RUNNERS!!! Observations on the run...

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  • AmyMK
    AmyMK Posts: 164
    I love running in the spring, but the potholes definitely make it seem like an extreme sport sometimes.
    If you trip and fall into a pothole, it will always be at the end of your run when you look terrible, and an extremely attractive guy will always be the one to stop - and yes, you will always stink at this point
    Nobody ever takes water with them
    There is always at least 1 McDonalds cup and/or wrapper littering your route
    Counting the cars going by makes the time go faster
    Pot and Skunk smell the same
    Guys in their 40s and 50s wash their cars alot
    I hate teenagers - they never get out of the way, and if they are on a bike, they will be swerving all over the sidewalk and or road.

    I fortunately live in a town where running is quite popular and it's a pretty normal sight, so drivers are respectful of giving space, and most main streets actually have running/bike lanes along the sidewalks. I've never had a rude encounter with anyone either, so I'm definitely lucky judging by some of these stories!
  • DTBurroughs
    DTBurroughs Posts: 21 Member
    I must be the only person in my neighborhood not smoking or growing pot.

    People carrying their groceries home look at you like you are nuts.

    Small children tend to stare and/or laugh. I try not to take it personally.
  • brittanidigby
    brittanidigby Posts: 247 Member
    Way too many people ask if we need a ride. LOL It's annoying. And swerving for sure.
  • socru
    socru Posts: 3 Member
    love this topic!

    you will always need to pee about ten minutes into your run, regardless of whether you went before you left the house.

    The best time of year to run is when adolescent cows are in the field, as they will run along the fence with you. Though if you stop to try to pat them they get scared.
  • thebigcb
    thebigcb Posts: 2,210 Member
    Everyone picks up the pace when they see a runner coming towards them, and if you are a runner ahead of me, I will try to catch you and vice versa.

    I never run on roads, always the path, of the beach, or park land. lucky for me I live beside the sea so loads of room.
  • rolyh
    rolyh Posts: 51 Member
    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/
  • mamaclose
    mamaclose Posts: 179 Member
    one more...

    - everyone here now feels like they have a bond with everyone else who posted on this thread.

    RUNNERS UNITE!! :)

    ^^Yeah that!
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Observations along the rec paths

    - the kids drink cheap beer at their bush parties (Pabst Blue Ribbon) and routinely leave articles of clothing by the bonfire (sweaters, bras etc - I have no idea how they explain the missing items to their parents)
    - ducks and geese look at you funny when you talk to them
    - little kids think it's funny to see fat old guys running
  • TinaDay1114
    TinaDay1114 Posts: 1,328 Member

    **just spit lots of tea out all over my desk**
    HILARIOUS! And I think I know that guy in the blue tank top. It might be my HUSBAND. :laugh:
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    The fragrant aroma of skunk lingers for a long, long time. Not only in the area where it sprayed, but it latches onto your nose hairs and won't leg go.

    A lot of people think it's really original to yell, "Run, Forrest, run!"

    I see quite a number of single shoes. How do you lose just one shoe and not notice?

    Not nearly enough people clean up after their dogs.

    I will cross the street to avoid running by someone walking a toy breed dog on a retractable leash. But I'm perfectly fine with large dogs.

    Wind always blows the hardest when you're running up a hill.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Walkers will say good morning. Runners keep to themselves.
    I always acknowledge anyone who's out moving their bodies. They might not always return the greeting, but that's cool.
    A big smile and a hello from a fellow runner resets my mindset to enjoying the run. So I pay it forward.
    And that's why :)

    Yep! I "good morning" anyone I pass. Sometimes at 3 in the afternoon. :blushing:
  • collinj8
    collinj8 Posts: 98 Member
    Oddly I am finding the kids in my neighborhood to be more respectful than the adults.
  • Il_DaniD_lI
    Il_DaniD_lI Posts: 1,593 Member
    - at least twice a run I'll see a dude stick his head out the passenger side window and yell something (no idea what because of my head phones)
    - people suck at picking up their dog poo
    - a lot of liquor bottles
    - there is this one girl who lassos a small pole stump thing same time I run by and she SUCKED at first now she gets it every time.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    car hate cyclists and swerve them off the road.
    cyclists hate runners and swerve them off the sidewalks.
    runners hate red lights and bounce up and down on the curb.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    one more...

