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A boyfriend is being criticised online for not supporting his girlfriend when she decided to run a half marathon.
In a Reddit post shared on popular confession forum Am I The A**hole, the 28-year-old asked anonymous users if he was wrong to tell his partner he thought it was a “bad idea” for her to sign up for the December race.
According to the Reddit user, his girlfriend had originally signed up for the half marathon to avoid having to attend another previously planned event. Although she is not a regular “runner,” she promised to follow a 12-week plan leading up to the event.
The Reddit user admitted: “I'm a runner for an elite running club. I've run over a dozen half marathons and countless 5K and 10K races in my life.
“This summer I ran a 10K and a half marathon,” he continued. “I finished fifth overall in the 10K and 12th in my age group in the half marathon. I’m not a “good” runner (good in the sense of running for a living), but I know what I’m talking about.”
While the original poster works out frequently, his girlfriend has only recently started taking workout classes, specifically barre classes that work out the lower body and glutes. And while she's been working out more, the Reddit user told her she needs to be doing more to prepare for the half marathon.
He said: “I advised him to start walking and jogging now, before starting the 12-week program. I told him that he needs to develop a cardiovascular base before embarking on a half marathon program that includes jogging, repetitions, intervals, long distances, hills, etc.”
The Reddit user revealed that his girlfriend is not willing to stop taking Barre classes or adopt the suggested regimen.
“I told him that a half marathon is a lot of mileage and that he needed to prepare better so he wouldn’t get injured during the race,” she wrote. “He said he wasn’t interested in achieving a ‘good time’ and just wanted to finish, even if it meant walking.”
Still, the Reddit user tried to convince his girlfriend to take her training more seriously, especially since she was “starting from scratch.” According to him, a regular runner would follow a 12-week program, while a beginner would usually need a more vigorous one.
She said: “That was the final straw, and she got very angry with me saying that I was trying to belittle her, that I wasn’t supporting her, and that it’s not easy for her when her boyfriend is in good shape and she’s not.”
The Reddit user apologized to his girlfriend and admitted that he could have handled the situation better. With that said, he curiously asked readers if he was the “bad guy” and was acting unreasonably in the situation. And, to his dismay, most Reddit readers thought he was in the wrong.
One person thought: “She’s not going to marry running, she’s signed up for a half marathon. At best she’ll kick it and take it more seriously next time; at worst she’ll back out halfway or have to walk if she’s determined to finish it.”
“Doing a 12-week program recommended by half-marathoners sounds pretty serious,” argued a second reader. “Let her do what she wants. If she doesn’t finish, well, she tried.”
Another added: “It’s just a half marathon. He can walk it if he wants. He can quit it if he wants. He can sleep in if he wants.”
Meanwhile, one sympathetic reader pointed out: “I think you meant to ‘take more seriously’ the potential for self-harm by jumping into the 12-week training course, since that course is intended for people who are already runners. So, you’re worried about her getting hurt.”
