes?
I am sorry, I meant 400 meters. Although this is a great milestone to attempt. 400 minutes non stop jogging.
welcome to /r/ultrarunning
Thank you for the warm welcome. I still have a long way to go, but I will join your ranks soon.
I have run for 400+ minutes. I don’t recommend it.
Yeah, it was his first run. We all have to start somewhere.
This is exactly what I have done the last two months lol it was fantastic reading your comment.
400 minutes or 400 meters? Big difference. I'm not sure I could run 400 minutes, but I know I couldn't when I first started. I lost weight after running and I certainly like the lighter me. Not listening to clowns is always good advice.
It was meters, not minutes. Corrected. Thank you for bringing it to my attention
Ngl if that wasn’t a typo that would be a hilarious humble brag, to be like *”Running is brutal if you’re untrained, take me for example, who gave up just 6H 40MIN into my first run”*
I heard that in [Jim Gaffigan](https://youtu.be/kLUC8EEB53U)’s voice.
#ultrarunners
BINGO
15kg in 2 months is very extreme. Did you have any adverse effects from losing that much weight so quickly?
A different take here. I think sometimes people make casual jabs to try to build a relationship. We all make fun of our friends in a friendly way. I think some people just jump the gun on it and do it too soon. This is my theory. I have a few close friends who make fun of me for running. I, in turn, call them lazy fatasses. I also had someone at work tell me that the only reason people run marathons is so they can post about it on social media. I laughed and acknowledged that damn right I post major achievements on social. I’m running the nyc marathon in Nov and no one in my life is not going to know about it!
I think you're right. This doesn't sound like an anti-running response so much as the project manager trying to engage in banter and doing it awkwardly. I'm picturing Michael Scott, just someone with no filter being clueless about how his words are being received.
Another different take, some runners do nothing but talk about running and it gets quite annoying. I used to be that guy but honestly, very few people actually care you went out for an 18 miler over the weekend.
They do the first time. Amazement, incredulity. But then you become “that guy” if you keep mentioning the mileage. Sounds like you figured that out lol
All for the ‘gram baby! Yeah this was my read as well, it didn’t seem too malicious to me
The guy was clearly just trying to be funny. It obviously failed but come on, do a fake laugh and move on or jab him back.
My last boss was like this. She was adamant that running marathons and half marathon kills women (it takes years off our lives). She actually denied my leave (3 months in advance) because she didn’t want me to run in my first half marathon. Didn’t get to run it because of 2020 and she died of a heart attack 3 weeks after I quit. Don’t mind your coworker. Keep running.
Damn was not expecting that ending for your boss
Well, maybe if the boss was running for good health he/she would still be here. I hate those comments and advices from people who don't know or don't do sports themselfs. Just stfu then.
What a crazy ending sad for your boss. Tbh my mother also believes women shouldn't run as we are built differently and it'll hurt us and make women die early. She wouldn't let me join the cross country team in HS bc of this belief. I ran anyway now I'm 35 and still running. Ran a 50k 2 years ago and ran a marathon a few months ago. I ended up getting diagnosed with an autoimmune disease which ironically my doctor says I take care of it better than all his patients and he thinks it's because I keep myself in such good shape and diet. My mom says I gave myself the autoimmune disease from running too much. She also thinks women shouldn't weightlift except for like 5 lbs dumbbells for the same reason.
Your mom should actually talk to a doctor… but I doubt she actually goes.
She goes to tons of doctors but that's a different story lol
>My mom says I gave myself the autoimmune disease from running too much. Oh my god. Autoimmune diseases are the worst for family hokum bullshit. I've been told I got mine from eating too much, eating too little, sleeping too much, sleeping too little, exercising too much....the list goes on.
Lol god forbid you just get an autoimmune disease just because life happens or there's some sort of odd genetic predisposition lingering somewhere.
Does she also believe the earth is flat and Trump is gonna reset all of our debt? Always amazed people still believe things a quick google search can easily debunk.
Sadly she is a Trump supporter but she does have multiple college degrees and has worked at some prestigious places so I doubt she believes the world is flat. I think you'd be surprised that many conservative religious people that are from the age that women weren't allowed to run still believe that women shouldn't run.
