When you chance upon a marathon runner with a toned body, tanned skin, strong legs, sweaty hair, and a race medal hanging around the neck, it is easy to develop a crush almost instantaneously. But before you let your emotion take control and drag you to cloud nine, guard and protect yourself, do not let yourself fall too deep.

Dating a runner is not a bed of roses. You deserve to know the 'ugly' truths why you should not date a marathon runner.

1. She doesn’t have too much time to go on dates.

With her marathon training plan which requires her to train at least 4 times a day, including a long run on the weekend, on top of her busy work load, there is hardly enough time for her to juggle going on dates. She has committed to a rigid training plan which she will stick to faithfully until she achieves her goals. No, you can’t change her schedule.

Do not even think that each of her training sessions lasts only 1 hour, and that you can both catch a late night dinner afterwards.

The truth is, weekday runs will occupy at least 3 hours of her evenings, including preparation, the run itself, and the shower afterwards. Meanwhile, weekend long runs would take up 4 to 5 hours including preparation and shower.

Do not ask her out for a late night dinner, she needs a good deal of rest, to let her worked muscles recover in time.

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2. She doesn’t enjoy going to the cinema or fancy restaurants.

She doesn’t care about the latest blockbuster movies or Hollywood hot gossips. Neither does she care about the trendiest cafés, or latest food trends, in whatever shopping malls. Indoor activities bore her.

She would rather do outdoor trekking, hiking, cycling, swimming, sailing, wakeboarding or surfing during her non-training days.

She isn’t afraid of the blazing sun or humidity. Her soul craves adrenaline and endorphins that come from outdoor adventures.

3. She is stubborn, ambitious, and competitive.

She is stubborn; once she sets her mind on a marathon goal timing, she will put everything she has into achieving it. There’s no way to talk her out of what she wants to do.

She is ambitious; she keeps on improving her fitness, she trains and works harder year after year, challenging and pushing herself to the limit, because she can’t settle for anything less than her ambition.

Running and training consume her, she breathes them, she is obsessed with them, and she might influence you to be a runner. And if you dare to be a runner, be prepared to train very hard, for she will always overtake you during the runs and leave your ego bruised.

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4. She doesn’t wear makeup, high heels and fancy clothes.

She doesn’t need them to boost her confidence or to impress anyone. She doesn’t keep up with latest fashion or labels. Designer brand is a foreign concept for her.

She already knows she is beautiful and strong in her own way. She is able to distinguish between superficiality and originality.

She would rather spend her money on sportswear, sport gears, nutritious food, outdoor activities or signing up for more races; things that give real meaning to her life.

5. When planning for vacation, she is always on the lookout for sports activities or races.

Going on vacation with her means plenty of high-intensity, sweat-inducing activities. She will drag you out of bed for an early morning climb up a mountain. She will conquer those long distance trails outside the bustling city and claim it is a necessary part of her training plan.

Sometimes, a vacation is just an excuse for her to sign up for overseas marathon races. If you are lucky to accompany her for an overseas race, you will waste your vacation time because you won’t be able to visit touristy places, instead you have to be her personal assistant, accompany her to the starting line, take care of her belongings, cheer for her along the way, and wait for hours until she crosses the finish line.

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If you can’t keep up with all of these, dating a marathon runner is not for you. You will be better off dating non-runners who have plenty of time to go on fancy dates with you, who will not dare to pursue goals more ambitious than yours, who will appear beautiful in perfect makeup and adorable dresses, and whose idea of a great vacation involves shopping for materialistic stuff.

So are you ready to date a marathoner?