Chad Stafko wrote this delightful little gem of an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, entitled, “Ok, You’re a Runner. Get Over It”.

And by delightful, I mean totally obnoxious.

He expressed his irritation in the rise of people participating in the sport of running, and most specifically, with those 26.2 stickers you see on folks’ cars, which you affix to the bumper once you’ve completed a full marathon.

He theorizes that runners run only for attention, they run for the selfies, they run for the glory, and they don their gear so that people in society can identify them as runners.

There are folks that do everything for the attention that it will get them.  They like attention.  And there’s nothing the matter with that.

But to suggest that runners, and more specifically, marathoners do it for the attention, is just ludicrous.  I began running after I lost the almost 30 pounds that had crept on throughout college, and after I’d exhausted every other machine in the gym, taken every class there was to take, and I was looking for a means to maintain a healthy weight without boring myself to tears.

I’d read an article in Fitness Magazine, where Jillian Michaels was asked this question.

“What one thing do you never skip in your workout?

This is ironic. As much as I hate it, I run every time, like three miles. It makes you skinny, that’s why. It works.”

So I set out to run at least three miles a day to maintain my weight and the muscle I’d begun to build.

And then I ran a little further.

And next thing I knew, I’d signed up for a marathon, and was chugging along in the wind, wondering what in god’s name I’d been thinking of when I’d signed up.

I run because:

• It helps me maintain a healthy weight. 
• It’s cheap (relatively speaking).   It’s a little cheaper for me because I work in the best place ever, a Fleet Feet, where I have a lot of resources at my disposal.
• You never “master” running.  It’s always a challenge.  There’s always something you can do better, you can always run a little faster or a little harder.  One day you’ll have a crappy run, another you’ll have a great one.  That’s cool.
• The friendships that you form.  At last week’s Jingle Ball, a Raleigh event, the room was full of runners, people from my run club, good people who care about others.
• It makes me feel pretty.  It makes me feel strong, pretty, and tall.

No nowhere on that list did I mention that I like to be seen.  Like I love the bragging rights.  That I wear the bright colors for the attention (I just happen to like bright colors, and they keep me from getting hit by a car especially during the winter months, when it’s dark for half the day).  I’ve purchased a 26.2 sticker, but I bought a new car soon after I finished my first marathon, so it never made it to my car.  I talk about fitness a lot because it changed my life.  But because I can be seen?  Because of the bragging rights?  Nope, I worked.  WE work for that sticker.  And if we do put it on our cars, it’s not a bragging thing, it’s to identify our brother’s and sisters in 26.2. 

Okay dolls, rant completely over.  I love you.

Check out my new running threads that I wear for attention!

This was our holiday gift we received from our lovely bosses form Fleet Feet, the Moving Comfort Foxie full-zip.  It’s gorgeous, has HUGE pockets, they got them embroidered for us, and I ran in it on Saturday – it’s toasty too!

So whenever I’m seeking my much-needed attention and validation from others, I’ll pop this bad boy on, and hit a public venue, where people can ooh and ahh over me.  Right, Chad Stafko?