Thoughts for the Road: On Being a "Real" Runner

"I often hear someone say I'm not a real runner. We are all runners, some just run faster than others. I never met a fake runner." 
-Bart Yasso

"If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run."

--John Bingham

"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that." 
-Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder