Did you hear about the runner who was criticized?
Why this joke works
Run Straight Through the Idiom
Treat “criticized” as meaningful rather than as filler. It gives the familiar phrase “take it in stride” its ordinary sense: accept an unpleasant comment without becoming upset. The runner then activates the physical sense of stride as a step while moving. Pause briefly after the question, then deliver the answer calmly. A relaxed tone matches the emotional meaning and lets the athletic meaning arrive without extra explanation.
A closer look
One Phrase Covers Attitude and Motion
Many sports jokes replace one word with a sound-alike. This one keeps every word unchanged and shifts the whole phrase. Outside running, taking something in stride means coping without disruption. On a track, a runner literally receives each moment within a sequence of strides. Because both readings describe continuing forward, the metaphor and the physical action reinforce each other unusually neatly.
Fact behind the joke
A Stride Contains Two Steps
World Athletics coaching material distinguishes a stride cycle from a single step: a full stride returns the same foot to the ground and therefore contains two steps. Runners adjust stride length and frequency as speed changes. The joke uses “stride” less technically, but its athletic reading still points to the repeating movement that carries a runner forward.