RUNNERS!!! Observations on the run...

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  • jyork5407
    jyork5407 Posts: 47
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    So many of these made me smile and I so agree with:

    - The smell of barbeque grills and lilac bushes....awesome.
    - Cigarette smoke from cars driving by.....awful.
    - Starting in the rain is so hard, but finishing in the rain is amazing. <---YES
    - Drivers are crazy and always assume NOONE is paying attention.....

    To add a few of my own:

    - My ability wave and smile at other runners is related to how far or how long I've been running. I notice I stop waving/smiling at anything over 12 miles. I assume it must be the same for other runners who don't wave.
    - I know where every public restroom is on all of my running routes. And I plan runs accordingly.
    - When I come upon men dressed in street clothes walking by themselves on trails, I get nervous and automatically start preparing escape plans.
    - I love dogs, but I hate when people let their dogs on retractable leashes charge you.
    - I love dogs, but I hate loose dogs. On a related note, dogs always respond well when you yell, "GO HOME!" Usually stops them in their tracks and they look at you like, "Whoa, how'd you know I should be at home?!"
    - I have yet to be attacked by a dog on or off leash while running. I have been attacked by a red winged black bird. Felt its wings beat the back of my head and its beak/claws in my hair.
    - Running in sub-freezing temps is ok. You are only cold for the first mile.
    - Running while snow is falling or right after a fresh snow is delightful. Running in snow that's been around awhile, not so much.
    - If I'm feeling depressed, I don't want to go for a run. If I go for a run anyway, I stop feeling depressed.
  • dward2011
    dward2011 Posts: 416 Member
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    On the road, dead snakes and live snakes look the same...and both make me jump.


    YES!!!!
  • dward2011
    dward2011 Posts: 416 Member
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    Bump so I can read later!

    The other day I went on a route I have gone several times, but for some reason saw at least a dozen banana peels along the way. WTH?

    mario cart??
  • nwhitley
    nwhitley Posts: 619
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    In South Carolina,
    -Running in my neighborhood everyone will beep the horn and wave- EVERYONE- whether I know them or not. Yes, it's very kind but irritating and distracting.
    -Some of these same people will pull up beside me, and drive along beside me and want to carry on a conversation, such as "Wow, what time did you get up? How long are you going to be out here?, Aren't you hot/cold/tired?, I should join you but, etc. Kind, but once again distracting.
    -The above people do not seem to care or notice that I have earphones on.
  • lauleipop
    lauleipop Posts: 260 Member
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    bump for later
  • pkfrankel
    pkfrankel Posts: 171 Member
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    I run in the street against traffic and wave to every car that passes. Sometimes I try to keep count of those who wave back. It seems about 50/50.
  • _canuckrunner_
    _canuckrunner_ Posts: 364 Member
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    1. There's nothing better than the sound of your running feet crunching on newly fallen snow
    2. The smell of someone cooking BACON for breakfast makes me run faster!
    3. When I run with my dog I ALWAYS pick up her poo - although not all dog owners do
  • DFWTT
    DFWTT Posts: 374
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    Loving this thread. Running in North Texas:

    - Either there are concrete roads or concrete sidewalks, even in parks. What happened to asphalt?
    - Most of the houses you look into at midnight have a TV on.
    - People will pick up your pre-placed water bottles if they see you putting them out.
    - You develop a suprisingly keen sense of figuring out where the suburban drug houses are even when everything looks normal.
    - People drink way more during the week than they say they do, just look at their trash.
    - People will close and lock their door if they spot you stretching in front of their house. They lighten up once they see you a few times. I'm obviously running, not thieving.
    - I've only had to draw my gun once...for a charging armadillo not lowlifes.
  • rolyh
    rolyh Posts: 51 Member
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    In Adelaide, Australia, Belair National Park - Emus love feral olives, their droppings are purple when the olives are fruiting. You can always tell when a Koala is in a tree above you cause their turds are unlike any other - and copious.
    And for running style, I think I do most of these at various stages

    http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2012/04/15/dont-be-that-awkward-runner/

    What an awesome place to run

    Agree - running is a privilege
  • Kimbie500
    Kimbie500 Posts: 388 Member
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    bump for later!
  • dpwellman
    dpwellman Posts: 3,271 Member
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    - I memorize gas prices I see around town and update GasBuddy when I get home.
    - I can go an hour or more without needing a drink on the run but 20 mins of the bike: nope.
    - I never pass a runner going the same direction-- when I do see someone else running, they're always going the opposite direction I am. Starting my route the opposite direction has no effect.
    - when it's warm out, I often have strong desire to jump in a pool somewhere. . . but I can never work up the nerve.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    - I never pass a runner going the same direction-- when I do see someone else running, they're always going the opposite direction I am. Starting my route the opposite direction has no effect.

