20 Things No One Tells You About Running

When I first started running a few years ago, I was one clueless newbie. For a sport that is supposedly so simple, running can actually be kind of complex.

Here are some secrets that you might learn about running after you’ve been doing it for awhile.

1.  Your feet will look like crap. Blisters, black toenails, callouses. If you get pedicures, just apologize when you go in.

2.  When people (non-runner types) learn you are a runner, they often like to tell you how much they hate running or that running will ruin your knees.

3.  You don’t have to look like a runner to be a runner.

4.  If you only run and don’t do anything else (cross train, strength train), you will probably get injured.

5.  Most people, especially non-runners, really don’t care that much about your running.

6. You will run a race and in the middle of the race you will tell yourself you will never do this again. Yet, 30 minutes after you are done you will surf the Internet for your next race. Running is kind of like childbirth that way.

7. You will go through phases where you feel totally inadequate as a runner.

8.  You will go through phases where you feel totally like a rock star as a runner.

9. You might gain weight instead of lose weight while training for a marathon.

10.  Having a spare pair of shorts in your car is important. Soiling of all kinds can happen.  Eww!

11.  You will be pissed if someone refers to you as a “jogger” instead of a “runner.”

12.  Sometimes other runners won’t always say “hi” to you when you run by them.

13.  You might pee yourself while your run, or worse.

14. Running is expensive. It’s not just about a pair of shoes and shorts and a top. There are race entries, massages, watches, sports bras, cute running skirts, gels, blocks and recovery stuff.

15. You will get addicted. Yes, there are worse things to be obsessed about than running (like meth and prostitutes), but you might be surprised by how hooked you get into the whole running thing once you start.

16. After awhile, you cannot get the stench out of your running clothes.

17.  You will never be the fastest runner you know. You will always never be the slowest runner you know.

18.  Farts happen. A lot.

19.  Running performance is as much, if not more, about mental strength as your physical strength.

20. You will never forget crossing the finish line of your first marathon or half marathon. That moment in time will come to mean a lot to you. Your feet might not even touch the ground.

Are any of the above true for you?

What other “running secrets” did you learn once you started running?

SUAR