I have been running since 1964 and no one has made fun of my running.
Tom
I have been running since 1964 and no one has made fun of my running.
Tom
how to wrote:
What are some of your go to comebacks when acquaintances or co-workers call you out for doing the thing you love? (running)
I don't mean nice clever ways of laughing it off either. I mean ways to show people that you're not a doormat.
Or what would you say to someone if you were to just rip them apart for disrespecting you? Not caring at all for the consequences or awkwardness.
The OP must be giving detail accounts of his races on Monday morning. This is the only thing that makes sense. A lot of people run this is a common activity for well-rounded adults. It is best not to talk times or places unless specifically asked. I have never encountered "being made fun of" at work. More likely is someone I don't know very well giving me a detailed report of their 5 hour marathon.
Derderian wrote:
I have been running since 1964 and no one has made fun of my running.
Tom
You suck at running.
end of streak.
how to wrote:
What are some of your go to comebacks when acquaintances or co-workers call you out for doing the thing you love? (running)
I don't mean nice clever ways of laughing it off either. I mean ways to show people that you're not a doormat.
Or what would you say to someone if you were to just rip them apart for disrespecting you? Not caring at all for the consequences or awkwardness.
My assistant left a big sign in my office 5 years ago that reads,
"Remember, running is a mental sport, and you are all insane!!!".
I left it on the wall, she's right.
A long time ago, I had a co-worker criticize me for running. I would often go for a 4-5 mile run on my lunch breaks (40 minutes tops, shower/change in 10 minutes and be back at the office just under an hour) He felt that this was not a good use of my time and reported to my boss and we had a group meeting to discuss it.
I told both of them that as long as I'm using that 60-minute timeframe as my lunch break, it was fair use of my time.
He also criticized my work which was a personal jab - which was just his opinion apparently - so he had issues with me regardless.
But what I found interesting was that he would often be gone for an hour and half for lunch breaks with other people in the office and then work very late (therefore justifying his time he spent away) and he was having a relationship with one of our interns, even though he was married with a young child at the time, and having sex with her in his office. This, apparently, was a fair use of his time.
Anyways, the point here is people will just find excuses to get mad at you and criticize and complain. These are usually self-loathing types with no real hobbies or interests beyond their own misery.
My advice is to use the classic comeback: 'Gobble, Gobble Mother F*ckers!!!'
Nobody has ever said anything but positive things about my running: at school, at home, at work or elsewhere. Although, I also rarely talk about it to anyone, but when it does come up people are genuinely supportive.
So, here's the thing - they aren't making fun of running, they are making fun of you. They pick running because that's just how they are trying to get at you - to be clear - it's you they don't like. They'd make fun of you even if you didn't run so at least you can keep on running, but you should take a good hard look at why people don't like you.
coldstoned wrote:
For me nothing is more effective than showing pretty much no emotion on your face as your stare at them for a second or two (and yes, that is a very long stare) and just walk away. Or if you need to be working in the same space, completely ignore them.
This is close, but the better thing to do rather than the expressionless stare is to give them a quizzical look, sort of like you don't quite understand what their getting at, or your didn't hear them properly. And not too long of a look, either.
And don't just walk away. This can be taken as if you are upset, which is what they want, right? Follow up the quizzical look by completely changing the subject and talking about something else in a completely amicable manner. If you are not able to do this 100%, it will look fake and or passive aggressive, so you have to be totally believable that you are simple moving on and didn't understand what they said.
close....... wrote:
what their getting at
Sorry, "they're"
` wrote:
Can you give an example of an acquaintance or coworker making fun of you for running? I've never gotten any (direct) disrespect about my running from anyone that I can recall.
I honestly can't even imagine someone making fun of me, or anyone, for enjoying running. Is it like, "You're gonna go running? How stupid!" or is there something specific these people say, like, "You're gonna go running? You must have terrible hand-eye coordination, loser!"
I am honestly baffled by this question.
