Runners are a special type of people. They eat sleep and breathe running. And, if you have ever met a runner, you probably knew right off the bat that they were a runner because they probably spoke about running a lot. These are the people that non-runners get really annoyed with because their whole lives revolve around their sport. If you are really close to a runner then you have probably noticed that they have certain attributes that non-runners do not have. Here are some characteristics about runners that you may or may not have noticed…

1. Eat.

Runners burn hundreds of calories everyday working out. And so, as a runner, we are always eating to put calories back in. Now, non-runners are jealous of us because we are the ones in the school dining hall that eat plate after plate and we never gain a pound of fat. However, this is because we are always doing some form of high-intensity training that keeps the calories burning. Runners tend to eat more food at each meal and more meals than non-runners.

2. Hydrate.

As a runner we burn calories like crazy, but we also lose water easily through sweat. A runner will always be carrying water with them. We drink it all the time in order to keep our bodies hydrated. Hydration to a runner is one of the most important things.

3. Catching Z's.

If water isn’t the most important thing to a runner, then sleep is. Runners get up early in the morning before anyone else to train while it’s still below death temperatures outside. Most of the time this is somewhere around 5 a.m. Because of this, and the extremely high amounts of energy it takes to perform well, runners need their sleep. So if you know a runner, you know that they go to bed early most of the time. You also know if you have a runner friend that you should never wake them up while they are sleeping. We runners do not skimp on our sleep and, if woken, we tend to get angry.

4. Distance.

Though this may not be true of all runners, mid and long distance runners tend to be freakishly good at estimating distances. Though sometimes we use really strange methods of measuring. We might tell you that it is five strides to get across the room instead of saying its fifteen feet. We also often measure in meters, as that is what makes since to us.

5. Activewear.

Runners are always in running clothes. Nike shorts and running tanks are the main piece to runner’s closet. And we never wear jeans. It just doesn’t happen. It has to be a blue moon outside for a runner to wear jeans, simply because jeans don’t fit us. Runners tend to have small waists, average hips and thick thighs. Because of this many times we can’t find jeans that fit us in all the right places. Our pants are either too big in the waist so we have to wear a belt all the time, or they don’t go up over our quads, which is really annoying. Runners tend to desire comfort from our clothes so jeans just typically do not happen.

6. Work out.

Runners are always doing one of two things: Working out or thinking about working out. Runners can have two practices a day and still go to the gym on their own. A runner’s fitness is essential to them. Everything a runner does every day effects their ability to race. Runners are always working out and as a runner we have no idea what a rest day is. If we aren’t working out or planning to work out soon we typically begin to feel lazy and not ourselves.

7. Mental toughness.

Last but definitely not least is mental toughness. Running is a solo sport. Yes, you typically get scored as a team, and you win and lose together. But, when a runner is out on either the track or the course, they are all alone. It’s just them and the race. Sure there are other competitors but rarely is a runner concerned with them. If you spend enough time as a runner you learn that it isn’t the other competitors that you are really competing against. It's yourself. Your old times, your old paces, your current personal record. And in that moment, when you don’t think you can go anymore, any faster, a runner is all alone. Runners have to learn how to be mentally tough, because even the fittest runner can have a bad day mentally and lose. Sometimes it is not your physical strength that matters, but the strength that is in your mind and your heart. As a runner the minute that you mentally give up on yourself, you have already lost. You cannot allow your inner couch potato to get the best of you and cause you to quit. If there is pain, a runner will push themselves to power through it, to block it out and finish. A rule of thumb for runners is if you aren’t dead you can still run.