Is there a "Runner's Worldview"?

In the December 2007 issue of Running Times, Rachel Toor argues that the answer is no.

I think she is correct. In Running and Philosophy, two of the authors address worldview questions and the place of running in a good life from very different perspectives. Sharon Kaye takes running as a way to fulfill our hunter-gatherer nature, while JP Moreland views it as a spiritual discipline.

It seems to me that runners often share many of the same beliefs about life and happiness, and have many attitudes in common. Many of us agree that life's value is often found in challenge, adversity, and sustained effort towards a goal. Of course such beliefs aren't peculiar to runners, but for many these are central aspects of how we live. We come to running with a variety of worldviews, but perhaps there is a significant overlap in our beliefs about life. Perhaps these shared beliefs are what attract many of us to the sport, and keep us in it over the long haul.