Guest Post: Alisha Perkins on what it means to be a 'runner'

Alisha Perkins is a runner and a mother (hence her Twitter handle) in addition to being the wife of Twins closer Glen Perkins. She has written for numerous publications -- including her own web site and for Women's Running. She was kind enough to share some thoughts in this space, too, on how she defines being a "runner."

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"I often hear someone say, "I am not a real runner". We are ALL runners. Some just run faster than others. I never met a fake runner."

-- Bart Yasso (CRO of Runners World)

A real "runner" -- what constitutes that? When do you consider yourself in those terms? When can you attach that word to your name?

I struggled with this, as many do. The word "runner" comes with a lot of expectations and allure. When you start to use that word people assume you know what you are talking about and you must log crazy miles. They assume you are more than a jogger that you must be in love with running.

That of course is a lot to take on, a lot that a little word puts on your shoulders. I wanted so badly to be a "runner" but also was super cautious to use that word unless I meant it. I wanted to make sure I could meet the criteria before I went throwing that term around.

I am not sure that it was one moment specifically that changed my mentality, but if I had to pinpoint it -- had to make it time specific -- for me it would have been the day I signed up for my very first (and so far only) full marathon. Up until that day I had done 12 half marathon and three 10-mile races, so by all accounts I was certainly a runner but in my mind I had yet to officially deem myself worthy of the title.

The day I signed up for the marathon things changed. I was going to do this, accomplish something that less than 0.5% of the American population had ever done and if that didn't make me a "runner," I didn't know what would.

Crossing the finish line of that very marathon it dawned on me that while I was over the moon about this incredible accomplishment, I did not need it to be a runner. A runner is someone who runs, simple as that. It doesn't matter the distance or the time. It doesn't matter the age or number of races. All that matters is that you are out there pounding the pavement.

I would be lying if I said that the word won't always hold a little too much prestige in my mind and that it will always be a little daunting to me. But we are all runners -- the fast, the slow, the old, the young, the accomplished, and the virgins. If you lace up and head out then you are a runner, no two ways about it.

To be honest, even though I consider myself a runner, there are still people who make me think I am nothing but a "jogger." Those people for whom running seems so easy and effortless. The ones who seem to put it above all else and who give you a contact high just being around their running effervescence. I want to be one of those people, though I am pretty sure I don't have the drive or speed to ever be them, so I will just continue my awe while barely holding onto to my "runner" title.

For me being a runner means you love it. You love the feeling of being out on the open road, the quiet outside while your insides unravel. Loving the pure fatigue and elation you feel when it is done and looking forward to when you can do it again.

Being a runner means looking at the world differently, and seeing your body differently. Being thankful for a world that you can only see parts of by foot and being grateful for a body that is not perfect but strong enough to get you to where you are going.

A runner is simply a person looking for something they know they can only find where exhaustion meets release, out on the corner of God's creation.

Are you a runner?