When is running a sport?

and when is it recreation?

What a weekend it has been for running! I was in the Lake District, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the wind was having a day off! Looking at the results that have flooded in it would seem that many runbritain readers were also enjoying perfect running conditions. There have been fast times run at events all over the country and many a happy parkrunner.

The orange fell between lake and sky

I started my weekend with a run out at my local parkrun and ran around 30 seconds faster than I did the last time I ran. Apart from being a little bit wet and slippy on the corners the conditions were near perfect. I worked hard for my time and finished with jelly legs. I would say that my session was more effort than recreation and that started me wondering where that line is that means a runner is taking part in sport rather than a pastime.

After a quick shower and breakfast I headed up to The Lakes with running high on the agenda. The running that I performed for the rest of the weekend was definitely of the recreational type. I ran easy and appreciated the views and scenery. Okay, the hills were tough and required sweat, a raised heart rate and heavy breathing but my motivation was more about the enjoyment and thrill of being out there, running across the orange fell that sat between the lake and sky that were the clearest shades of blue. Bliss!

As I reflected on the weekend it occured to me that I had participated in two types of running. One where I was driven to beat my time and beat other people (yes, I'm afraid I did get a little bit competitive against other runners at parkrun on Saturday) and another where I was driven by my love of running and the fells. We often refer to running as 'our sport' but is it always sport? Do we need competition to call it sport and if so, what form does that competition take? Are we trying to beat an opponent? A time? A distance? What if we are running for the love of running? Is it then still sport?

A couple of miles down the road there was some serious sport going on. Yared Hagos was flying round the Derwentwater Ten Road Race and crossing the line in just over forty nine minutes. He beat everyone else who ran the race and he beat the 25 year old course record! I wonder how many of the runners in the race went home on Sunday knowing who had won and that the course record had been broken. Many were probably running the Derwentwater Ten for recreational purposes, for an enjoyable long Sunday run without a care of who was up front with the eye of the tiger! I wonder how many of the 455 runners were taking part in sport and for how many it was a pastime.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, Chris Finill and Steve Pope were lining up for the start of the New York City Marathon. What set them apart from the other 47,000 runners was the fact that they had run more than 3000 miles to get to the start! They set off from California on 11 August and ran across America in time to start the New York City Marathon with a mission to raise £10,000 for Help for Heroes. So what have they been doing for the last three months? Is it sport that they were undertaking for the challenge and competition against the clock or was it recreational running because they were really just out for a Very Long Run?! Was the Run Across America more pastime and the marathon itself more sport because there were other people to run against and a watch timing the recognised marathon distance?

I think most runners do both types of running at different times but some fit more into one category than the other. These days I fit more into the pastime category but people still make me feel sporty when they say "You can tell you are a runner - you look really sporty"!