I’ve been thinking about the word “recreational” a lot.
As in: am I a recreational runner?
Are you?
I ran my first race in 2010.
Since then, I’ve finished eleven half marathons and four marathons.
Most of the runners I coach have run multiple races, too — some have more medals on their walls than I do.
Earlier this year, I read an article from Bloomberg News where a run coach named Krish Natesan divided runners into three groups. “The elites, the chasers (who are really serious but not necessarily earning off running) and the newbies.”
But I wouldn’t classify myself, or most of the runners I know as “newbies”.
Or as elites or “chasers” either.
And, as a worldwide study of runners demonstrates, us “recreational” runners are in the majority around the world.
Most of the time, articles about distance runners who aren’t professional but who spend a lot of time dedicated to running are defined as “recreational.”
And while I don’t have a problem with that from a scientific standpoint — researchers have to be able to separate us from the professionals, even if in name only — this definition, and Natesan’s, bugged me.
