Day 45C--What is a runner??

Many times since I told people that I was running the marathon, some version of, "Oh, you're a runner" has been uttered to me. I always respond with some form of, "Not really." It's really gotten me thinking, especially when I heard another person in my training group say the same thing, even though she ran a Half Marathon last year. I told her that, yes, she is a runner. I do know that by the end of this summer, when I've finished the marathon, I hope to be comfortable with the label "Runner."

When I was a child, I never heard of runners, except in the Olympics. Carl Lewis was a runner, but people who ran at home were joggers. I have no idea what the difference between jogging and running actually is, although some put the line at 10 minute miles. Based on that line, I'm not a runner, I'm a jogger. George Sheehan said, "The difference between a jogger and a runner is an entry blank." I like that take on it better, but I still feel that the word jogger is basically the same as runner.

None of this has actually answered my question of what is a runner. I'm starting to feel more like a runner because I miss running when I go more than a couple of days without running. I also am scheduling my life so I don't kill the buzz of the runner's high. I will never be a morning runner out of choice because I like the high too much to ruin it with work.

If any of you have a good definition for "What is a runner?" please let me know. I do know that it's technically just "a person who runs" but that's a bit nebulous for me. Normally I love the strict definition of words, but "runner" seems to have connotations beyond just the dictionary definition.