Deer!!! (Read 1108 times)

Dumb, dumb question, but... I started doing long runs at the I&M canal towpath southwest of Chicago... Its mostly wooded along a canal, and while some areas are lightly traveled, it does see a lot of visitors. You can go for miles and miles though, without crossing a road. So I see a deer ahead on the trail today, and I was close to my turn-around point anyways, so I bailed. But if I continued on, and ran up to and past the deer, am I asking for trouble? I figure its not worth finding out either way, but I'm curious to see what other people do in this situation. Last week I saw a deer on wading on the other side of the canal, and as I ran past it walked back into the woods, which weren't too far from backyards. So I figure that whatever deer I see, its seen plenty of people around.

I run by or near deer frequently. They mostly run away, or watch you go by in preparation to run away. If I'm running toward them, they always run off. The closest any have let me get to them is about 50 feet. The biggest buck I have ever seen ran across the road 100' in front of me while I was running one day last year. A Whitetail with a massive antlered head, with all the tines seeming to point forward (I'm not a hunter, but maybe this is considered "atypical"?). The hide looked more gray instead of the typical brown color.

Hehe, this reminds me of the first time I brought one of my college friends home to rural VT (she was from Lowell, Mass). We had walked down to visit an elderly friend of the family about a half mile from my house and by the time we were walking back, it was pitch black and she was totally freaked about wildlife and asked me "do deer bite?" (with all seriousness). Hehe, still makes me chuckle.

The only time I change my running behavior is if I see them in the woods. I feel like I am in their neighborhood at that point and I want to be respectful of them if they are trying to eat. I will slow my pace and try not to spook them, but it usually doesn't work and they run off away from me. Out on the road if I see them I just keep on going and they either don't move or go running the other way.

The only time you need to be watchful is during rut as they tend to be more active. Not saying they will be after you but they will run in their chosen direction regardless of where you are. Last year I had three does run directly in front of me with a very serious looking buck in close pursuit followed by a couple of other young bucks. I heard the commotion and slowed to watch the parade but if I would have kept going it may have made for an interesting encounter. Just be aware of your surroundings so you can react appropriatelyl and enjoy the scenery as it is one of things that makes running outside enjoyable. MTA: Saw two beautiful does yesterday and they had that "check out the slow thing on two legs" look.

The only way a deer is going to hurt you is if it hits you trying to run. The chances of a rutting buck attacking you are about as slim as they come. Most hunters who have been attacked had been playing with doe-in-heat scents. Don't be afraid of deer, they are either good scenery on a run or yummy.

We have a lot of deer here and they just run away. The scariest incident I had was when I deer got hit by a car and went flying in my direction. I considered it my interval run for the week

I'd say the only reason you should be concerned is if you use deer urine as your body spray.* *Note: to those who actually do this, you have more things to consider than just a deer attacking you on a run.