    Me too... I don't pass anyone and no one passes me, so I just have to assume that anyone else running is just out of sight and going the exact same pace as I am.

    I pass walkers, and runners pass me when I'm walking the dog.

    Also, no matter which direction I'm running, the wind is always blowing RIGHT at me. I've never felt a strong wind at my back.
  • PeachyPlum
    PeachyPlum Posts: 1,243 Member
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    People in the neighborhood will return your greeting, but they'll look at you like you're crazy and probably homeless.

    I seriously need some Honeysuckle in my yard. It smells amazing.

    I'm can predict with astonishing accuracy whether a house is about to go on the market or be foreclosed on, just based on the front yard.

    If you run in the dark, other runners will look warily at you, like they're just out for a morning jog, but you're clearly out robbing houses with your Chihuahua accomplice - I'm guessing the massive amount of reflective gear we're wearing makes that pretty obvious?

    People will always ask you "are you sure your dog is okay?"

    Of course I'm sure. He's MY dog. Obviously I care whether he's okay to a much greater degree than you care. I've also spent the past two years with him, so I'm pretty tuned in to how he's feeling. If I ever had the slightest suspicion that he wasn't okay, I'd stop running. Obviously, I love my dog enough to take him running even though he's a royal pain in the *kitten* half the time. I'm not going to run him to death.
  • zippo32
    zippo32 Posts: 1,419 Member
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    How I think I look when I run -the Stiffy
  • zippo32
    zippo32 Posts: 1,419 Member
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    -You can spot the dogs that are right on the verge of chasing your *kitten*.
  • jyork5407
    jyork5407 Posts: 47
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    - when it's warm out, I often have strong desire to jump in a pool somewhere. . . but I can never work up the nerve.

    Haha! This reminded me of another:

    - When running in the heat of summer, I rejoice at the sight of sprinklers.
  • 99clmsntgr
    99clmsntgr Posts: 777 Member
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    The best place I've ever been swerved at was in the parking lot for Calvary Chapel in Melbourne, FL. Really? In a uber-Christian parking lot?
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
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    wow you certainly notice some ****! I clear my head and focus on my pace-other than paying attention to traffic I am all alone out there-don't notice a thing except my breathing and how good I feel.
  • ccbing
    ccbing Posts: 162 Member
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    Living in the back country of South Carolina you are just a likely to get spooked by a goat, opossum or deer as a dog. Goat yesterday...Deer today! lol...and rubber belts (from car/lawnmower) laying on the side of road looks just like a snake ...which I also get startled by. Had to jump over a live snake 2 months ago because it slithered out of the grass right in front of me! Yep..pretty wild round these parts!
  • michelegrayson
    michelegrayson Posts: 157
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    My observations in 20 years of running:

    - Someone always runs faster than me...always.

    - When running on country road in Europe, don't assume they won't run you over...they will (experienced this in Italy and France at different times. Truly a survival of the fittest experience).

    - When running in most placed in the world, everyone says hi/good morning back to me. When running on the Charles in Boston, 1 in 10 would say hi back to me. Most looked at me very suspiciously...

    - Running against traffic is good advice and for years I believed if I saw a car heading my direction, I would leap in the bushes/out of the way. This proved to be a wrong assumption. 10 years ago a Ford F150 was going too fast, lost control and swerved off the road and hit me and my running mate. I had time to THINK "Oh $%&!" (not even to say it) when he came barrelling at me at 35 miles an hour and then wham, he hit me! Now I know, there will be no time to react, just to brace for the hit.

    - Bike riders are usually pissed if they have to share the road which ticks me off as I'm a bike rider when I'm not running! We all need to share the road (of course, if there is a sidewalk that is where I run!).

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