Courtesy

 

What happened to sharing and common courtesy?

“Once upon a time”, I know it sounds like a fairy tale.

This tale is obviously in reference to running on the roads, trails, paved paths, etc.

There was a time when runners would greet fellow runners with a “good morning”, “hey”, a wave of a hand or a nod. It was (should be) a simple issue of good manners.

These days many runners will not even respond to a greeting. I have seen many look down or away, rather than reply with a “morning” or whatever. Is it really difficult to utter a greeting? Or are they having a bad day?

There’s also the issue of sharing the road. Many of us have come across

runners choosing to run 3 or more abreast. It seems more often than not they are unwilling to move. They would rather have you move out of their way. They own the road and you are a nuisance. Have you ever had this happen to you?

Come on man, share the road.

A pet peeve of mine is runners with iPods or headphones. Yes, I know they are worn because the music is motivating and most headphone wearing runners consider running boring.

Believe it or not, the sights and sounds of the outdoors can be incredibly inspirational as well. Take the time to look and listen, you’ll be amazed. You might decide you don’t really require recorded music to make you move. Another reason not to wear headphones is safety. Runners are not completely aware of their surroundings and possible safety issues when distracted by their favorite recordings.

I encourage runners to take two seconds and greet your fellow runners/walkers. It will make you faster, not really, but what the hell. 

P.S. In most cities fuel belts are not required, you're not in the desert.Happy running.

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