How often have you told someone about a recent grueling race or training run only to be met with a quizzical head shake followed by the words, "You're crazy."

It makes you wonder sometimes, doesn't it? Are you really crazy? Is your running schedule so unusual that it warrants association with a mental disorder?

To find out for sure, here's a quiz for you. Pick the answers that fit best, total your points and check the score sheet at the end. Good luck!

Your favorite training run is:

* Any run you finish (1 point)

* A 5-miler through the park (5 points)

* A 10-mile tempo run (10 points)

* Any workout that includes 10 x "some distance in meters" followed by a 5-mile cool down (20 points)

* A recovery day (0 points)

If you wrote a book, it would be titled:

* Born to Run - Slowly (1 point)

* Born to Run - Occasionally (0 points)

* I Learned to Ignore Pain, You Can Too! (10 points)

* Uphills are Cool; Downhills are for Wimps (15 points)

* Can't Stop to Write, I'm in the Middle of a 15-Miler (25 points)

The longest distance you have ever run is:

* 1-5 miles (1 point)

* 6-10 miles (5 points)

* More than 10, less than 26 (10 points)

* 26.2 miles (15 points)

* 100 miles (forget about points, you're crazy)

* To the refrigerator (0 points)

The number of races you participate in each year is:

* 0 (0 points)

* 1-10 (5 points)

* 11-20 (10 points)

* Umm, wait, let me check my running log (20 points)

Driving along I-75, you see in the distance a dirt road snaking up a hill. You immediately:

* Wonder what it would be like to run it (10 points)

* Wander off in thought just missing a deer leaping across the freeway (1 point)

* Wander off in thought just missing a deer leaping across the freeway, but swerve so severely that your mountain bike falls off your car and your energy drink spills on your lap. Thank goodness you're wearing wicking shorts (20 points)

* Wonder when the next McDonald's is (-5 points)

* Hit a deer (0 points)

You (count all that apply):

* Subscribe to a national sports magazine (1 points)

* Subscribe to a national running magazine (5 points)

* Subscribe to a regional running magazine (10 points)

* Write for a regional running magazine (20 points)

* Think you could write better than the stuff you read in the regional running magazine (0 points. Hey, it's my quiz)

Your spouse or significant other:

* Could write a book titled "Running Widow" (20 points)

* Wonders when you're going to start running again (0 points)

* Is faster than you (5 points)

* Is faster than you, but you won't admit it (10 points)

* Is history - no time for a relationship (25 points)

You believe the definition of "over-training" is:

* What someone else does (0 points)

* Sweating (-5 points)

* When you develop blisters and calluses in the same spot (5 points)

* When you forget your kids' names (10 points)

* When you know more about the benefits and risks of glucosamine and chondroitin than your doctor (20 points)

Your favorite pre-race food is:

* A PowerBar (5 points)

* Gu (10 points)

* A home concoction you call "PR potion" (20 points)

* A nap (0 points)

* A nap followed by a PowerBar and GU (20 points)

Your recurring running fantasy is:

* Winning Boston (5 points)

* Winning an Olympic gold medal (10 points)

* Beating a Kenyan (20 points)

* A recovery day (5 points, for honesty)

You record your runs:

* On a sheet of paper in the top drawer behind the John Adams biography you started but didn't finish (5 points)

* Inconsistently in a running log you got for your birthday (10 points)

* Religiously (15 points)

* By downloading runs from your GPS watch (20 points)

* Never (-5 points)

While enjoying a bright, calm day at an outdoor cafe a runner passes by on the sidewalk. You:

* Order another plate of fried cheese sticks (- 5 points)

* Check out his/her running shoes (5 points)

* Recognize him/her as the person who beat you in the last race (10 points)

* Recognize him/her as the person who beat you in the last race, so you jump the cafe fence and run alongside for the next two blocks asking about tapering strategy (30 points)

* Would never be sitting at an outdoor cafe on a perfect day to run (20 points)

When the weather turns cold you:

* Train at the gym (5 points)

* Hibernate until spring (0 points)

* Run on the treadmill in your basement (10 points)

* Buckle the snow-running cleats to your trail-running shoes (20 points)

* Have a hot toddy (0 points, 20 points if it's before a run)

Your favorite post-run drink is:

* Water (5 points)

* Energy drink (5 points)

* A beer (20 points)

* A beer and a bratwurst (25 points)

At any moment the number of running shoes you own is:

* One pair (5 points)

* Two to three pairs (10 points)

* More than three pairs (15 points)

* You're not sure. Do racing flats count? (20 points)

* You mean they make shoes just for running? (-5 points)

When you first meet someone, you:

* Immediately forget his/her name (0 points)

* Try to remember if you've seen his/her name in any recent race results (10 points)

* Wonder what his/her 5K time is (15 points)

* Wonder if he/she is single (0 points. Wrong quiz. You think you're reading Cosmo?)

* Wonder what his/her 5K time is and if he/she is single (25 points)

The most unusual place you have ever run is:

* Your basement (0 points)

* Outside (-5 points)

* Some place you'd rather not talk about (10 points)

* No place is unusual for me (15 points)

* On the stairs between floors 7 and 12 in the Tokyo Dome Hotel during the rainy season four weeks before a marathon (25 points)

For you, cross-training means:

* Running and walking (0 points)

* Running, biking or swimming (1 point)

* Running, biking and swimming (5 points)

* Running, biking and swimming on the same day (15 points)

* Running, biking and swimming on the same day more than once in a lifetime (20 points)

You've run (count all that apply):

* In the middle of the night (5 points)

* In a blinding rainstorm (10 points)

* On your honeymoon (20 points)

* All the above - on the same run (50 points)

You took this entire quiz (add 20 points). Total it up and check out your score:

Below 0: Don't worry. You're not crazy. In fact, why are you reading this magazine? You must be sitting in a dentist's waiting room with nothing better to read.

1-50: You are a runner, but you have a thing or two to learn about obsessive behavior. Be grateful.

51-150: Crazy? Only moderately. You can sleep soundly knowing that when friends say you're crazy they're comparing you to non-runners. And who wants to be compared to them anyway?

151-300: As nut cases go, you're right up there. Your friends and relatives have forgotten what you look like - you have no time to visit them unless they come to one of your races. Don't ever get a pet. Not even a goldfish.

300+: Does your insurance cover psychiatry? You're certifiable. By the way, wanna go running sometime?

Greg Janicki can be reached at runrun262@hotmail.com.