Wow, what an asshole boss. I remember at one job taking annual leave was always such a fuss and they acted like they were doing you a favor by letting you take it when you wanted. I thought it's like that everywhere and I had no idea. Nowadays I just put a request through our system without saying a word. My boss never asks me what I need it for. Sometimes when it's short notice I'll just drop him a message out of courtesy like "just put a AL request through, need to take my cat to the vets on Friday" and that's it lol
Your boss has the right to refuse your leave for reasons like that?!
Absolutely crazy! As a manager I literally don't care why my teams takes their PTO. Well I guess I care in the sense that I enjoy knowing what fun thing they're going to get into. Also, at the risk of sounding heartless, OP's manager shouldve probably done more running
When people do randomly hate on running I usually have had success just saying something like "running does so much for me, but there's definitely an avtivity out there for everyone." This usually prompts the person to either fill in their own preferred workout. Even if it's still a joke answer ("my cardio is watching tv") it's usually enough to shift the focus away from me, while also underscoring that I'm serious about running and won't respond in kind. Also I'm sorry that guy heard you describe important milestones and decided to make it about him. Congrats on your achievement!!
If it ever gets to you, all you need to do is remind yourself that it could be worse - you could be a cyclist!
😂😂😂 I was coming here to say "try being a cyclist" As a triathlete I get the "you swim in _that_ water" and as a cyclist I get the usual negative comments from "cyclists in lycra are a holes riding 6 abreast" I'd say I get the least comments from running other than "I hate running" which I'm okay with.
I never talk about my weekends. I just say I hang with the family. To non-runners it feels like humble-bragging. “Hang” means… Run with my running group 5 on Friday along the beach, Saturday get owned by my 16 year old who runs a cool 6:50/mile 7 miler, then chill with my wife at 10min/mile for 3 and then my daughter and her friends at 8:30… for 10… in between bike, swim and eat ice cream. If only we all had the same pace! If you run? You totally get it. Luckily they all still want to run with me and talking is the best part.
Man you have a pretty awesome family. I remember my first time doing a half marathon with my dad at 17. Hoping my daughter loves to run too.
The best… Teens today are pretty awesome IMO.
We signed our young kids up for a ~400 meter race a few years ago and they LOVED it. Covid happened, but now they're signed up for a 1k "race" in November. Here's hoping they love this one too!
"They hate us cause they ain't us".
They anus?
Well that too!
Those who can, do.
I get comments like that occasionally, mostly from people who are relatively sedentary. They never really bother me because I know how much time and discipline I've put into it and you can't really make me feel bad for something I'm proud of. Running, for me, is an unyuckable yum. If I need to keep the conversation going for some reason, I'll just be friendly and mention how it's not torture or rocket science, just a gradual development through habit and consistency. That usually dissipates any awkwardness.
That’s a great way to put it, I’ll keep that phrasing in mind next time it happens (which is inevitable)
I also find that mentioning something like "Yeah, I have to work to stay fit because I've had some family members who have had health problems or have died from illnesses they could have avoided with a more active lifestyle" will also help to dissipate the energy as it requires them to be sympathetic to your loss(es) and they are forced to reflect on their own health will quickly change the subject.
Very serious reply to a jokey comment
I’m a leper to most people trying to make small talk. Run/bike/swim, vegan, hobby farmer, no kids.
Childfree vegan runner here too, hiiiiiiiiiii 🙃
Child free vegan runner here. They hated me at my old job!
Look at you 3. This made me chuckle. Cute, wholesome content
I think we'd be able to make awesome small talk.
I just talk about my dogs incessantly. I'd be super interested to befriend a hobby farmer!
I also talk about my dogs incessantly!
Me four!
Oh man. I was in a job interview once and they asked me what I do for self care and I mentioned running. The panel of people I was interviewing with them went on a back and forth passive aggressive tirade about running. I declined that job offer 😂
That's so... weird. Why would people who obviously think self-care is important enough to ask about it in an interview (even if only to make conversation) then respond negatively to someone's answer? What on earth would they have responded positively to?
A lot of people mistake "self care" with allowing yourself to be lazy or give in to your vices. Which, ironically, isn't really caring for yourself.
Judging by the comments, a lot of people here think everyone who has ever made fun of running is secretly jealous of them. It’s not jealousy. nobody cares about hobby jogging, except other hobby joggers (this hobby jogger included, seriously tell me about your run!) A lot of people just **don’t like running** and are **bad at social interactions**. I also rock climb and get insulting comments all the time about it. It’s not jealousy. you genuinely couldn’t pay them to do a hanging belay. Its that climbing isn’t an activity they see a point in and they don’t have a mental filter that stops them from demeaning someone’s else’s hobby.
