Will I always feel like a fraud?

A strange little thing happened yesterday at my office. I was having sort of a tough day, getting overwhelmed with responsibility and frustration.... all of this stress and frustration had been building all day... and I actually thought to myself, "It's a rest day today, but I want to run." Without a doubt, this is the first time that I have ever found myself craving physical activity as an outlet. I must be making progress now, no?

In the end, I did not go for a run. Instead, I went to see Damien Rice with some friends at the Fillmore. The show was AMAZING, and good times were had by all.

Tonight's training run was pretty good. I ran faster (i.e. farther in 30 minutes) than I had done previously, so that felt good... well, not so much at the time, but it sure feels great now that I'm sitting on my comfy sofa watching Family Guy. At the time, I was huffing and puffing pretty good. But, I was trying to run a bit faster tonight, so it was a mission accomplished. As I have probably mentioned, the smallest things tend to trip me up: location, weather, pace, music, etc.... So, in an effort to face these little hang-ups, I will run tomorrow's 30 minutes as I normally do and Thursday's 45 minutes in a new and exciting location. ... baby steps....

When I first moved to Colorado, I remember talking to my dad (who lives, tragically, very far away) on the phone. We were talking about skiing, and I mentioned how I was getting better on skis, and he said "So you're becoming a skier, rather than just a person who skis?" So lately, I've been thinking quite a bit about what makes a "runner", as opposed to just a "person who runs". I've been thinking about this because as I do my fundraising, I am faced with having to wear the "runner" label. I tell prospective donors: "I am training for a half-marathon"... and then I have to prepare myself for the blank stare (that is probably a little generous... more likely it is a look of disbelief and shock) that inevitably comes back. I almost feel like I have to apologize for what I'm doing (the training, not the fundraising).

So, I ask you: What qualifies a person as a "runner"? Do you have to have a certain number of miles under your belt? A certain number of months/years running? A certain 10K time? Do you have to have a specific physique? I have heard a wide variety of ideas, from "you can call yourself a runner when you run a sub-4hour marathon" to "you can call yourself a runner if you run, even just slowly and occasionally". ...SO...What are the official prerequisites to get you into this exclusive club? I am open to all ideas at this point....