This ad was posted on our Runners Facebook Group and to be really honest, I wasn't so sure what to feel. I tried re-reading it and looking at it from different perspectives. This whole running vs jogging dichotomy I find very interesting but surely it also raises a lot of eyebrows (mine included!) -- the former being "the serious ones" and the latter being just "the hobbyists".
There is indeed an elitist tone to this ad which kindda rubs me the wrong way. For me, if you're not walking, you ARE running. But that's just me.
This is certainly a thought-provoking ad which I'd love to discuss with my fellow runners/joggers. I am at a loss for words as of the moment. Still trying to analyze how I really feel about this or if I am even at all affected by the whole runner and jogger debate. Though it makes me want to analyze myself if I am really a jogger or a runner. But then again, does it really matter?!
Your thoughts on this?
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UPDATE: Just got back from my 10K Tempo run and here's what I did (and would usually do when I hit the pavement)...
I started walking first, then progressed to a jog for up to 2 kilometers and then started speeding up and ran a pace of 5:30-ish. So there. I walked, jogged and ran. So I am all three if you'd like to label it - a walker, jogger and runner, thank you very much! *bow* =) Frankly, I'm just happy I got out there!
heyoo! I have read some other runner/jogger ads and such, and one that struck me and stuck with me is, to paraphrase, "if you care about being called either a runner or a jogger, you are a runner."
ReplyDeleteme? i think i am both. i call myself a jogger when i go slow, and a runner when i go faster. kinda like trotting and galloping for horses.
we can be both. the important thing is that we 'are'.
-g-
ah, Pearl Izumi strikes again... There's nothing I love more than a running company making me feel like crap - I'm sure they'd be horrified of my first marathon finish time of 5:07:18, which I'm extremely proud of, of course...
ReplyDeleteType "Pearl Izumi running ads" into Google images and check out their ad titled "The Marathon. Once a test of will, now a test of patience". It caused quite a stink around the blogosphere a while back...
oh wow,this kindof rubs me the wrong way too! and although i consider myself a "runner",have been competative for almost 20 years,i dont like the idea of making "joggers" feel like they arent doing anything! in my eyes,it doesnt matter how fast you are going,if its faster than what you normally do,then yeah,your running! i agree with gene that yes,my slower days are jogs,or slogs and my speed work days are running,and my race days (pre-pregnancy) are fast running....ahhh,i guess"running"is in the eye of the beholder!!
ReplyDeleteLove the part of running like an animal. The rest? Not really. Don't love where is says joggers are prey. Runners are hunters. So, because I run my own race and don't hunt the prey I'm not a runner? Yeah. Don't love it.
ReplyDeletethat rubs me the wrong way too. If you're out there running, however how slow, who cares why, as long as you're moving! but on the flip side, you could say they're challenging you to push yourself to your limits, and just tear it up.
ReplyDeleteWhat a joke! Sounds like somebody needs to feel special to make others feel bad.
ReplyDeleteHow 3rd grade.
I may not be a runner but I sure try my best.
I hate it when people call me a jogger. Not sure why exactly. People who run are runners. In my little brain. ;)
ReplyDeleteI think this ad came out a few years ago because I recall when I was in NY with the TNT group people discussing it. I had just started RUNNING which means I moved my legs faster then a walk and thought nothing of it BUT one of the ladies on the team vowed to never buy Pearl Izumi again.
ReplyDeleteI forgot about it until you brought it up. As a Team Leader for Marathon Makeover I am of the mindset that it is more important to get out of your house, off your couch and moving. You want to pigeon hole yourself into a label feel free, as for me if you are out there then call yourself whatever you want.
This is not an exclusive club. This is a way to get healthy (both physically and mentally.) This is a way to be social. This is a way to gain confidence. This is a lifestyle no matter what you call it.
Hey wait....I'm not done....put my soapbox back....thank you.
This for me is an advertisement meant to stir debate, which it has successfully done so kudos to PI on that but in the end it doesn't matter what you call yourself so long as you are outside getting healthy because that is what it is all about.
OK....pass the soapbox to the next contestant.