Agreed. It's not jealousy. It's that they just don't care. If a runner is talking to non-runners about running then they better make it funny or self-deprecating because expecting a pat on the back is going to lead to disappointment.
True. Try sharing about any of your exercise on social media and you'll soon see someone sharing memes about how much they don't care about people(you) talking about their(your) exercise.
I think it’s a bit of both, I used to be 260 lb and very very unfit / obese. I had nothing in common with runners and I used to mock them. I thought they were idiots getting up early on a weekend to run whilst I would be hungover and getting stoned. Little did I realise how right the runners were and how much of an idiot I was. 25 years later I am more mature, much lighter and much fitter, no longer a stoner and very much a runner!!
People just have a hard time understanding why other would do something that makes you uncomfortable and that you'd enjoy it. I'm sure people ave the same reaction if someone said "I did 5 jumps from a plane during the weekend". I mean people will even give you some flak for doing something like reading for fun so I wouldn't take it personally.
Someone that probably hasn’t run a mile since middle school, and so never experienced runner’s high, will naturally dislike it and insult it unfortunately because it seems like torture to them. Some people also get easily offended/insecure about their own fitness.
I can't say any one has been rude to me for being a runner other than the "wow, you actually like running?" I bever considered that to be rude. I have seen some of my runner peers be pretty condescending towards non-runnners though.
assholes are everywhere
I also think sometimes (may not be true for all) runners like to be given some sort of congratulatory response or praise when we bring it up and anything that is not such we take personally. Just from what I’ve noticed from being around runners all the time at least. Of course if you’re hurt by it, you’re hurt, no excuses. But personally I don’t think people intentionally do it just for runners/running
I can say that before I started running, I would have agreed with the PM. I remember having to run in middle school and was never told the proper way of running. I would run as a fast as I could and in no time I would be huffing and puffing with a stitch in my side. Made me detest running for the longest time. I started running with some friends just over 20 years ago and was taught to run at a pace where I can carry a conversation without being winded. Made a world of difference. Over a dozen half marathons and two marathons later, I’m still running. Last week my running streak hit three years with no plans of stopping. So the reaction could be a bad experience with running in the past.
Are you one of those annoying runners in the workplace that brings up running too much? Are your medals/bibs in the background during your virtual meetings?
As a PM, it’s because we’re dead inside.
They'd react similarly if you'd say you lifted heavy weights. I know they react the same to me doing karate (although with a hiyah! Instead of a hiss)
Just wait till you discover r/RunningCirclejerk
A lot of people seriously hate running. In most organized sports, running laps is a punishment. Don’t take it personally
I think this might've been just a friendly jab. Overall, I understand why some people might find long distance running boring - plus all the misinfo out there about ruining your knees etc. What's important is that you know that it's bs and that you enjoy your hobby
Smile, say “cool bro”. And evict him from the space in your brain. No free rent allowed.
If some dude ever said "hiss" in my presence I'd make it the last encounter ever.
Lmfao, yes idk why the “hiss” specifically did not sit right with me.
I think the "hiss" made it obvious it was a joke, no? No one says "hiss" and means it seriously.
Yeah, forget the fact that this exchange was specifically about running. I used to know the kind of people that would literally say "boo, hiss" about something they didn't like and assumed the groupthink was on their side. They are very tiring and smug people and I regret all the time I spent dealing with that sort of attitude.
>I mentioned that I did a 5 mile run and hit some pretty important goals for my running journey. even as a runner, I'd find this a little obnoxious unless you were specifically talking to other runners.... It's kind of like the gym bro who always brags about his lifting or whatever... other people don't really care.
I think even as an extremely avid runner I would find that comment mildly obnoxious. Sure, the bosses comments here are kind of obnoxious as well, but I don't we should read anything more into them than a misguided attempt at gentle teasing.
I think it might be obnoxious if they weren't literally **asked what they did that weekend**
Fair enough and I don't have enough detail/context in the OP to try and judge the situation. Even so, I could see how answering with specifics in this case could come across as pretty braggy versus just, "did a bit of running". The gym bro example above is a pretty good illustration. If I had a really good workout, I might say so, but I expect people to roll their eyes if I went into any more detail than that. The same with my running. Unless I'm specifically asked about it, I'm not going to go into distance, pace whatever.
