You used to be fun. Now you cancel brunch for long runs, show up to parties in running shoes, and everything you post on Instagram is race medals and GPS maps. Not sure why your friends are ghosting you? This might help.
Here’s exactly how to lose friends if you’re a runner—one mile at a time.
P.S. Laugh, nod, and maybe text your non-runner friend back. It’s been a while.
1. Talk about running. Constantly.
It starts small.
A quick mention of your weekend long run. A casual reference to your new carbon-plated shoes. Then suddenly, you’re that person explaining marathon pace strategy at a wedding.
Your friend says, “I’m stressed,” and you reply, “You should try running!”
Your coworker mentions they’re going to Paris, and you say, “I know a great half marathon there.”
They didn’t ask, but you told them anyway.
No one is safe—not your friends, your dentist, your barista at Starbucks, or even the delivery guy who made the mistake of asking how your day was.
2. Cancel plans for long runs
Brunch? Sorry, got 16 miles.
Movie night? Gotta be up at 5 a.m.
Honestly, you’re not avoiding them. You’re just in a more committed relationship with your training plan.
3. Insist they “just try a 5K”
You’re evangelical now.
“Oh, you’d love it.”
“It’s only 3.1 miles,” you say, as if that’s not the longest distance they’ve run since high school.
You hand them a training plan and a link to the local Turkey Trot. You offer to sign them up. To pace them. To make matching race shirts.
But their idea of “fun” doesn’t involve waking up at 5 a.m. to suffer in the rain just to get a banana at the finish. They’ll come up with any excuse—no matter how unhinged—just to avoid getting another sign-up link in their DMs.
4. Get very dramatic when someone calls a 10K “a marathon”
It happens at a party. Someone says, “Yeah, I ran a marathon once—10K, I think.”
You physically flinch. Time slows down. Your eye twitches.
You try to stay calm, but your soul screams: “THAT’S NOT A MARATHON.”
You proceed to explain—loudly—that a marathon is exactly 26.2 miles, that 10K is just over 6, and that words matter.
Congratulations. You’ve now been uninvited from future parties and group chats.
Related: 15 Most Annoying Things People Say to Runners
5. Wear running gear 24/7
It’s technical, it’s bright, it smells like commitment.
Yes, they see your new neon moisture-wicking tee. No, this isn’t a shakeout jog—it’s a baby shower.
Your friends are starting to question if you own anything without reflective tape or mesh panels. And no one has seen your feet not in running shoes since 2020.
6. Make your Strava everyone’s business
Overshare your Strava and then repost it to Instagram—that’s the rule. If you didn’t post it, did it even happen?
Morning jog? Strava’d. Evening recovery? Captioned. Long run with bathroom emergency? Tracked, tagged, and dissected in your stories.
Your friends now know more about your average heart rate than your actual personality.
7. Lose toenails. And followers.
Or even worse—post the gross stuff no normal person wants to see. Black toenails. Blisters. Nipple chafing.
Your friends were loyal followers. Now they scroll a little faster… or unfollow entirely.
8. Invite them to cheer at your marathon
You say “Come support me!”
You mean “Arrive at sunrise, track me live, meet me at mile 9, then again at 15, bring a sign, hand me gels, and carry my gear.”
You want a video of your start, a finish line photo, a towel, a snack, and deep emotional validation.
They thought they were just spectating—turns out they were volunteering. No one gets “friend burnout” quite like a first-time marathon cheer squad.
9. Run even on vacation
You’re sharing a beach house with friends. They’re sleeping off cocktails and jet lag—meanwhile, you’re clomping around at 5:30 a.m., digging through your gear, unzipping fifteen zippers looking for your socks, and trying to quietly sneak for an “easy 10-mile jog.”
They came to relax. You came to log miles along the coastline with a view.
Next trip, they’ll book a hotel without you.
10. Prioritize races over everything else
You’re always “out of town” on weekends, and there’s always a race. A half, a full, a random 10K you signed up for “just for fun” in a town no one’s heard of.
You’ve missed birthdays, bachelorette parties, camping trips. At this point, your friends just assume you’re unavailable from Friday to Sunday until further notice.
Even your dog is reconsidering the relationship.
Related: 20 Reasons Why Runners Are the Worst People to Travel With
So… are you the problem?
Maybe a little. But hey, if they can’t handle you at your sweaty, GPS-obsessed worst—do they really deserve you at your runner’s high best?
Besides, the real ones know: beneath the race talk and the toenail photos, you’ve got a heart of gold (and a resting heart rate of 48).
And if a few friends drift off, don’t worry. You’ll make new ones on the start line.