Wow, they really alienated a huge portion of their market here. It sounds very condescending and completely against what running stands for in the running community I've become accustomed to. The running community is very encouraging and accepting and welcoming. This ad, is not. I'd go so far as to say it changed my opinion of their brand and I probably won't buy it anymore.
ReplyDeleteI'm not much of a runner. Nor much of a jogger, come to think of it. I walk. And I get there :-). Racewalking a hundred miles isn't quite the same as running a marathon or shorter. Let's all just get along.
ReplyDeleteI think that as long as you are out there moving your ass and being active, the difference between jogging or running doesn't matter. Do what you can do. Crawl if you have to.
ReplyDeleteI am a runner. No matter what the speed I happen to be moving, it's a hell of a lot faster than when I walk. Those ads irk me and I would not buy their products because of that...apparently they don't want me as a customer, anyway.
ReplyDeleteI personally love those PI ads! I think they should inspire everyone to run! And I also think it's in jest. If you don't get the joke then the joke's on you.
ReplyDeleteBTW I don't think it's pace that determines whether you're a runner or not. If you're training to get better you're a runner. If you're jogging around the block to burn off that cookie you just ate after dinner you're not a runner.
It's not exactly an inspiring ad to all those wannabes out there who just need a little push to get them off the sofa and into the great outdoors. I'm proud to be a jogger who's trying hard to be faster, besides, whatever happened to the phrase "don't run before you can walk"? Surely the majority of runners all started in the same place as the rest of us, tentatively jogging/running a few feet to see if they could do it!
ReplyDeleteI say Pearl Izumi is looking to lose some potential customers here!
ReplyDeleteWould I really belittle someone because they are "just" running to get in shape for their wedding. Who cares? They are out there and they are moving. For some people, making it to the end of the block is an accomplishment, and I say cheers to them for getting off the couch and getting it done. We are runners. And frankly, I bet even the elites don't mind being grouped the same...
ReplyDeleteso i read your post yesterday and decided to hold off on my comments but i have to say it occupied a lot of my thoughts during my run today! pearl izumi needs to take a flying leap. the more i thought about it the more i was so bugged. who are they to say if we're not elite or winning the races we're not runners. whatevs pearl izumi. the only thing i own that's pi is a pair of socks. i'm gonna throw them away asap. take that pearl izumi. :)
ReplyDeletei also do walk, jog and run. i think jogging is slow running. when we see elites jogging we dont call them joggers ayt?
ReplyDeletebut "walkers" and "joggers" cant be called "runners"
with regars to Pearl Izumi's statement that runners are predators,i dont think so...
predators are sprinters, and usually the prey are marathoners (consistent pace)
Well now, I am certainly not an elite runner or do I think that I will ever quality for Boston. I have good races and some that suck rocks! I am still a runner:) I get out there and I am moving....some days it might be slower than others but I will always think of myself as a runner.
ReplyDeleteThank you Julie for being as torn as I was when I read this!
ReplyDeleteI consider myself a runner but a "real" runner would probably judge my slow running as jogging. As someone who at 38 years old has pushed and fought to develop a passion for running (and peel away 77 pounds in the process) and who struggles to up speed and become faster, I take offense at being considered a mere hobbyist who is getting in anyones way.
For me, running is passion. We run because it fuels us, nurtures our spirit and body - perhaps inspires a competitiveness within - but to be "waived off" as prey is offensive for anyone to consider any group of people who take fitness seriously. So if I'm "prey" what's the 80 year old grandma who is walking at the park to remain in good health considered?
I NEVER have and never will say "jogging" or "i'm a jogger". I say I'm a runner and I'm going for a RUN!
ReplyDeleteThe ad is a little bit too elitist for my taste. I feel like they were trying to copy Nike (who always has AWESOME ads) and they failed miserably at it.
I think the first time I read this kind of line was way back 2009 and I was really enraged to the one who read it. All I could say is, I jog so I could run, and I run so I could jog, therefore, I still am a runner! :D
ReplyDeleteThis ad irks me. In todays society, where alot of poeple are obese and eat too much bad food, it shouldnt matter if someone runs or jogs, the fact they are outside, doing something, to make themselve heathier shouldnt be put down.
ReplyDelete