• Want to be clear
      • Definition of a hobby jogger 2/4/2012 6:49PM
      • Want to be clear
      • Hobby means something you do for fun and are not paid to do. People whose full time paid job is to run (runners with professional contracts) are not hobby joggers. Collegiate runners with scholarships who run on the varsity team are not hobby joggers.

        Everyone else who runs is a hobby jogger. Do I have that right?
    • Jeffster!!!
      • RE: Definition of a hobby jogger 2/4/2012 7:23PM - in reply to Want to be clear
      • Jeffster!!!
      • No, some are hobby runners. :)
    • 458874515558455155845
    • Concerned Citizen
      • RE: Definition of a hobby jogger 2/4/2012 7:57PM - in reply to YUmadbro60
      • Concerned Citizen
      • YUmadbro60 wrote:
        So Bernard Lagat is a hobby jogger?
        I guess Frank Shorter was too (since he didn't get paid to do it).
    • Goldenboy
      • RE: Definition of a hobby jogger 2/4/2012 8:10PM - in reply to Want to be clear
      • Goldenboy
      • I have a friend who walked on at Oregon and never ran close to a 100 mile week in his life and ran a sub-4 mile. Is he a hobby jogger?
    • Just a Hobby Jogger
      • RE: Definition of a hobby jogger 2/4/2012 8:20PM - in reply to Want to be clear
      • Just a Hobby Jogger
      • My definition: Slower than most on here (okay the majority) and yet I like to compete and do the best I can in races. I certainly don't do it for fame or money (don't need to) but do like to surround myself among the best of runners.

        Sort of like in life--"I correlate running to your best ability to how successful you can be in life". (btw, i just made this quote up..)
    • The average male runner
      • RE: Definition of a hobby jogger 2/4/2012 10:09PM - in reply to Just a Hobby Jogger
      • The average male runner
      • The average runner can run a sub 15 5k.
        So anyone without times faster than
        4:30 mile
        15 min 5k
        31 min 10k
        is a hobby jogger.
    • Sounds Right to Me
      • RE: Definition of a hobby jogger 2/4/2012 10:30PM - in reply to Want to be clear
      • Sounds Right to Me
      • Want to be clear wrote:
        Hobby means something you do for fun and are not paid to do. People whose full time paid job is to run (runners with professional contracts) are not hobby joggers. Collegiate runners with scholarships who run on the varsity team are not hobby joggers.

        Everyone else who runs is a hobby jogger. Do I have that right?
        You are close. If you are on a school team and travel you would not be an HJ.

        Post-collegiate with some type of sponsorship Could be considered part time.

        Most others would be Hobby Joggers.

        Some people collect stamps, some build model planes and some jog. The ones who call themselves Hobby Runners are just HJs who put more time and effort into their hobby.
    • quod era demonstratum
      • RE: Definition of a hobby jogger 2/5/2012 3:30AM - in reply to Turbo breaks it down
      • quod era demonstratum
      • What if....i was captain of my HS cross country team. I was on a NCAA d2 team where i was in the top 7 in XC the whole season but was a walk-on (i think only 2-3 of our top7 got any aid). Competed in NCAA regional meet.
        Was I a hobby jogger then?

        Next, I've graduated, but I'm training even more than I did in college (80-90mpw) and setting new PRs, and I'm a top local but of course still nowhere near good enough to be sponsored. So now Am I a hobby jogger?

        MY BEST GUESS
        If anything, I'm more of a hobbyjogger now than i was in HS/college if you define it as someone who basically trains his ass off but not as part of an intercollegiate team (for hobby).

        However you could say I'm less of a hobbyjogger now because I'm training harder than ever and racing faster than ever. And really pushing the limits on my ability.


        But perhaps I was always a hobbyjogger. You know, I've never heard the term hobbyjogger until I first saw it at letsrun.com a few years ago.

        I always thought a hobbyjogger was someone who relies heavily in water stations in a 5k road race.
    • Sounds Right to Me
      • RE: Definition of a hobby jogger 2/5/2012 4:56AM - in reply to quod era demonstratum
      • Sounds Right to Me
      • It doesn't matter what you did in the past.

        Forgot one other criteria.

        Do you pay entry fees to race? If you do you are a ...
    • needs a new hobby
      • RE: Definition of a hobby jogger 2/5/2012 9:11AM - in reply to Want to be clear
      • needs a new hobby
      • I think the "hobby" implies a love for running (jogging), which is a great thing. However, since there is a negative connotation to the HJ as it is used at LRC, I would add that this sort of runner is one who is deathly afraid of running fast. Fast is relative, but in my mind a true hobby jogger would seldon approach 5K effort in a workout (or maybe even a 5k race) for more than a quarter mile or so.
    • hks321
      • RE: Definition of a hobby jogger 2/5/2012 10:47AM - in reply to Want to be clear
      • hks321
      • I would just draw the line at 4:15 mile and 15:00 5000 for open aged male runners who trains to get there. At that level, I think it requires more dedication to training than it being a mere "hobby". Its not a national class nor enough to qualify for trials but its more than a weekend race warrior.

        In any case, who cares about all this. Unless this is a full time job and you're getting at least 6 figure salary out it, its just a personal challenge for most of us.