    - everyone here now feels like they have a bond with everyone else who posted on this thread.

    RUNNERS UNITE!! :)

    Agreed!

    Definitely!
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
    When I run in the dark on the dirt roads outside of town:

    -I can see and hear a car 2 miles before it gets near me
    -Along those same lines I can tell by the pitch of the wheel noise if a car is coming toward me, or moving away without seeing it.
    -Even though it is pitch dark, no moon, no street lights, your eyes will adjust to the darkness after 10 minutes.
    -There are more shooting stars than you think there are.
    -Sometimes you can see thunderstorms several hundred miles away, but they look closer so you alter your route only to get home, look at the radar and find that they're several hundred miles away.

    When in town:
    -If it's really cold I can smell someone smoking outside at least a half mile away.
    -In the summer lots of people sit on their front porch and drink coffee. We say hi to each other
    -I've had an occaisional Good Ole Boy think they were funny by trying to swerve torward me, but nothing too serious.
  • jaxCarrie
    jaxCarrie Posts: 214 Member
    I live in a 'transitional neighborhood and when I run on one of the sketchier outlying streets I usually get hoots and hollers and 'atta girls' from some older guys drinking malt liquor at 7am. I've even gotten a few 'high fives' from guys with gold teeth. Oddly this makes me smile.
    Children in strollers tend to wave at you as their parents don't.
    I also pass a lot of street debris - above said malt liquor bottles/cans, discarded hair weaves (a lot of weaves), lighters, etc.
    Cars tend to swerve toward you (because cleary, my 140lb frame is terrifying approaching their several ton'ed pickup)...
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
    Passing in running gears in front of a mosque will always get you a reaction
  • babyblues31
    babyblues31 Posts: 72 Member
    Back roads in rural Wisconsin!

    - I have no idea who he belongs to, but I often attract a running buddy in the form of a friendly Golden Retriever. He usually scares the bejesus out of me because he literally comes out of nowhere!
    - tractors are very scary especially if it's getting after dark because they take up the entire road
    - running in the winter is scary because you know you will have to hightail it into the snow-drifted ditch if said tractor, snow plow or big vehicle goes by.
    - totally agree that teenagers don't give a rip whether they almost hit you or not
    - road kill makes me want to gag, and it always appears late in the run when you feel most like you could puke anyway
    - I can outrun some Amish buggies! :laugh:
    - I get irritated dancing around the Amish horse poo on the road
    - i'm scared the red winged blackbirds sitting on the telephone wires are chasing me and just waiting to drop their crap on my head! :angry:
    - I HATE it when people honk at you!!!! Yes I know most of the folks driving by, rural and small town, but honking scares the crap out of me, just waving is fine and dandy!
    - 99% of the time i run in the evening to the West, right toward the sunset....gorgeous!
  • jclist1
    jclist1 Posts: 87 Member
    On the road, dead snakes and live snakes look the same...and both make me jump.


    HAHA! This for sure!
  • atsteele
    atsteele Posts: 1,358 Member
    Some guys will honk, wave or yell or any combination of the aforementioned behaviors at ANY woman running down the street. Various attire does not matter. It doesn't matter that you are bundled up like you are going skiing.

    The honking, waving and yelling increases with the temperature. Even if the attire remains the same throughout the temperature changes. (I generally wear short sleeve shirt and shorts. And not very eye-catching combinations either. Only attention-getting enough to allow for me to build a strong case that I was INDEED visible to the driver when they ran me over.)

