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Is Running A Sport?

“The good runner thinks only of what is in front of him and, stretching his mind toward the finish line and putting his hope of victory in his feet, does not plot against the fellow next to him or even consider his competitors.”

- Lucian, author and philosopher, 170 A.D.

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When I picked up Anton, my 6-year-old son, from school a few days ago, he told me about a conversation he had with a classmate of his who claimed he knew everything:

Anton: If you know everything, then what is the sport of my mom?
Classmate: Basketball?
Anton: No.
Classmate: Soccer?
Anton: No.
Classmate: Baseball?
Anton: No.
Classmate: What is it?
Anton: Running.
Classmate: That’s not a sport. That’s just what you do in sports like basketball and soccer.

Unfortunately, my son didn’t know how to respond to that boy’s last remark. “Is running a sport, Mama?” he asked.

How could you blame Anton for doubting? Or how could one think that his classmate lacked in knowledge? The truth is so many adults still don’t see running as a sport or a competitive activity. I have a runner friend with officemates who can’t seem to comprehend anything about running yet they can grasp the beauty of the PBA. Another runner friend’s husband blatantly said that “Running is not a competitive sport.” in my eyes.

To many, running is only the means to end. It’s what one does to warm up before working out, to lose weight, or to train for another sport. No one in his right mind would run just to run.

So, my poor Anton had to sit through an entire car ride of me rattling on about what he should say to that classmate of his. “Tell him your Mama said running is a sport. Why are marathons in the olympics if it isn’t? And, why are runners called athletes if it’s not a sport? Tell him that and let’s see what he says.”  After silence from my son, I say again “Make sure you tell him that, okay?”  It was obvious Anton had regretted ever bringing up the topic with Mama Bull Runner.

If someone told you running is not a sport (which is almost like throwing a glass of wine to your face!), what would you have answered?

Posted on 12.20.07 to 01 Bullish Insights. Tags: , . Subscribe to follow comments on this post. 28 comments. Add your thoughts or trackback from your own site.

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28 Responses to “Is Running A Sport?”

  1. Running is a sport in its purest form. Our sport is other sports’ punishment, so goes one shoe ad.

    Brent said on Dec 20 07 at 9:41 PM Reply

  2. Running is absolutely a sport. In fact it’s an Olympic sport. Dictionary.com gives this definiton for “sport”:

    an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

    Running is in fact one of the purest forms of racing. It’s clearly athletic and competitive. It’s a sport. If the kid doesn’t believe your son, have your son challenge the kid to a race with his mom (aka the bull runner) and see how he does :-)

    Phil Sabin said on Dec 21 07 at 4:46 AM Reply

  3. i totally agree with the kid. running is not a sport. running is something more similar to when you buy a half-gallon of ice cream. or go to the coffee shop for some warm brew and oatmeal cookie. or having a glass or two of fundador with pulutan.

    roadrat said on Dec 21 07 at 7:53 AM Reply

  4. If running isn’t a sport, why is the entire Olympic Games built around it? Track and field is the centerpiece of every Olympics – not basketball, not baseball, not soccer, not any team game. It has remained that way ever since and I believe it will remain that way forever. Why? Simply because the Olympics celebrates physical excellence which is best embodied in athletics, which by the way is mostly made up of running events.

    Non-competitive? Then what the hell are the gold medals in athletics for? And why are the events called footraces? Isn’t racing a competition?

    caloyb said on Dec 21 07 at 10:23 AM Reply

  5. Running was one of the original events in the Olympics, way, way before. Then I would talk about Track and Field. It’s really a non-question.

    TBR, Manila is sooo much fun. Siyempre it helps to have good family and good friends. Since I came home yesterday it’s one fun event after another. The traffic on the other hand…grabe. I don’t go to Bacolod till Sunday afternoon which is nice. The best looking pinays are still in the Philippines…haha where else.

    rick said on Dec 21 07 at 11:05 AM Reply

  6. Maybe there’s just a confusion between running (verb;what you do when you’re in a hurry) and competitive running (racing, marathons).

