I left the house at 4:30 so I could run my typical 6 mile route to the gym. I run this route a few times every week and am very familiar with the area.

About 4 miles into my run, I was heading down the main road through the downtown Ogden area. This is a wide, 6 lane road, plus a turn lane in the center. This area is just passed downtown and entering a light industrial area before getting into the residential area. Because of this, and the time of day, it's pretty deserted. That's why I was surprised to see a young hispanic man cutting across the road up ahead of me. He was wearing baggy pants, a baggy black t-shirt and white hightop shoes. When he got to my side of the street, he began walking in the same direction that I was running, so I was approaching him from behind. I've never seen anybody on this sidewalk before during my run.

When I encounter people from the rear while running on sidewalks, I always leave the sidewalk and run in the street. I do this because I've startled people so many times in the passed, so I do it out of courtesy. And this is what I did in this case as well.

Here's where it gets weird....

After getting around this young man, I planned to merge back onto the sidewalk like I always do. But after passing him, I heard his feet pounding the sidewalk at a rapid rate. He was running! Why is he running? He's clearly not out for a training run. WTF?!?!

I didn't look over my shoulder because I didn't want him to think I was concerned. I could hear that he was getting closer and his footsteps were getting louder. I was running an 8:30 pace. I ramped up to a 7:30 pace. He began to fade momentarily but eventually began to gain on me again. WTF?!?! Is this guy chasing me? I still didn't look over my shoulder.

This was the point where I had to make a decision. I needed to either RUN or I needed to confront this guy. I chose to run.

I dropped the hammer and settled into a 6:00 pace. He sped up too! He held pace for about 30 seconds and then began to fade. After about 2 minutes, I couldn't hear his feet anymore. I ran at this pace for another minute before stopping to turn and look. When I did, the street was filled with dark shadows, but no sign of my running buddy.

What was this guy up to? I'm baffled by the encounter.

It reminded me of something my Granddad told me when I was 9 years old. He said, "Well...if you aint gonna be big, you better be fast!"

Thankfully, I'm fast.

Did you have a pack on or were you wearing an iPod?  Sounds like you avoided being tackled and having something stolen.  Call police and tell them just in case someone else sees him.

 

How old was the kid?  I generally think most teenagers are harmless unless they are in groups.

I would guess he was in his early 20's.

You should just turned around and dropped kicked him.

I had a somewhat similar situtaion a couple years ago.  In the neighborhoods near me I was running at night (maybe 8 or 9 pm) and it was dark.  I ran by a group of kids.  They started following me.  I didn't turn (similar to you) but could hear the footsteps and heard them saying things to me (mostly mocking me).  I simply turned it up a bit.  They faded quickly.  Two weeks later, same thing.  When they saw me they said "there he is".  They followed.  Finally I got so annoyed I turned (while still running) and asked if they wanted to run with me.  One of the boys asked where I was running.  I responded "To the park" (which was literally only 1/2 mile more away).  At that point they were like "no way dude!" and they stopped running.  Funny thing was, I was out for 15 miles that night and had just started.  They were just a bunch of kids hanging out who thought it was cool to mock someone running.  I only felt threatened at the beginning but they were harmless.  I felt comfort in knowing I could outrun them. Most kids today cannot sustain much of a run (since they sit on their butts and play video games most of the time).

Having said that, I am sure you will be a little more aware on your morning runs through Ogden.

I don't know if you were in danger.  I think you should have looked over your shoulder just in case though and aksed if he wanted to run with you.  I've had similar encounters where a kid will start running along and I always try to keep it lite and ask if they want to run (similar to boyjame).  They have always backed off right away.

In a lighter situation, I have also have had younger kids overseas run with me and I just smile and jester to them to keep going with me.  It typically ends in laughing, smiles and waving goodbye.

What did your intuition tell you? Did it tell you that the person you saw might have been out to harm you? We should listen to our hunches. Worrying about what the other person might think can lead to one's demise.

Good job outrunning him. In retrospect, I wonder if it might have been better to look over your shoulder to see what his intent was?

Sounds pretty sketchy for sure! I'm not sure what I would have done in that situation but have thought about it before. I would say you made the right choice in picking up the pace and dropping him, usually best just to avoid a potential conflict in my opinion. Hard to say what his intention was, but doesn't seem like he was trying to be friendly and join you for a run. Good thing you've got some speed!

Weren't you carrying your bear spray??