Don't call me a 'jogger'

As a long-time runner, it really gripes my goat when someone asks, "So you're a jogger?"

Even when I respond, "No, I'm a runner." They then ask, "So how far do you jog?"

The word "jogger" typically is emitted by someone who doesn't run or even jog. They are sedentary or otherwise of the couch potato sort. They may mean well, but they also may not realize that some runners take the word jogger as a downright insult.

Let me jog your memory a bit about word meanings.

Merriam Webster's dictionary defines jog as "to run or ride at a slow trot" or to "go at a slow, leisurely, or monotonous pace; trudge."

On the other hand, the dictionary defines runner as "one that runs; racer." Taken further, run is defined as "to go faster than a walk; specifically to go steadily by springing steps so that both feet leave the ground for an instant in each step."

Springing steps so that both feet leave the ground versus trudge. There definitely is a difference.

A jogger just dabbles in the sport; a runner is serious about going fast.

I think I need to get a t-shirt that says, "I'm a runner, NOT a jogger." Maybe then it will jog their memory.