Three categories of runner on letsrun

Total fitness wrote:

I see the term hobbyjogger being banded about on here ( with some disdain and almost contempt by a few).

I would say that hobbyjogger is one of the categories of runner on here…and in my opinion there is nothing wrong with it. I regard myself as one.
A hobbyjogger runs for the love of it. They probably run for the peace and mental health benefits, as well as the physical. They enjoy the process far more than the results. Any results are largely side effects of what they are doing. Goals are not set and are more abstract than concrete.

The next category is the proper athlete. These are the runners who are competing for a team, or for some financial or social benefit ( scholarships etc). They are near the sharp end of the gene pool and their efforts contribute in some way to their current lifestyle and standing.

The third group (and I’d like to coin a new term here) is the athlete wannabe. Their ability stretches from hobbyjogger level to just below the true athlete. What separates them from hobbyjoggers is that they often tie their own self worth up with their efforts and even more so with their results. This is despite the fact that most often it is only they, or maybe a few of their running companions, that truly care about their achievements.

Unlike the hobbyjogger who is able to relax during and between their running sessions, the athlete wannabe stresses about the correct training sessions at the right time, adequate mileage, various training approaches and their relative merits, the best shoes etc. Running adds stress, more so than enjoyment. Very often sessions HAVE to be done, rather than are wanted to be performed. To paraphrase a quote from Jeff Galloway…running faster is not about health, more about ego. This is something that the hobbyjogger does not have, and does not require…an ego to be fed via running. In this regard it is a good thing, as it frees the hobbyjogger from the shackles of self pressure and expectation. The watch and the Strava are not necessary for these people, but are almost necessities for the athlete wannabe.

I would say that the athlete wannabe group is the biggest on here by far.

Did I miss anything? Any other group of runners that I haven’t considered? Is my assessment of each group correct? Any athlete wannabes want to comment on the benefits of being in that group?

The_Real_Bullet_Proof1 wrote:

Adoi wrote:

I think you've just split the behaviours that people would typically put under the one umbrella of hobbyjogger into two parts; placing all of the good qualities into the rebranded "hobbyjogger" and all of the bad qualities into the new term "athlete wannabe".

In my experience, all the gear (hydration packs, super-shoes for jogging, etc) is quintessential to the hobbyjogger. They're also far more active on Strava, and definitely have egos (blasting off at the start of road races at paces that are 30/secs km+ faster than they can sustain).

This.

hobbyjoggers are arrogant loudmouths. Everyone in the office has heard about the hobbyjoggers upcoming race. But the hobbyjoggers always fail to mention afterwards that they finished in 304th place.

A good litmus test is when they are being loudmouths or spamming strava, ask them in person: did you run today?

the definitions of the whiny OP are way off. And way too complicated.

a more objective approach is based off of PR.

can you break 5 min in the mile?

can you break 16 min in the 5k?

can you break 1:15 in the 1/2?

bah. wrote:

Total fitness wrote:

I see the term hobbyjogger being banded about on here ( with some disdain and almost contempt by a few).

I would say that hobbyjogger is one of the categories of runner on here…and in my opinion there is nothing wrong with it. I regard myself as one.
A hobbyjogger runs for the love of it. They probably run for the peace and mental health benefits, as well as the physical. They enjoy the process far more than the results. Any results are largely side effects of what they are doing. Goals are not set and are more abstract than concrete.

The next category is the proper athlete. These are the runners who are competing for a team, or for some financial or social benefit ( scholarships etc). They are near the sharp end of the gene pool and their efforts contribute in some way to their current lifestyle and standing.

The third group (and I’d like to coin a new term here) is the athlete wannabe. Their ability stretches from hobbyjogger level to just below the true athlete. What separates them from hobbyjoggers is that they often tie their own self worth up with their efforts and even more so with their results. This is despite the fact that most often it is only they, or maybe a few of their running companions, that truly care about their achievements.

Unlike the hobbyjogger who is able to relax during and between their running sessions, the athlete wannabe stresses about the correct training sessions at the right time, adequate mileage, various training approaches and their relative merits, the best shoes etc. Running adds stress, more so than enjoyment. Very often sessions HAVE to be done, rather than are wanted to be performed. To paraphrase a quote from Jeff Galloway…running faster is not about health, more about ego. This is something that the hobbyjogger does not have, and does not require…an ego to be fed via running. In this regard it is a good thing, as it frees the hobbyjogger from the shackles of self pressure and expectation. The watch and the Strava are not necessary for these people, but are almost necessities for the athlete wannabe.

I would say that the athlete wannabe group is the biggest on here by far.

Did I miss anything? Any other group of runners that I haven’t considered? Is my assessment of each group correct? Any athlete wannabes want to comment on the benefits of being in that group?

I thought a defining trait of most on here is they are incels before anything else.