Dont shorten it to 'plane' or youll be tagged as a no-nothing landlubber. This is a must-ask question. Invitiation to story time, pilot style. Theres not a police officer in the country without a powerful opinion on this one. He'll know exactly what you mean even if you dont.
Climbers feel that sometimes taking a fall is part of the total climbing experience.
Start things off by asking how much running he or she does per week. Frequent runners like to discuss their training in days perweek or miles per week. Runners love to talk about their personal bests. They may even break it down into 'splits' for you. Splits are their times in sections of long races.