Stupid. Really?

Language is a funny thing, and it is the cause of some constant irritations to me, especially in terms of running.

The amount of times I have seen or heard people say
" I'm going to do something stupid" in reference to a long, hard run,
or
"I'm going to do X, I must be MAD!!!!!" (generally with far too many exclaimation marks)
is far, far too many.

These comments tend to come to light when someone decides that they are going to do the 3 peaks, or run a marathon, or something like that. Something out of the ordinary for them. Now, I have no issue with them doing that. In fact it is generally healthy to step outside of your comfort zone, what really annoys me is that anything which is challenging is immediately seen as "stupid" or "mad" or some other idiotic title.

No.

Jumping out of a plane with no means of stopping yourself plummeting into the ground is fairly "stupid". Using an axe to get through your front door when you have a key in your pocket is pretty stupid too.
Running 26 miles is not "stupid" neither is is "mad". Ditto for fellrunning or climbing.
Yes, it may be challenging. Yes, it might be difficult. However there are those of us who do these things for fun. That is not "mad" either. It is just different to what other people may do with their spare time. It's almost insulting that something I do on a general basis is defined by others as something no-one in their right mind would enjoy doing.


Actually, looking back on this, it doesn't really matter what people say about what they do or what I do. I'm simply being a pedant. I don't care what people think of my pastimes, or what label they attach to me. It is of no importance if something out of the ordinary for someone else is important enough for them to label it as stupid.
However, next time you are about to embark on something along those lines, try using the word "challenging" instead. Yes it has more syllables, but that might just make you seem just a little bit more educated.