Why ‘jogging’ is a loaded term

The language we use to talk about our, and other people’s running matters.

This week’s post is from Emma Sturgess, a journalist, TV producer and runner I’ve had the pleasure to coach.

Not long ago I got home from a run and my WhatsApp pinged with a message from a lovely acquaintance. ‘Just saw you jogging,’ she said. ‘Good work!’.  I was delighted to hear from her, but surprised by how strongly I felt about the term ‘jogging’.

The dictionary definition of it is ‘the activity of running at a steady, gentle pace’. That’s absolutely what I was doing, because when my plan says run easy, I’m all over it. But in my mind, however slow and easy I go, jogging is somehow just not the word for it. ‘Jog’ lines up with plod, shuffle, trot, tootle and – heaven forbid - bimble as words some of us use when we’re not sure we deserve to say ‘run’.