Same here, I am extremely baffled. I have never had anyone make fun of me for running. Most people I work with or acquaintances find it interesting and are extremely supportive.
Pretty sure the only place people make fun of running is on LetsRun.
stick man wrote:
Derderian wrote:
I have been running since 1964 and no one has made fun of my running.
Tom
You suck at running.
end of streak.
LOL
txRUNNERgirl wrote:
Pretty sure the only place people make fun of running is on LetsRun.
very true.
stick man wrote:
Derderian wrote:
I have been running since 1964 and no one has made fun of my running.
Tom
You suck at running.
end of streak.
I don't know his PR, but he's been under 2:20 @ Boston, so that's pretty cool. I only met him once during my one performance for GBTC and he was one of the nicest people I've ever met in running. Go away.
Surprise! wrote:
stick man wrote:
You suck at running.
end of streak.
I don't know his PR, but he's been under 2:20 @ Boston, so that's pretty cool. I only met him once during my one performance for GBTC and he was one of the nicest people I've ever met in running. Go away.
I may have missed a joke.
how to wrote:
What are some of your go to comebacks when acquaintances or co-workers call you out for doing the thing you love? (running)
I live in a Stand Your Ground state so I just take them out.
how to wrote:
What are some of your go to comebacks when acquaintances or co-workers call you out for doing the thing you love? (running)
Like most of the people who have responded, your experience of being teased about running by acquaintances and co-workers is not one I'm familiar with. Of course, many of my acquaintances and co-workers aren't aware that I like to run because I prefer to spare people the boring details of my exercise habits unless prompted.
But to answer the question, I suppose that if someone was aggressively mean about my running for no reason ("You pansy runner b*tch! Why don't you go prance around outside with your shoes and t-shirt, you pansy!") and I didn't care about consequences, I'd grab them by the throat and tell them that I'm going to fck something they love (e.g., girlfriend, husband, dog, etc.). Then I'd spit in their face. The key to coming out on top in any conflict is to massively and unexpectedly escalate tensions in a manner that borders on psychopathy.
close....... wrote:
coldstoned wrote:
For me nothing is more effective than showing pretty much no emotion on your face as your stare at them for a second or two (and yes, that is a very long stare) and just walk away. Or if you need to be working in the same space, completely ignore them.
This is close, but the better thing to do rather than the expressionless stare is to give them a quizzical look, sort of like you don't quite understand what their getting at, or your didn't hear them properly. And not too long of a look, either.
And don't just walk away. This can be taken as if you are upset, which is what they want, right? Follow up the quizzical look by completely changing the subject and talking about something else in a completely amicable manner. If you are not able to do this 100%, it will look fake and or passive aggressive, so you have to be totally believable that you are simple moving on and didn't understand what they said.
Closer but THE best thing to do is troll them by pretending you didn't hear them and saying "what?". They will have to spend effort to repeat what they said
Whilst you just say "what?" every time at which point it makes their original insult look lame and stupid
Responses of the "just stare/pretend you don't understand" are not substantially different than letting them know that you didn't like their comments directly. In fact, that approach is marginally worse because people will most likely realize that you are affecting indifference, so they will both get the reaction they wanted and realize that their teasing bothered you enough that you playacted to cover it up.
I think you need to think about why their comments bother you at all. Like others have said, people making these comments are probably just doing so out of boredom and thus don't have much of an emotional investment in it. If you let them know it bothers you, however you do it, you'll turn their boredom into a nice little diversion.
how to wrote:
What are some of your go to comebacks when acquaintances or co-workers call you out for doing the thing you love? (running)
I don't mean nice clever ways of laughing it off either. I mean ways to show people that you're not a doormat.
Or what would you say to someone if you were to just rip them apart for disrespecting you? Not caring at all for the consequences or awkwardness.
Look at you and look at me. I eat whatever I want am in great shape and you're obese, get out of breath walking up the stairs, and are a cheeseburger away from a heart attack. Maybe you should go for a run.
BTW that's the amicable response to my boss, much less friendly to others.