Non-Runners are from Venus, Runners are from Mars

How to explain your passion
for running to those who don't run.

By Paul Baltutis

The first six articles in my South Texas Fitness and Health running column were intended to give you the tools to get started into long distance running. I advised you on the importance of finding the right running shoes, helped you locate a local running club or group and pointed you to several running trails or courses to venture in the greater San Antonio area. Now, here comes the hard part - explaining your running lifestyle to your friends, family members and co-workers. This is a nearly impossible feat that often becomes the runner's greatest challenge.

For example, when you try to explain to people your inclination to run, you usually get that "deer in the headlights look." Practical reasons such as: "It provides stress release," "It improves my mood," "It clears my mind," "It takes the edge off the day," don't seem to register to non-runners whose mantra is "no pain is no pain." It is like non-runners are from Venus and runners are from Mars. Knowing that no answer will satisfy them, just tell them what they want to hear; that is, "We runners are just a bunch of lunatics." This is basically the core of what "Ultramarathon Man" Dean Zarnezes tells people when he is asked about his penchant for ultra running.

I recently heard Karnezes speak at the Los Angeles Marathon Expo. Karnezes has made quite a name for himself in the running community by doing some remarkable things. He broke his own record of running consecutively by completing 350 consecutive miles, a feat that required him to run for over three consecutive days (and nights). He has won the Bad Water 130-mile race, which goes from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney in the middle of summer, and he has finished under the 24-hour time limit in the Western States 100-miler for 10 consecutive years. He has written a book called Ultramarathon Man, which made the New York Times bestseller list. He's also made several television appearances and gives talks about himself and the sport.

Karnezes comes across right away as an intelligent guy with a free spirit. He offers a different explanation about why he runs from the standard answer. Rather than getting defensive about his ultra running, he diffuses the situation by speaking plainly in unapologetic terms about his running. He says it's about lunacy.

1. Ultra runners lack common sense.
True enough. As many a non-runner runner will promptly tell you, "I don't run. We have cars nowadays to get us where we're going." Runners don't exactly run as a means of transport, so now runners and non-runners can both agree that driving a car 26 miles would probably get you tired.

2. Ultra marathoners thrive on insomnia.
Ultra marathoners are known to run through the night while the rest of us are curled up inside a nice warm bed. I'm not much into running 24 hours straight, but like most runners, I have set my alarm for the wee hours of the morning to go for a long run or go to a race. You do what you've got to do, and sometimes you do it by moonlight.

3. Ultra marathoners use poor judgment.
We run extremely long distances, we run in the rain, in the cold, in the dark, we run in the heat, we run through injuries, and we run when we're exhausted. All these things don't make much sense and would stop a non-runner in his tracks. Again we are not defending this position, we are just saying, "Unfortunately, we can't help ourselves."

So the next time you find yourself faced with someone there asking you those non-runner questions such as "Why do you run?" "How far is a marathon?" "Isn't running bad for your knees?" "Don't you get bored?" just tell them all about the three premises, excuse yourself and say, "Well, gotta run!" -- which brings us to the last premise to consider.

4. Always have an exit strategy.

Paul Baltutis is the manager of Soler's Sports at 5933 Broadway and a certified marathon coach for the South Texas Chapter of Team in Training. Contact him at sage_run03@yahoo.com.