By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

I have been fascinated lately by the Impostor Syndrome. It permeates into many aspects of many lives, including mine. I can’t deny that at certain times I’ve felt it as a coach, but then I see my body of work, and it subsides. As I was listening to Jacinda Ardern’s audiobook recently, I was struck by her honesty: even she questioned her readiness when she became New Zealand’s Prime Minister.

The term “impostor syndrome” was coined by psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes in the late 1970s. It is a psychological pattern where high-achieving individuals feel like frauds, doubting their accomplishments and fearing exposure as an incompetent “fake” despite external evidence of their success.

The term is so ubiquitous that in 2020, it was added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

Impostor syndrome can affect workers searching for a new job, scientists on the verge of mankind changing discoveries and even successful heads of state such as Ms. Ardern. So, we can’t be surprised when it hits the common weekend warrior like you or me.

What runner hasn’t experimented with self-doubt, attributing success to luck, while knowing they’ve worked hard for that PR? Who hasn’t doubted being ready for a race, knowing that unless there’s a catastrophic failure, our goal is almost guaranteed? The problem is not just that impostor syndrome messes up your goals, but it also leads to anxiety, overwork, and eventually burnout.

I meet so many runners who introduce themselves apologizing for being too slow, or stating they are not serious runners because they’ve never run more than a 10K. So many come to you with the “I’m a runner, but…” approach.

You don’t need to be good enough to play with Brian May, of Queen, to be a guitar player. You don’t need to have a Nobel to pour your thoughts into paper and be a writer. You don’t need to hold a world record to be a runner. If you run, you are a runner.

It is not about the medals: Your value as a runner is not given by the size of your medal collection. Your buddy who has 100 medals may have been running for 20 years. If you have been running for three years, you are not yet there.

It is not about the distances: A runner completing their first 5K is not on the same level as a runner participating it’s 10th 100-miler, of course. Yet, in that statement, there is one noun repeated twice in that affirmation: Runner. The difference is experience, distance, maybe pace, but not the label that defines them while running.

It is not about the walking breaks: There is no rule stating that you will be disqualified from a race if you walk. There is no physiological condition that will negate the benefits from your run just because you took a walking break. There is even a running technique called run/walk that allows you to combine intervals of both disciplines if you can’t or don’t want to run the whole way.

It is not about the speed: Don’t diminish your runner status by labeling yourself a “jogger” just because you believe you are too slow. There is nothing wrong or pejorative about the label, unless you are using it to downgrade yourself. You can only do what is best for you. If that is a sub-3 marathon, so be it. If that is a sub-6 marathon, so be it, too. Did you ever consider that everyone gets the same medal?

It is not about the gear: You may not have the latest Garmin watch, so what? You may not have the latest polypropylene-wicked fabrics, so what? Having just one pair of running shoes does not diminish your “runner” credentials. Even though shoe rotation is good practice, no set number of pairs qualifies you as a real runner. I take that back. There is a number: 1.

It is not about the absence of struggle: You may have 100+ marathons, be an accomplished ultramarathoner, or even have multiple Olympic medals. That doesn’t guarantee a smooth ride to the finish line. Quite the contrary. Struggling during training is good, as it guarantees that when you get to that dark and difficult place in a race, you are ready to overcome and push forward. The struggle is what makes it special.

Let’s enjoy the runner we are right now. We must not fall into the temptation of trying to be the runner we should be five years from now today. Like Teddy Roosevelt said: “Comparison is the thief of joy”. And we run for joy. If not, we would already be practicing another sport.

Please let me know your thoughts on impostor syndrome in the comment box below.