    Ex.
    Driving a car to work = mundane transportation
    Driving a car in the Enduro Cup= sport

    If they still don’t buy that, give them directions to the PATAFA office, I’m sure they’ll be enlightened. What’s the track field built for again?

    Joms said on Dec 21 07 at 11:59 AM Reply

  7. Im sorry to make contra. but for me running is a way of life. Running for me is like eating, sleeping going to church etc. You need it to be ” normal ” to function to build character in this game they call life.
    Yes Running is a sport but in a difference sense its a sport in its purest form ” Me, Myself & I “. Bull dont kill me when we see each other running in ava every sat. :-)

    patrick concepcion said on Dec 21 07 at 1:24 PM Reply

  8. I will respond to it by saying :

    ……………..You are right.

    Running is not a sport…….. It is a passion…a celebration of life that is within us. If you cannot consider it a sport, then the Olympics (yes you said it) would not be a sport too…The Olympics is a celebration of passionate people on this earth who are good in what they do…..and foremost to that is running (where approximately will involve 95% ……take out archery, shooting, other field events………of all olympic games)

    Then we can do the litany of Jesse Owens, Roger Bannister, Paavo Nurmi Emi Zatopek, Abebe Bikila, Jim Ryan, Edwin Moses, Piatro Menea, Carl Lewis, Harold Abrahams, John Landy, Steve Ovett, Steve Cram, Steve Scott, Sebastian Coe, Alberto JUantorena, Michael Johnson, Hicham al Gerrouj Haile Gebreselassie, Flornence Griffith JOyner, Grete Waitz, Joan Benoit, Mary Decker Slaney………….. Isidro Del Prado, Lydia de Vega, Mona Sulaiman, MIguel White and Simeon Toribio……They did not consider running as a sport…….it was their way of existence and contribution to humanity………

    oknoy said on Dec 21 07 at 1:36 PM Reply

  9. Yes its a sport. The big difference between running and other sports is that, in running, your greatest opponent is yourself.

    taki said on Dec 21 07 at 6:09 PM Reply

  10. Thanks for the response guys. Imagine if we all showed up at my little boy’s school to teach his classmate a lesson on running?!

    We all are right. Running is indeed a competitive sport. But, Patrick and Roadrat, I would not disagree with you either in saying that running is a way of life.

    Personally, I enjoy participating in races and competing with other runners. But, I still run for the sheer enjoyment of it. Tell me that I can never join another race again and I would reply: So what? I’ll still keep on running for as long as I can and as far as my feet can take me.

    bullrunner said on Dec 22 07 at 1:43 PM Reply

  11. Races or none, we run. Beautifully said BR!

    roadrat said on Dec 22 07 at 5:49 PM Reply

  12. Totally agree. After a year full of races and events in great places, the best time I had was a training run at home. Maybe that’s what helps confuse people. How can it be a sport when we enjoy it so much in and out of competition. Isn’t sport supposed to be hard.

    Merry Christmas Bullrunner, to you and the family. May your 2008 be fllled with miles of all kinds; hard and fast, slow and easy, fun and self discovering.

    rick said on Dec 23 07 at 9:49 AM Reply

  13. such a funny, but sad, story. as a whole, runners don’t get a lot of respect here in manila… but i see changes a coming. i have three friends who have just to taken up the sport, and they in turn are spreading the love.

    bealtea said on Dec 23 07 at 3:59 PM Reply

  14. Hey I agree; that’s tantamount to saying that an athlete is not a sportsman or sportswoman!

    Daniw said on Dec 25 07 at 2:32 AM Reply

  15. That kid’s attitude is typical. Here in the Phil, real sports are basketball, boxing, wwf, tennis, golf and billiards.

    roadrat said on Dec 27 07 at 8:16 AM Reply

  16. A few things why running is gaining more and more adherents and why it’s such a great sport:
    - anyone, any age, from any background can start running and with the right training (and specific races) win! or finish! (Or maybe trophies and medals are a bit easier to come by- not too many sports have age group prizes. :)
    - best of all, any novice or beginner can rub elbows and run the same race as elites- be they Haile Gebrselassie (well- if you run the Berlin Marathon), Vertek Buenavista or other elites. How many weekend footballers have competed with Kaka or Zidane or basketballers with James or Duncan?

