What time do you have to run in the marathon to not be considered a hobby jogger?

One second slower than MY PB.

I guess I am a runner except in the marathon (>80% AG in 5K, 10K, and half) which I am still a hobby runner. Hopefully I will rectify that this Sunday at NYC and become a runner according to your standards.

OTQ wrote:

The cut off is OT Qualifiers.

The cut off is qualifying.

If you make enough prize money and appearance fees to bring you above the poverty line you are no longer a hobby jogger. If you're relying on things like youtube or patreon money then you are still a hobby jogger who makes a living marketing their hobby.

Asking for a friend... wrote:

Male and Female

I once ran 2:31 on 50 mpw and my friend ran 2:34 on 90 mpw. It was probably all he could get out of himself in training. AND, he cared a lot more about running than me as I didn't have a lot of time to dedicate and I got to 2:31 on a lot of natural talent. I could probably run 2:25-27 if I liked marathon training and wanted to give it a go. So, in terms of effort, I gave less.

For me, it was more hobby-like than training for track in college. For my friend, who never ran in high school or college, running was his passion and favorite thing. Obsession-esque like many Letsrunners.

Your question is so subjective. My friend loved Meb and Shalane and those runners to me aren't that interesting. I check Letsrun every day and my friend reads Runners World. He didn't know who Bekele was in the 2012 Olympics and only knew who Farah and Rupp were in the 10,000m final. He couldn't break 60 seconds in the 400m, I could easily run two in a row in high school 800m's.

There's a lot about him that screams hobbyjogger, but I don't feel like I'm any different. If anything, he's more of a runner than me because he seems to love it more and devotes more time to it. Maybe he's getting more out of his natural talent than I am. We just have different backgrounds.

I have another friend who decided to train for a marathon with some buddies that were really serious about a fall race. He ran 6 weeks of 80 mpw and ran 2:22. He was a former Olympic Trials marathon guy just having some fun and putting himself out there. His resume and times are certainly more impressive than me.

The hobby jogger definition is like the hipster definition - impossible to agree on.

2:20 men.

2:35 women.

This IS LetsRun. So hobbyjogger is anyone not currently in possession of a world record right?!?!? I mean I read daily how so and so sucks. So it must be that everyone is a jogger right!!!! Hell even some world records are weak so they must have been jogged.

Gravy wrote:

It's probably a gray area, but when you have 70+ year old dudes running sub-3 it's impossible to avoid labeling anything slower as hobby jogger.

I think there are certain runners that can have lifestime status as legitimate. Will Geb or Kipchoge ever really be hobby joggers, regardless of how slow they run when they are old?

It's like if you fly enough miles on an airline you will have elite status for life.

Age Grades-

75%

30yr old man 2:43

30yr old woman 3:00

40yr old man 2:48

40yr old woman 3:06

47yr old man 2:58

47yr old woman 3:17

So, sub 3 is great if your a 47 year old man or 40 year old woman.

I ran 2:39:56 as my best. Anything slower is hobby jog territory.

Really, for me, anyone who has hit their BQ or is training for one (with a serious goal of hitting it or has been trying to hit it for a few attempts), isn't a hobby jogger. Once you're serious enough to challenge a goal and going for a specific time running becomes less of a hobby and more of a way to get the most out of yourself.

3hr-marathoner wrote:

applying the standard formula of adding 5 minutes to my own and my wife's PR's, I'd say the cutoff to avoid hobby jogger status is about 3:00 for men and 3:30 for women.

Wow. Back in my day, I was proud to run those times for a female—AND I was Extremely proud to be considered a Hobby Jogger...hence my name?

2:01:xx

I love the response about doping! Lol!

I vote on the question or comment. I will also make comment if I feel my words contribute to the discussion and has not be completely duplicated by someone else's words. I am interested in all of the discussions, although I may not be able to post my opinions because my workplace and I have to wait until the end of the day to make my comment or provide an answer.

https://drivingdirectionss.com

2:04-2:05. Anything else is a waste of time.

kinda fast but not really wrote:

Sub 3 hours for men. Sub 3:30 for women. My personal standards.

women aren't half an hour slower than men. The difference between genders - ceteris paribus - is maybe 10-15 minutes. The reason why some races have less demanding qualification times for women is the fact that there are far less women who actually want to put effort into training.

It depends on the attitude towards the sport whether a person is a hobby jogger or not. For example I consider golf or tennis being a hobby but not running. One has to invest so much time everyday in running that it's not a hobby. It's more like work although I don't get paid for it. I don't have the luxury to be able to decide that I'm not going to do any training this week like the case normally is with hobbies. When I play golf or tennis I can decide when I want to do it or if I want to play at all. It doesn't matter how well I play because I can spend time with friends and have fun. But running is different. It really sucks as a sport if you feel that you aren't in a good shape. It's not nice to go to any race if you aren't prepared well and even training isn't fun then. So it's not possible jump from the hamster wheel. You just have to continue and it's part of your life. Running is part of the life. It's not work, nor it's a hobby. It's just there until one decides to quit.

“I once ran 2:31 on 50 mpw and my friend ran 2:34 on 90 mpw. It was probably all he could get out of himself in training. AND, he cared a lot more about running than me as I didn't have a lot of time to dedicate and I got to 2:31 on a lot of natural talent. I could probably run 2:25-27 if I liked marathon training and wanted to give

it a go. So, in terms of effort, I gave less.

For me, it was more hobby-like than training for track in college. For my friend, who never ran in high school or college, running was his passion and favorite thing. Obsession-esque like many Letsrunners.

Your question is so subjective. My friend loved Meb and Shalane and those runners to me aren't that interesting. I check Letsrun every day and my friend reads Runners World. He didn't know who Bekele was in the 2012 Olympics and only knew who Farah and Rupp were in the 10,000m final. He couldn't break 60 seconds in the 400m, I could easily run two in a row in high school 800m's.

There's a lot about him that screams hobbyjogger, but I don't feel like I'm any different. If anything, he's more of a runner than me because he seems to love it more and devotes more time to it. Maybe he's getting more out of his natural talent than I am. We just have different backgrounds.

I have another friend who decided to train for a marathon with some buddies that were really serious about a fall race. He ran 6 weeks of 80 mpw and ran 2:22. He was a former Olympic Trials marathon guy just having some fun and putting himself out there. His resume and times are certainly more impressive than me.

The hobby jogger definition is like the hipster definition - impossible to agree on.”

This ^^

I also think jogging is only relative to who you are comparing to. I myself would be seen as a jogger compared to competitive runners but the majority of the people at local races would say I’m pretty fast. If you are running as fast as YOU can, then don’t listen to anyone else labelling you as you can only put in your best effort.

3:00 for men

3:19 for women