9 HARD Truths of Being a Runner

Running is hard, but by simply knowing it's hard, it becomes less hard. Make sense? Because these 9 hard truths lose their magic the moment you know about them! And then you can relax and run. Job done.

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[craigwyckoff]

I started running when I was a 20 year old, short, fat young man. It was a pivotal moment in my life for so many reasons. I’m 58 years old and still getting after it.

[jaykay]

The "poo of doom" happened to me on three occasions, two during races and one on a training run. One was during a 5k about a mile in, had to step off the course. This was very upsetting because I had an age group award in the bag if I could have just finished the race. None of my usual "rivals" were there and since I required somewhat of a "thin" field to get a podium finish this was a tough one to stomach! Second one was during a 30k at the end of a marathon buildup. It came on around halfway through the race and I was forced to hold it the entire time, as the venue was completely through town and there was literally no place to hide! Would have had to go on somebody's front yard and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. When I mercifully finished, ran into the restroom and let's just say the results were "explosive". I was sick for three days afterwards. Third one was on a routine 9 mile run through hometown, all of a sudden I had the urge and went into a deli on the route, politely explained my predicament but was rudely rebuffed! Luckily, was not that far from a wooded area and was able to complete the required task away from prying eyes! Needless to say, the pair of running shorts I was wearing that day were "retired"!

[SamTehSquirrel]

#8 is the number 1 thing that keeps me running. I might be tired, or have a lot of work to do, but knowing that I’ll be happy I went for the run in the end is ultimately what gets me outside.

[bgberkley]

As someone who first got into running after I turned 50, I've learned so much from your channel. Thanks so much for such great content!

[jerkov]

I always go do number two before every run. If I don't, it makes me very uneasy during the entire run, knowing that it could blow at any time

[madiantin]

Tip #9: Can confirm. Bit of a pity you didn't put this at #2...

[reieli]

11:10 This how I felt yesterday. I really didn't want to to do my long run. I went through a roller coast of excuses (my feet, my shoulder all the bad self talk). But I put on my shoes said let's see how the 1st 5min feels - 5min turn 1hr33min 😊 I feel great with no Regret. Great content as always

[mubashirbhai]

1. It never hurts less..its always the same pain and grind.
2. You cant just run...strength and conditioning training..
3. Dont play with food...enjoy your food..thats healthy.fuelb up.
4.someone will always be better than you
5.you cant cheat the grind..its consistency overtime.
6.find what works and stay with it.
7.PBs will not always happen.
8.you regret runs that you miss
9.you will poo yourself..its inevitable that if you are running for a long time you will poop yourself.

[MiguelUrbaez]

One thing I would add to this comprehensive list is that, no matter how good you have trained or even feel for and before a run, if you slept great, you have no health issues and you go out and the weather/conditions are absolutely perfect… then…there will always be THAT day that nothing seems to work out as you thought it should and you start falling apart since the very beginning, struggling to understand what’s happening and usually creating a snowball/domino effect making every further step a plain misery and the frustration kicks in and you just want to quit and start crying. UGH!

I call them the humbling days.

For me, running is 70% mental y 30% physical. So, by using these humbling days as a lesson to keep knowing more about yourself and your capabilities by acknowledging that it’s impossible to control a 100% of everything you need for a successful day, it helps tremendously to build up your resilience and your self confidence for the long term in everything in life, not only running.

Love your channel and running. It’s the one thing that has saved my life from my own demons. Keep doing the amazing job your doing💙

[stevestarr]

This June, I will have been a runner for 45 years...and I'm still trying to figure it out. And I love and am inspired by your videos...you guys rock.

[neekr]

I came here to learn more about the toileting situation during long distance running. In my mind it makes sense that if you are running for so many hours, drinking, eating and moving, it is inevitable. And no one talks about this! This is something I actually want more detail on and maybe a bit of science/biology behind it would be great too.

[pabachan]

I made the mistake of thinking that my life was too busy to maintain my lifelong stretching and strength routines, so I just ran when I could with minimal prehab, etc. I gradually developed achilles tendinopathy that I'm still recovering from months later. My first running injury :( your advice is so spot on.

[justthinking]

I’m a new runner.. my goal is 3 miles a week… the tips were great thank you!

[stk]

its SO True how i have NEVER regretted any run (even the ones where i was busy/ reluctant to start the run). But i DID regret those days when i didnt run; even though it was like a day in a week due to rain

[tyler]

As an ultrarunner who took a while to get here. I think it will hurt less eventually. It's more jarring at first but eventually you get used to it and your joints won't be under as much pressure. In longer races it definitely doesn't always get worse.

[johnlomax]

Mate, I've also been running off and on my whole life, and I've never heard anyone as articulate as you illustrate this subject as well. As you do. You're motivating me. This is what I've been doing, and I can't believe that you're saying this

[alfromtx]

#9...yep. I never had this until I started my marathon training. The first time it happened, it started "knocking on the door" about 3 miles before I was finished running. I held it off for a couple of miles, but then started forcing its way out. I managed to pull over. But I had nothing to clean up with, so I might as well have just pooped directly in my pants. This happened 4 more times during the same training cycle. I started carrying some wipes and plastic grocery bags just in case. I managed to avoid it for about 18 months, but it's happened twice within the past few weeks. It's rough, but still worth it.

[ep]

I started running almost 2 years ago. Just shy of turning 50.
Number 8, the one about regretting to NOT go for a run really hits home.
I don't know how long my body will let me run but I made a conscious decision to take better care of myself.
Thank you for this video 🙂

[jon]

Love that you mentioned point 9. Something which isn’t really discussed openly as something that can happen and causes me such anxiety when out running

[Jenesis]

I started running at 40, for 7 years, from 5k to marathon. I stopped because it never got easy. I switched to hiking and mountaineering. Runners are indeed incredibly helpful ppl. Doing 10k, half marathon, or marathon at different cities is a great way to see a town. I missed that. Eventually hiking became tough, too. Now I am a swimming newbie. When swimming gets tough, I might try cycling (don’t know how to ride a bike).