Running v. jogging- what's the difference? - Couch to 5K

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Running v. jogging- what's the difference?

Soozz profile image
SoozzGraduate
17 Replies

Can anyone enlighten me about the difference between running and jogging? All I know is that I like to say/think I'm a runner rather than a jogger! Does it say something about how serious you are about what you're doing? ( I get the sense that 'jogging' is rather lightweight and a slightly derisory term). Or is it to do with pace? In which case I probably am jogging rather than running, as I'm definitely a tortoise rather than a hare. Hmmmm. I'll be interested in what people think. (If anyone can actually communicate with this new website, sigh!)

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Soozz profile image
Soozz
Graduate
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17 Replies
DeliaItaly profile image
DeliaItalyGraduate

Soozz --- you have been tagged with the word "sigh" hahahahaha

greenlegs profile image
greenlegsGraduate in reply to DeliaItaly

Most appropriate! :)

Soozz profile image
SoozzGraduate in reply to DeliaItaly

I saw that and tried to delete it but guess what? I couldn't!

Kimmiijay profile image
KimmiijayGraduate

From wiki "The definition of jogging as compared with running is not standard. One definition describes jogging as running slower than 6 miles per hour (10 km/h). Jogging is also distinguished from running by having a wider lateral spacing of foot strikes, creating side-to-side movement that likely adds stability at slower speeds or when coordination is lacking."

Well, at my 5mph I'm a jogger...I hate this word - must get faster to become runner.

lola465 profile image
lola465Graduate in reply to Kimmiijay

Blast - I'm a jogger too then.....Oh well, I can live with that. I'm a tortoise, not a hare.

paulinairawanzhao profile image
paulinairawanzhao in reply to Kimmiijay

I call myself a jogger too because I run.. then walk.. then run... is this called pacing oneself? according to my Garmin VivoActiveHR, this morning, I've got 2.24km in 23min, 10:18 pace(min/km)

greenlegs profile image
greenlegsGraduate

Well I say I'm a runner - though if I log my runs on the sparkpeople website, I'm so slow it labels them as walking! :D

So, I suppose I jog, but it's my body's version of running. So running it is.

tor41 profile image
tor41Graduate in reply to greenlegs

I use the running bug website it makes you feel better and you can log your 'bug miles' I am a runner-I think shorter lateral spacing of feet, but def less than 6 mph :-)

katee1958 profile image
katee1958Graduate

agree with greenlegs, I say I am going out for a walk/run, but my pace is so slow it is really a jog, but considering I never did any real exercise upto 4 weeks ago, I am proud of what I am doing and really don't mind what it is called, and is my bodys version of running :)

fitterinfo profile image
fitterinfo

If both feet are off the ground you're running!

"defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground. This is in contrast to walking, where one foot is always in contact with the ground

The term running can refer to any of a variety of speeds ranging from jogging to sprinting."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running

waletta profile image
walettaGraduate in reply to fitterinfo

If both feet are off the ground are you certain you're not flying. I'm so high after the session (& I'm still on week1) that I feel like I've been flying. :)

Plinth profile image
PlinthGraduate

In week 6 Laura told me "now you're a runner". So that's what I am! I'm just a slow one!

LMS2110 profile image
LMS2110Graduate

I didn't consult Wikipedia, but I've always thought of all speeds and paces above a walking rate to be one form or another of 'running'! I suppose I took my lead from the world of swimming which I competed in about 50 years ago! Whether doing backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly or freestyle - these are all performed at different speeds but are all still, undeniably,

'swimming'!

I reckon that the moment I make forward movement a little bit faster than walking, and lift my feet a little higher too ... I'm running :D

Besides, as Plinth has said, Laura says so ... So it must be ok ;)

Cheers, Linda x

Soozz profile image
SoozzGraduate

Thanks, this is all very enlightening as we'll as reassuring. I guess if you look like a runner, feel like a runner, call yourself a runner, and Laura says you're a runner, then by jiminy, you ARE a runner. Not a jogger.

katee1958 profile image
katee1958Graduate

:)

cpacmel profile image
cpacmel

Difference between a runner and a jogger-------> an entry form for a race

Wolfger profile image
Wolfger in reply to cpacmel

I know the day I signed up for a race is the day I started calling myself a runner. Pace be damned. (currently at 5.5 MPH on the treadmill)

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