If I go running a couple of times a week am I a runner?

I’ve started running again. It fell away to zero when we moved into our new house. I would run 5km once a week for a bit, then it would fade for a while then I’d come back to it. This has been the longest break for quite a while and I’m declaring myself as starting from a non-runner.

Getting back into something like running takes time, I am starting from scratch and building back up – down at 2km and slowly building by running 3 times a week. The aim is to be able to run 10km by 1st Sept 2026 (the year seems important here 😆).

In true consumerist fashion I’ve bought some new trainers and a new Apple Watch. My old trainers were, to be honest, very very old and my new ones are way more comfier. The Apple Watch is a cellular version so I can run without having to find a home for my phone, I have never found a good way to carry it.

I’m going to call myself a runner when I am looking forward to going on my next run, at the moment it is slightly too much like hard work. Give it a couple of weeks and see if my body has stopped fighting the run and enjoys it instead.