They normally fit into three categories:
Verbal abuse
‘Keep running’, ‘go faster’, ‘run Forrest run!’, ‘I could
run faster than you’, ‘you’re $hit’.
Yes as runners we’ve heard them all, no matter what line they
come up with, it won’t be original, and it certainly won’t be funny.
My reaction to this in the past has ranged from giving
people the finger, shouting expletives, to lifting my top to show my wash board
stomach (I’m joking – about the lifting my top, not about the wash board
stomach, obviously !)
Nowadays I just ignore it – this is made much easier because
I’m either with my running club, or when running on my own I have my earphones
in so can pretend not to hear them.
Physical abuse
Hopefully this is something no runner ever has to come to
terms with, but sadly, I hear stories of this from running friends all too
often. One had a bottle of strawberry milkshake thrown at them (which hit them,
causing pain and stickiness). I myself have had stones thrown at me by a gang of
cowardly youths… It was a group of 4, and, standing on the other side of a
canal I always run down they started to throw stones at me… Luckily I am the
pint sized torpedo, so they never stood a chance of hitting me, but very
dangerous none the less.
At the time I got really mad about it and shouted at them. I’ve
no doubt if there wasn’t a canal between us they would never have had the balls
to throw stones at me, or that I would have marched right up to them and done
them some damage (one fit runner versus 4 runty youths is no contest).
Even typing about it now makes my blood boil; I can deal
with it, but what if it was an older runner who couldn’t get out of the way and
was hit?
So yes, physical abuse – the lowest of the lows form scum of
the earth
Hired ninja
AKA dogs! Small dogs, big dogs, skinny dogs, stocky dogs…
The silent ninjas who are there to ankle tap you or try and play with you. I
find they are most prevalent towards the end of a long slow run, particularly a
really difficult one, and when you’re on a canal path where the chances of taking
a dunk are high.
Now, I’m a dog person, I love dogs, but if you can’t control
your dog ‘you gotta keep that thing on a leash damn’. I must stress: the
majority of dog owners are great, as with anything it is the small minority
that are the problem… Even worse are the ones who are offended by me being
annoyed at nearly biting the dust due to their disobedient dog. C’est la vie!!
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