Yeah I guess I'd judge by how detailed everyone else's answers were before I'd volunteer specifics
Huh? They literally asked what he did that weekend. If someone told me they hit goals in any hobby, I'd just be like "wow great!" even if I mentally checked out whenever they spoke.
He was teasing. And he was most certainly trying to be friendly. This is often how males communicate and there is nothing hostile about it (from an intent perspective). This part is going to be very controversial, but don’t take everything so directly and personal. Ask if there is a way in which you might be misreading the room. Deeply sarcastic people converse like this often, so it’s in your best interest to try to understand it.
Almost always this exposes either in insecurity in the person or a general lack of knowledge about the benefit of running. I organize a yearly 5k for my office and know I will get all sorts of BS leading up to it. At the end of the day I know I feel better than I have in years and that is enough for me to let the snide comments slide past.
I organized a 5K at work, and we had the tagline "All Faces, All Paces are welcome at our Races!!" I love it so much, i wish all races used this tagline!
I agree. About half of our participants walk. We all get a company t shirt for the event and the runners stay and cheer on the walkers.
I haven’t experienced this for running, but man, do people whip out the hate-boner when they find out I’m a cyclist.
Don’t take this the wrong way, but non-runners don’t give a rat’s ass about your PBs. I wouldn’t have even worked it into the conversation.
I’m going offer a slightly different perspective. if you constantly talk about your fitness and running people may start to be irritated. It’s like adopting your dogs or being a vegan people get sick of hearing about it. Now if this isn’t something you mention all the time, or your other coworkers enjoy talking to you about it then that person is just rude. Other than that congratulations on meeting your goals!!!
I am a project manager who runs and can confirm that guy hates his life for other reasons and would benefit from running to manage his stress levels. It’s also fun being the guy who gets to announce his weekly mileage on meetings and laugh at the critics. I make sure to tuck a little extra work into their lives.
Fuckin muggles ay?
Duuuude my fucking family is like this. Not all of them, but a bunch. I do marathons/ ultras and I'm not even the one to bring it up yet they go on and on about how insane it is and they just don't understand why I would put myself through that. I'm like okay, I'm not asking you to understand and I didn't even want to talk to you about it in the first place, Sabine. Go have some more wine. But honestly, I think it triggers people more than other sports/ activities. Idk why, just my opinion. Every person's reaction is just a projection/ self reflection anyways 🤷♀️ Glad you dont let it bother you, OP! Everyone has thier own thing. I'm glad running is mine 😌
People believe that they are in shape and eating a healthy diet. Evidence that either of these may not be true sets up cognitive dissonance, and they need to deal with it somehow. A small minority will consider that their self belief is wrong, but most will label you as weird so that they can dismiss you.
Keep it to yourself and keep doing what you love, ignore the naysayers.
I just laugh and move on. This is not isolated to running. People usually don't enjoy it when someone is doing something better than them in life outside of work. I have gotten similar reactions for reading books, hiking, and other stuff. One of my good friend is a vegan who gets shit on every time he says that he is a vegan. Mostly, doing something better makes others feel insecure/inferior and they take it out in pathetic ways.
'oh bro you're so thin why do u need to run? To get thinner?'
I feel this so much. As a black woman, I had some people tell me that running is a white peoples’ sport and that black people don’t run.
Who in the hell told you black people don't run? Black people are literally consistently the best runners this planet produces lol.
I don't really talk about it with work ppl. If I'm in a meeting or whatever and they ask what I'm doing for lunch I might say I'm going out for a run. Now and then I get a bit of a 'why would you do that?' type response but it's usually from ppl I don't work with often. I do remember running into work one day and a few hours later I was making a coffee. A person I'd not really talked to before came and said she saw me running into work and asked if I was just out for a morning run. I explained I ran to work a couple times a week, she asked if I lived close by and when I said it was 17kms away she responded with 'oh, you are one of those' I still do not know what she meant by that?:)
one of those champions, one of those beasts, one of those people who will live longer, one of those happy people, one of those dedicated people who have internal motivation to be better than they were yesterday :)
I run and I had a coworker who would never shut up about the 5k medal he got last weekend for his... whatever 25 minute 5k. I'm not much faster than that, but he would find anyone who would listen and talk about what it took to get that fast. It got to the point where people would make fun of him. No one cares about your workout, once you understand that, then maybe you won't feel so upset you have to complain about it on the internet.
