Could I be (gasp) a runner?

Sometime last year, I don't even remember when, I started jogging on the treadmill at work. Slowly. Off and on, now and then. It didn't seem to bother my hip, and it was a good workout I could do in the fitness center at work during my lunch break. I was very casual about it, and if I didn't get to it for a week or three, no sweat (literally). I certainly didn't think my shuffling step and casual way qualified me as a runner. No way. I couldn't run, never had, never would. Then this new year, 2008, something changed. It was probably the fact that Barry had been running around our trails enough that he signed up for an event, the "Geezer Pleaser". I went to cheer him on and take photos. Seeing all the runners there, including some old acquaintances from the bike club we used to belong to, and most especially my dad's old and dear friend Abie Harris, running stronger than ever at age 74, inspired me to pick up the pace a bit. I started by running three laps on our wooded trails, less than two miles, and was about to die when I finished. The treadmill was easier, so I did that a couple of times a week too, gradually increasing my mileage a quarter to a half-mile at a time. I continued running on the trails every weekend, also increasing my mileage there. I bought a couple of running books by John "The Penguin" Bingham, who preaches that anyone can be a runner and that being slow (which I most assuredly am, by any standard) is good. This past week, I hit a milestone I never thought I could reach. I ran five miles on the treadmill, without stopping, and I finished feeling better than I started. I also ran five miles on the trails, though I did have to walk a few short sections after hills to let my heart rate calm down a bit. Still, I did it. Slowly, but I did it. John Bingham says that if you run, you are a runner. So there you have it. I am a runner. And it feels good to say that, especially with my 47th birthday looming. My forties have been all about discovering my "hidden athlete". I'm liking that a lot.