    If the vehicle swerves TOWARDS me as they approach me, the driver is female. And many times on their cell phone looking vacantly ahead. I can see that they are looking vacantly ahead because they get that close.
  • heavensshadow
    heavensshadow Posts: 264 Member
    from a suburban Oklahoma City town....

    - Mothers are scared of big "mean" dogs on leashes, even if obedient. Men ogle big "mean" dogs on leashes, even if not obedient.
    - Running under trees makes the air 20 degrees cooler on your face and feels AWESOME when the humidity is ridiculous
    - Passing other runners is much more satisfying. They "get it" -- waves and smiles are appreciated.
    - A-holes with beat up cars or large trucks like to rev engines or cat call. Some bikers do the same thing.
    - People really DO pick their noses a lot in the car, and use the phone way too often.
    - People either give you a seriously WIDE berth to pass or none at all. Mothers with kids don't give a rat's *kitten* who you are, they're walking here dangit!
    - Squirrels and ducks dart away from walkers and children, but not runners.
    - Running with a dog next to you is much more satisfying.
    - If you pass someone twice, you get confused looks.
  • MommyLyssa
    MommyLyssa Posts: 134

    You should always smile and greet someone who appears to be new or overweight but out there trying. Seeing them smile will fuel you for miles.

    This makes me happy. I am too chicken to run outside yet, since I can barely run at all really, and I am stuck inside on the treadmill. This gives me hope that just maybe, I will run outside before the winter hits again! :)
  • montana_girl
    montana_girl Posts: 1,403 Member
    Living and running in Montana, here are my observances...

    - It's amazing how distracting days old road kill can be, specifically the stench. You don't always see the dead critter but you definitely know it's there.
    - Many Montanan's drive big diesel trucks and like to play real life "Spy Hunter" and leave you in a big smoke (exhaust) screen just to be "funny"
    - Turning vehicles tend not to pay too much attention to cross walks or their signals
    - Horses stare at you in curiosity quite often
    - People don't like picking up their dog's pooh

    And let me add this Montana running observation....

    If you walk past deer, they will spook and dart away, but if you RUN past the deer, they just look at you and then glance behind you to see if something is chasing you. (I thought my husband was kidding when he pointed it out, but since I've started running I noticed the same thing.)

    I've noticed that most other runners are very friendly and will greet you with a smile, handwave, or hello as you run by them. I love that -- especially when I was a novice runner with 45 pounds to lose, made me feel part of some secret group!
  • ssdivot
    ssdivot Posts: 193
    Babyblues, I love your profile pic...too cute!
  • grinch031
    grinch031 Posts: 1,679
    What I observe in suburban areas is drivers aren't used to pedestrians and completely ignore the possibility that someone might be crossing a cross-walk when they are at an intersection doing a right turn. There is an intersection where I frequently run through and frequently have to put my hands up and force drivers to stop who aren't paying attention. Its really aggravating.
  • Ali_TSO
    Ali_TSO Posts: 1,172 Member
    You should always smile and greet someone who appears to be new or overweight but out there trying. Seeing them smile will fuel you for miles.

    This is awesome. More people should be like that. I often feel like a moron on the roads sometimes. A little smile would be fantastic!
  • Ali_TSO
    Ali_TSO Posts: 1,172 Member
    i observe people looking at me strange and honking too. what you've never seen a person run before? get off your fat *kitten* and try it for a change.

    wow... :ohwell:
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    - I can smell cigarette smoke in a car passing me at 60mph (windows down, of course).
    This always amazes me - happens to me just about every run.

    -One time running through the local college it was pot smoke as a truck passed me - just about knocked me over it was so strong! Dudes! I'm trying to get healthy here! :tongue:
    -And a sure sign that you're wearing entirely too much cologne is when I can smell you from across the street, or when you pass me in your car at 60 mph.

    Other than that, same observations on staring livestock, dog poo on sidewalks, and liquor bottles on the side of the road.
  • Picola1984
    Picola1984 Posts: 1,133
    I'm going with the horn honking, which normally frightens the life out of me.

    Meh