Taking it back

 No, not something I've said.

I stand firmly behind all of my blitherings!

I'm taking back a term that has been used in derogatory fashion by certain folks who often think quite highly of themselves, regardless of whether or not their esteem is deserved.

I might get a bit salty, but I promise there will still be pretty photos.

The term? Hobby jogger.

*cue dramatic sky* Dun dun DUUUUUUN

If you're sitting there wondering what it's supposed to mean, I'll reference the Urban Dictionary for you (for the first and - if we're all lucky - last time on this blog):

"Term of mild abuse describing recreational runners. Normally invoked by more experienced and accomplished athletes.

I watched the New York Marathon on TV last week and after the first couple of hundred went by it was wall to wall hobby joggers."

Because why shouldn't everything be subject to elitism, right?

Here's the thing: if you want to be that guy (or girl, or possibly small ornamental teapot - you do you, folks!) who is hyper-focused on squeezing every drop of performance out of the meat suit you wear, that's heckin' awesome. If you find success and get showered in glorious podium finishes, I am absolutely stoked for you! 

You know there's a giant "however" coming..

HOWEVER (see? Look how smart you are!), if you think for one hot second - maybe that second you just shaved off your mile PR - that your results give you the right to look down on other people who may not care as much about being the best & fastest, you're dead wrong. 

There's so much more to life than "get faster"

I've been known to push myself pretty hard in races from time to time, and occasionally even get lucky when the fast people stayed home; I've stepped up on a few podiums myself here and there, though typically with times that would make the sort of person who uses "hobby jogger" like an epithet sneer. What keeps me running, though - day in, day out, week after week and year after year - is the joy it brings, through the things I get to see and experience along the way.

Like the weird light of an overcast winter day

If my primary goal were performance, I'd likely have a training plan set out that would prescribe certain paces and times I'd have to try to hit every week, rather than simply listening to my body and mind and letting myself run according to the day. 

I almost certainly couldn't just decide to throw down a snowshoe run because the conditions happened to be perfect that afternoon.

I'd have to be focused on staying in my target heart rate zone, paying attention to my watch's display of my metrics rather than to the world around me.

Which would mean I might miss the beauty of this creative and eco-friendly ornament..

..or the frosty beauty of one of summer's forgotten fungi.

I'd have to choose places to train that would let me dictate my pace by my effort, rather than flowing with the lay of the land as it rolls over roots and rocks, and flows in frozen streams.

How am I supposed to do 3 x 5mins at 5k pace through this?

I'm delighted that there are people out there who push the limits of human performance to ever-higher marks - I respect their dedication and effort, but even if I were to focus my energies to the same degree and fulfill 100% of my true running potential, I'd still be left in the dust of almost anyone but the most average of athletes. I don't have much talent, and made poor choices in my youth that further impaired my chances of ever lighting the world on fire with my athleticism. So, instead I run for joy.

And sometimes stop and tuck myself into a hollow tree, just because.

I jog. As a hobby. Hobby...jogger. I'm owning it, but I'll never think myself less for doing so. Running might not mean the same thing to me as it does to someone else, but what a bore it would be if we were all the same. I certainly can't say that I enjoy it every single run - there are times when I just want to laze on the couch instead, and days when the best thing about running is that I eventually got to stop - but it's good more often than it's not, so I'll just keep trotting around with my phone camera handy, until age or injuries prevent me, or it ceases to be fun.

After all, it's just a hobby, right?

I hope you never encounter anyone who tries to make you feel like you're lesser because you approach something differently than they do, but if you do I 100% have your back. Just run your own run, and know that you're probably having more fun!