I have fostered so many great friendships with Crossfit folks over the years. While out on a run the other day, it dawned on me— “I get Crossfit!” Â When I first heard Crossfitters talk about their sport, it almost felt like a foreign language. Lifting weights, pulling things around, running, jumping on boxes. Although I’ve always had an appreciation for the sport, and have tried it a few times, I’ve never done it full time. I guess I love running so much that I have devoted most of my time to that.
Here are my thought about why Runners and Crossfit people “get” each other:
1. Â Tenacity: When the going gets tough— they push even harder.
2. Patience: They both have a deep understanding that change occurs over time. We’re committed and in it for the long haul– we understand the meaning of delayed gratification.
3. Achieve: We’re very goal driven. We have a vision of what we want and we don’t stop until we achieve that–see #2
4. Strength: We love the feeling of having a strong body. We thrive on the self confidence that having a powerful body gives us.
5. Internal Reward: Â Our motivation is very seldom to look good on the beach (although this is a serious side effect). We stay loyal because of how our sport makes us feel inside.
6. Congregation: People might say, “Isn’t that some kind of cult?” or “Why would you ever want to do that?” or “Isn’t that bad for you?” We’ve heard it all, it doesn’t ever stop us, and we don’t really care what you think. We are a tribe of very supportive people who encourage one another to be the best version of ourselves, Â but we are far from a cult, thank you very much.
7. Change: We are never afraid to change things up. In both crossfit and endurance sports, sometimes you have to completely change what you’re doing in order to get results. We very seldom get into a rut in our sport or in our lives.
8. Community: We’re a tribe. Young, old, small, large, we don’t discriminate. If you walk into a Crossfit box or a running group, we welcome you as part of our family. You don’t need to be a pro or have a perfect body, we will make you feel like you belong.
9. Fearless: Crossfit and endurance athletes aren’t afraid to GO BIG. We welcome new and bigger challenges with open arms. This applies to both sport and life.
10. Loyalty: We understand there is no quick fix for living a healthy life. Although we may have days when we eat junk food and lounge around all day, those are far fewer than the days of work we put in. We live a healthy lifestyle the majority of the time. We don’t cheat very often.
Crossfit/Running Link Love
For more great Crossfit/Running related reading take a look at some of these posts–>
For those of you who are not sure what Crossfit is, here’s a great explanation by Lean Green Bean— What is Crossfit?
For those of you who run and Crossfit, here is an amazing woman to follow who does both: Running Hutch— A collection: Training and Crossfit
A runner who swears by Crossfit: Eat, Sleep, Run Disney
This is a great article by Just a Colorado Gal: Crossfit Myths Debunked
Interesting and informative post by Katrina Runs for Food: Crossfit and Rhabdo
Kids and Crossfit? Iron Rogue reviews: Review Kids at Square One
A seriously BADASS runner (I ran Nuun HTC with her) who incorporates a “little” Crossfit into her training– The FitFork — On Your Mark, Get Set, Crossfit, Oh “Row” is Me – Inspired by the Crossfit games, and finally, my favorite My Secret to Running 50 miles on a Whim.
Really good questions answered by It’s a Harley Life— To Crossfit or Not To Crossfit
Running with the Girls is a Crossfit fan – check out: I’m in, Are you?
Ever wonder why on earth someone would want to run? Read this post by yours truly– Why We Run
Don’t Forget!
Last but not least, don’t forget to enter my Topo Athletic shoe giveaway–They have incredible kicks running and crossfit–enter by Friday February 7, 2014 right HERE
