Who Am I?

I am an avid runner and have been running since I was 15 years old. I began running low to medium distances while on my high school track team, running the 800 meter and 1600 meter races (I was a sub 5 miler and a 2 minute 800 runner). In addition to the track team, I also joined the cross country team. After high school I still wanted to run and decided to start doing road races. I have probably ran a couple hundred 5k races (16.29 PR)along with many 10k's as well. In 2009 I decided to step up my game and try to tackle my first marathon. I will be honest; the only reason I did this was because my father ran a few and I wanted to show him that I could do what he did. I trained poorly for my first one and regret it. If you are going to run a race, train like you want to win. I still continue to run marathons and other distances as well, and every race is a chance for me to better myself.
I started this blog to hopefully communicate with other runners and to shed any knowledge I may have about the sport that can help other runners. I believe running is the best sport and can be a great stress reliever. I encourage all runners to spread the word of our sport and show people why running is so good and why the community of runners has such great people. You can follow me on twitter @byrne1324 or find me on facebook- Shaun Byrne

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Runners: A Different Breed


I don’t know if anyone else out there is like me, but I find myself getting all sorts of questions from people who are non-runners. Questions like why would you run 26 miles? Don’t you get bored? What shoe brand do you wear? And the always laughable question have you shit yourself while running? I never have but I think I am just going to start telling people I have to watch the reaction on their face. Maybe even throw in some weird details and see if I can really blow their mind.

The reason I bring this up is the other day a fellow co-worker and I were talking about running and I was answering the normal questions. When I left work and got in my car it hit me, us runners are a different breed of people. Our thought process is not like your normal person.

Let me elaborate for you: We plan our whole day out around our run. How many other people do you know will wake up at the ass crack of dawn to go for a long run? Most people if they don’t have to get up are nestled in the covers until that late hours of the morning. Not us though we live for that run, and if we don’t get it in then we will simply cancel our evening plans to make sure we get it in. Just make sure the run doesn’t run too late on a Sunday night or you will miss Runchat on twitter. That’s right we are so crazy we have started to plan our runs and Sunday night around a Q&A session with our closest friends who we have never met. How many times have you pulled up at a stop light and looked over and saw a runner jogging in place, waiting for the light to turn green so they can shoot across the street. Most people look at that little pause from walking as a break to stop and relax. Not us we get a red light and we are pissed at the world. We will train year round to run maybe 2 races of a distance most people don’t want to drive.

A typical person says “oh look it’s snowing out, I am going to make some hot chocolate, watch some TV and relax”. We say “oh look it’s snowing out, I better throw on my tights, and extra compression shirt, and a hat for this run.” How many other people do you know that could care less that they have a face full of frozen snot? Rain just means you’re going to have a wet run. Hot and humid means you are going to need some extra water for the run.
How I feel after every winter run!!

They say running is a free sport. Try telling that to my wife who on a weekly basis is looking at my credit card statement, asking what race did you register for, and why do we need to travel for another race? I mean most of us spend easily hundred dollars every time we need a new pair of shoes, and if you are a hardcore runner chances are you need more than one pair at a time. Our closets are over flowing with shoes and outfits. And let’s be honest here girls you are way worse than us guys. I mean I have a lot of running outfits but you ladies take it to a whole new level. Skirts, bra’s, singlet and shorts are just some things you can buy. For us men its shorts or a singlet, our biggest decision is what color we want to buy. But let us not forget about the small little things we will spend money on, from water bottles that can be held or go around the waist to watches that will tell speed and heart rate. The list of things we will buy can go on and on, Band-Aids for our nipples, Vaseline for our inner thighs. If a person didn’t know me and walked into my house there is a good chance they are going to think I am a pervert with the supply of Vaseline I own.

After everything you have trained for, everything you have spent money on what is the big pay out. A shiny medal that we show off like we have just found a buried treasure.

No in all honestly even If most of us didn’t receive a medal we would still run. There is no greater satisfaction than when you have trained your ass off and put in the time and effort for a race. You have sacrificed time away from love ones, missed out on parties and late night drinking binges. But when your feet cross that finish line the feeling you get is surreal, and validates all our crazy antics were worth it in the end.

4 comments:

  1. Ha ha! This made me laugh out loud. Yep, when we're not actually running, we're talking about running, reading about running, buying things to go running, and planning our runs. Usually, most people I know don't ask me a thing about running because they seem to have no interest. When they do ask something and I start talking and their eyes glaze over, I know to save it for the blog. I know when someone asks, "How was your race?" to just say "Good" now. That's why it's good to find people who are your own breed!

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    1. After I wrote and read it I honestly thought, now I know why people get annoyed with us, it consumes our lives. Which is fine by me!!

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  2. So, so true. You know you are a real runner when it consumes every fiber of your being. I'm proud to be this breed "crazy" though we may be!

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    1. I will take you crazies over the normal people any day!!!

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