am i a 'real' runner?

even though i use running/walking intervals, i still feel like a runner.

i didn't use to think that way. back when i started three years ago, i thought being a real runner meant running all the way. i am not sure what changed my mind. time, maybe. the effort i have put in to get to where i am now.

there are a lot of people that think being a runner means no walking breaks. i wonder what conditions us to think that way?

“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.” ~John Bingham

i will never be an elite athlete. i will never run the boston marathon. i will never compete in an ironman. that is not my goal or my intention. but in my mind, i am a runner. taking walk breaks and all.


**what do you think? do i get to claim the 'runner' status if i use running/walking intervals? (i will not be offended if you say no. i want real opinions.)