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.

The single biggest mistake made while training during the winter is overdressing. One easy way to determine whether you are overdressed is to use the 'out the door' test. Dress so that you are chilled when you walk out the door for your workout. If you are warm before you begin, you will be too hot and risk overheating during the workout. You don't need as much as you think. Typically you should dress for 15 degrees warmer than the current temperature. That will account for your increased body temperature while moving and is a good gauge in deciding what to wear.

The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.

Even if you haven't actually run, even if you're overweight, even if you were always the kid picked last in gym class, even if you're clumsy, even if you don't own a single piece of fitness equipment, you ARE a runner. You don't have to run fast to be a runner. You don't have to be skinny to be a runner. You don't have to run marathons to be a runner. You only have to want to run. Take your first step along your path to joyful running right now by writing down all the reasons you can't run, can't be fit, and can't possibly become an athlete. Then crumple up that list with all the force you can muster and toss it in the trash. Not the trash in your kitchen, where you can get it back out and try on those 'can'ts' again for size, but in the trash by the curb. Trash those can'ts. You can run. You are a runner.

It was being a runner that mattered, not how fast or how far I could run. The joy was in the act of running and in the journey, not in the destination. We have a better chance of seeing where we are when we stop trying to get somewhere else. We can enjoy every moment of movement, as long as where we are is as good as where we'd like to be. That's not to say that you need to be satisfied forever with where you are today. But you need to honor what you've accomplished, rather than thinking of what's left to be done.

Thinking about embarking on a new lifestyle, improving your current lifestyle or setting new running goals? The first step in that process is being honest. It's not enough to want to change or achieve. You have to know what price you're willing to pay to do it. Sometimes it's just not that easy. I have to train rigorously to run marathons. Marathon training divides my life neatly into two categories: what I have to do because I'm training for a marathon and what I can't do because I'm training for a marathon. What I have found, and what I think you'll find, is that small sacrifices yield large benefits. By moving a little more, eating a little less, and making better choices more often, you'll be surprised at how your body will respond. More importantly, your spirit will be lifted as you live up to your best expectations.

Long distance training can be a positive & constructive form of selfishness. After all, once you're at the starting line, you're there by yourself. No one can run a single step for you. No one can jump in and help you. No one but you can make the decisions about what to do to keep going. It's all up to you.

Frustration is the first step towards improvement. I have no incentive to improve if I'm content with what I can do and if I'm completely satisfied with my pace, distance and form as a runner. It's only when I face frustration and use it to fuel my dedication that I feel myself moving forwards.

What distinguishes those of us at the starting line from those of us on the couch is that we learn through running to take what the days gives us, what our body will allow us, and what our will can tolerate.

I AM A RUNNER because my runs have names. I do tempo runs and threshold runs and fartlek runs. I do long, slow runs and track workouts. My runs are defined, even if my abs are not. 

I AM A RUNNER because my shoes are training equipment, not a fashion statement. The best shoe for me is the one that makes me a better runner. I choose the shoe that goes with my running mechanics, not my running outfit. 

I AM A RUNNER because I don't have running outfits. I have technical shirts and shorts and socks. I have apparel that enhances the experience of running by allowing me to run comfortably. I can say Coolmax and Gore-Tex in the same sentence and know which does what.

I AM A RUNNER because I know what effort feels like, and I embrace it. I know when I'm pushing the limits of my comfort and why I'm doing it. I know that heavy breathing and an accelerated heart rate–things I once avoided–are necessary if I want to be a better runner.

I AM A RUNNER because I value and respect my body. It will whisper to me when I've done too much. And if I choose to listen to that whisper, my body won't have to scream in pain later on. 

I AM A RUNNER because I am willing to lay it all on the line. I know that every finish line has the potential to lift my spirits to new highs or devastate me, yet I line up anyway. 

I AM A RUNNER because I know that despite my best efforts, I will always want more from myself. I will always want to know my limits so that I can exceed them. 

I AM A RUNNER because I run. Not because I run fast. Not because I run far. 

I AM A RUNNER because I say I am. And no one can tell me I'm not. 

Until I started running, I never understood that the shape, form, weight, strength, and fitness level of my body were the result of the perspiration, not the diet. I viewed my body like wrapping paper. My body hid what was inside so that no one could guess the contents. No one could see what the smoking was doing to my lungs. No one could see what the drinking was doing to my liver. No one could see what the poor food choices were doing to my arteries.

Of course, it's much easier to get thin than to get fit. Getting thinner is simply a matter of denying yourself nourishment for as long as you can. If you reduce your caloric intake enough, your body will begin to devour itself, and in a few weeks or months, you'll be thinner. But you won't be fit. In fact, it's likely that you'll be in worse shape than before you lost weight. Fitness requires perspiration. There's no shortcut around that fact.

It's important to remember that each footstrike carries you forward, not backward. And every time you put on your running shoes you are different in some way than you were the day before. This is all good news, since we have no control over the kind of runner we were in the past, yet we have a fair amount of control over the kind of runner we want to become.

In the future, will you be a faster runner? Probably, if you make weekly speedwork a priority. Will you be able to run farther? Most likely, if you gradually increase your weekly mileage. You have a say when you focus on where you're trying to go instead of where you've been.