If you’re not a runner yourself, you may probably know someone who is. This could be your spouse or partner, your brother or sister, a flatmate you’re renting an apartment with, or perhaps even a close relative or a good friend.

What’s it like, living with a runner?
Photo: hereandnow.wbur.org

But unless you are living together with that person, you may not know what it’s really like to live together with a runner. So here are some humorous and comical insights (tongue in cheek) on what living in the same household as a runner – is really like.

1. They wake up early to run on weekends

While you are sleeping soundly in your bed, eager to catch up on some valuable sleep after five long days at work, your runner housemate has already woken up ages ago and is probably pounding the pavement or trails, and burning thousands of calories in the process.

2. They keep weird things in the fridge and kitchen

If you’re living with a runner, you are probably used to seeing some rather weird stuff inside the fridge or stowed away nearly on the kitchen shelves. These often include those shiny aluminium packets of gels, capsules containing salt and even protein powders.

And if you happen to be living with an ultra runner, you may even find items such as jelly beans and chocolate bars appearing inside your fridge but he or she may often remind you that such items are for those long runs only, and not for munching mindlessly in front of the television.

3. You are always having to make ice

Living with a runner means that you are always having to make ice. That’s because runners use a lot, regardless of whether it is to ice an injured part of the body after a nasty fall on the trails – or to completely submerge their body in the cold, frozen stuff after a long, hard training run or a race. Yes non-runners may wonder why someone wants to dunk themselves in cold ice, but for some runners, this helps them to ease their recovery and aids injured muscles after a long hard session – and enables them to get out onto the roads or trails again soon.

4. They spend thousands of dollars on a so-called “Cheap” sport

Like most non-runners, you may think that running is a cheap sport – and that only a $100 to $200 pair of running shoes is needed and you are good to go.

Well, for avid runners, this is far from the truth. And you probably won’t know this, unless you are living with one. Besides running shoes, avid runners will want to buy good quality running tees and shorts, compression gear, a GPS watch and a heart rate monitor, hydration pack and water belts, and the list simply goes on and on. Most times, there may even be more than one pair of shoes – but each serves a different purpose. Yes, the costs all add up.

And furthermore, there are the race fees to think about if your runner partner, friend or relative is taking part in races regularly. But what if the races are overseas? Yes, then there are some more costs to think about – the plane ticket and the hotel accommodation.

So if your partner, sibling or flatmate comes home with running socks, a new hydration pack and a running tee after picking up a race pack one day, you definitely know that he or she is an avid runner.

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