    Pablo (PLY33) said on Dec 28 07 at 2:09 AM Reply

  17. Hypothetical situation:

    Idiot: Hey Marga, what’s your sport?
    Marga: Well, there’s running…
    Idiot: That’s not a sport
    Marga: (delivers a nasty roundhouse) I’m not finished, honey. I was supposed to say taekwondo and muay thai, among others.

    marga said on Dec 28 07 at 3:46 AM Reply

  18. AUNTIE running is NOT a sport…

    “Running is defined as the fastest means for an animal to move on foot. It is defined in sporting terms as a gait in which at some point all feet are off the ground at the same time. It can be a form of both aerobic and anaerobic exercise.”

    Got a song for you (Tune of Jingle Bells)

    Not a sport, not a sport
    Running’s not a sport
    Does not swell
    Will Have To Tell
    RUNNINGS NOT A SPORT!!!

    I love you and miss you. :)

    John Michael

    P.S. Cheerleading is more of a sport than running!!!

    JMCB said on Jan 05 08 at 8:24 AM Reply

  19. Hey JMCB,

    Quoting from wikipedia can get you into a lot of trouble–especially if you didn’t scroll down. Had you read through the entire entry, you would have seen this:

    Running as a sport: Running is both a competition and a type of training for sports which have running or endurance components. As a sport it is split into events divided by distance and sometimes includes permutations such as the obstacles in Steeplechase and hurdles. Running races are contests to determine which of the competitors is able to run a certain distance in the shortest time. Today, competitive running events make up the core of the sport of athletics.

    So, will you come and sing my Running’s Swell song with me? I’m sure your dad and mom will sing along with you! haha :)

    Hey, I heard the only exercise you got during the holidays was “chewing”…now please don’t tell me that’s a sport!

    Love you too. Happy New Year!

    P.S. How was your date with Ms. Finger?

    bullrunner said on Jan 05 08 at 10:18 AM Reply

  20. This is obsurd. Take any football, baseball, or even basketball player and have them go run a 3.1 mile race. You cannot say runnig is not a sport when you cannot even endure in its hardships. Running takes more endurance and stamina then any other sport. There is no breaks like in other sports.

    Branden said on Sep 05 08 at 5:03 AM Reply

  21. You can say running is not actually a sport because there is no sport called running alone, but the sports of running are most diffenitly sports such as Cross Country, Track, and Marathon. What I say is that running is truely the only sport and everything else is simply a GAME.

    Running Athlete said on Sep 29 09 at 10:24 AM Reply

  22. someone recently told me that running wasn’t a sport and it really pissed me off because i am in cross country and i know that he is wrong and that it is a very hard sport and you really have to love it to do it. Which i do!!! And i sure did not take it that well. I think that i really told him wrong

    runner101 said on Dec 10 09 at 12:41 AM Reply

  23. Some of the kids in my grade say running is not as sport, but they are wrong. Running is so a sport. At my school under sports we have track and cross country. Also running is in the Olympics and try asking some famous runner if running is a sport and see what they have to say.

    Nurit said on Jan 09 10 at 2:55 PM Reply

  24. Running is the only sport that i have found fulfillment.

    Joe France said on Jan 30 10 at 1:19 PM Reply

  25. Running is the only sport that i have found fulfillment and by far very competitive.

    Joe France said on Jan 30 10 at 1:21 PM Reply

  26. Most athletes respect other athletes and their sport. I’ve found that people who say ignorant things like, “running is not a (real) sport” are usually slobs that can’t run a quarter mile to save their life. Hey, if you can’t do it, knock it.

    RunnerGirl said on Feb 26 10 at 7:07 AM Reply

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