What makes someone a runner?
Sometimes, when some people talk about the marathon, they talk about the time it takes (See NY Times v. M. Wittenberg) and what's valid. That's a loser's game though, there's no way of drawing the line in the statistcal sand that's useful for the 40,000 people that run New York or the the quarter million that run a marathon each year. It's individual.
For some people, it means a certain number of miles per week, 20, 30, 50. Any less than that, and they are not part of the club in their own mind. Fair enough, if you are talking about yourself; but not in general
For me, it boils down to discipline and focus and I know when I've got these two things down because my running goes to another level. I'm a fairly undisciplined, unfocused person though, so that doesn't happen often enough. I feel guilty about this, particularly when people are surprised that I'm not faster at a particular event. This is usually the marathon, which is not my strength anyway.
The truth is I am a horribly undisciplined and unfocused person. I'm pretty lazy and I'm easily distracted by shiny things. I don't like to bring my focus to bear on one thing nearly ever (I'm a total crackberry addict), and while you can do other things while running (not the crackberry) - to really run well, you need to be focused on it, on the doing. I'm comfortable saying if you aren't bringing a certain amount of focus to a run, you probably aren't making much of an effort.
I think that's why a lot of people get up in arms about the music issue - listening to music while running may help some people, but it does detract from your ability to focus on yourself, on your running. Without music, you hear yourself breathe and you hear your sneaks hit the pavement or the trail. I run with music, I won't consider giving it up voluntarily if I'm on my own. I'd blow off a workout first (HE LACKS DISCIPLINE!). That said, the few races I've run without music for one reason or another, I've run pretty damn well. For me though, music helps me be a better runner. It may take away a bit of my focus but it helps me maintain the discipline.
So, as so often is the case, running becomes a metaphor for life and as with most things in life it isn't very simple to answer the question what makes someone a runner and what makes them a jogger or just an exerciser or whatever.
For me though, it comes down to focus and discipline and the time that I've harnessed them to a certain degree, that's when I'm a runner.