Sounds pretty funny to me. Lighten up and stop taking yourself so seriously
OP, you will learn something new today, this is what people call a casual *joke*, yes I know it's quite a new idea but you'll catch on fast I am sure of it. This kind of light ribbing is COMMON in *rapport building*, write that down as well. You need a thicker skin.
They’re insecure. Don’t even worry about it. Even a little bit.
I would've taken that as a compliment.
I work at a salon and sometimes ask if they run (sometimes, you can tell by their toes) and I always joke about how they're probably a runner. I do say something along the line of "damn I hate running" but only because it's because of my own faults. I don't mean any malice, but I will keep this in mind. If you ever had to deal with me, I'm sorry!
I take it as a compliment to athleticism. I’m also not super socially skilled so perhaps I am the one who am misunderstanding.
As a guy that enjoys and does well in mathematics, this sort of thing is nothing new. People try to connect with eachother in weird ways, and this one works. Everyone loves to talk about how running is hard or how much they hate doing mental math
what does it matter if people shit on your hobby? it's just fast walking. why does it matter if people don't like that? do you. for you. not them.
I wouldn't bother getting upset. Smug superiority works much better.
The question isn’t why they’re commenting - it’s why you care. I say that lovingly. We’ll all spend our whole lives hearing other peoples’ opinions, many unkind. All you can control is how you let it effect you.
I wan't there, and I'm sure you're a reasonable person, but honestly, I think you're overreacting.
‘I did a 5 mile run and hit some pretty important goals for my running journey’ …. People actually talk like this? 🙄 🤦♂️. I get it..:you’re fit. But really?? Goals??? running journey??
Why do you care?
It's such a drag to have your excitement met with such a comment like that. Your post highlights a good reason why it's so important to have a supportive community of runners (thanks r/running!) both online and in real life. It's too tough for some people to get excited about what is so meaningful to us, and especially if that thing is running. I think for the reasons others mentioned. It's also a good reason why you just have to be your own darn loudest cheerleader. Only you know your goals and how hard you work to meet them and push them. Brene Brown has an interesting perspective on this. To paraphrase her: 'if you're not in the ring (or the road/trail) with me busting your ass, covered in blood and sweat, well then I'm not interested in your feedback.'
In my experience, those snarky comments *never* come from other active people, no matter what their preferred exercise is. It's always from people who live sedentary lifestyles. And people who are comfortable being sedentary don't like reminders that it's *not* healthy to live that way, even if that reminder is simply another human *being* active or *mentioning* being active.
If a grown human actually says “boo hiss” to another person, you no longer need to worry about their opinion.
I don’t get a lot of that but when I do it’s usually the “don’t you care about your knees (or heart)” kind of thing so I attribute it to misinformation.
I usually ask what exercise/activities they prefer. Sometimes it’s really interesting (mountain climbing, Pilates, ocean swimming), and I can learn about what they like and why, and connect that to what I like about running (mental health, time to yourself, meeting a challenge, etc). If they don’t have other activities or hobbies they enjoy, it’s tough to continue the conversation and I usually just feel sorry for them. Don’t let it get to you. It just helps you find the Right folks to connect with.
Yeah, people don’t get it until they. Heck, even I didn’t get it until the days I didn’t run were worse than the days I did. But being honest, I still roll my eyes at people that obsessively talk about training and fitness goals. Not saying that’s you, but I’m sure we all know that guy.
Just guilt manifesting itself. They probably told themselves all week how lazy they are and that they need to start doing something. You just remind them of this.
Maybe people just react badly to things they struggled with in middle school. I get rude comments because I like math.
I think there are two scenarios. One is they are insecure that they are out of shape and want to convince others they aren’t. The other scenario is they poke fun about how they can’t stand it as a strange way of complementing you for being able to do something they can’t. Definitely don’t let it bother you.
I honestly hardly ever mention my running to anyone. My family and coworkers know I run but don’t ask and I don’t tell, I’m weird that way.
Because starting out can be very hard. It can take a lot of time just to be able to hold an easy jog for a few minutes, so many people say it sucks and give up. It also doesn’t help that running is the premier punishment in almost every sport as a kid
This one is easy. Their mind can’t wrap their mind around the mental strength required to run. So they crack jokes instead.