We have way too many serious threads right now. I want to hear about the people you encounter on your run.
Last night, I saw:
Harmonica guy: He paddles his canoe up and down the river and plays the harmonica.
Elliptigirl: She was out on her Elliptigo with her 2 dogs.
The drunks: AKA my biggest cheering section. Last night they had started a fire and attracted police attention, but still managed to say hello.
Other characters who weren't out last night:
HP lady: She once told me that the river was flooding because Hewlett Packard had secretly restarted some of their factories. She is always out at noon.
Crazy dog guy: Stands at the edge of the off leash area and tries to make citizens arrests of people who don't leash up at that exact spot.
So, tell me about your cast of characters!
Hip Redux
I live in the boonies, so I rarely see anyone. Except sometimes my husband since we run at similar times during the day. He gives me a head bob 'Sup when we pass each other.
When I am on the ElliptiGo, I have many gawkers, like people who will pull over in their cars to talk to me. Which is awesome when I am huffing and puffing lol
Are we there, yet?
Since I do a lot of my running on a college campus, I see lots of students, a lot of nuns since it's a Catholic university, and neighborhood people walking their dogs.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Former Bad Ass
Except for people walking their dogs, I don't see many people outside. Apparently, Summer weather is bad for outdoors. I might see a family riding their bikes but that's it. No weird characters around most of the time.
Damaris
Well let's see....
There is the security guard at the chemical plant I pass who stares me down like I'm going to storm the factory.
There is the guy who warms his car up every single morning no matter the temperature. He's always just sitting in the front seat.
There's my mom, whose house I pass frequently on my runs. She's never out, but if she was, would have no idea it was me going by.
There's the person who has no curtains and is always watching Judge Judy at 5am. And I mean every. single. day.
And of course, there is idiot driver #1, #2, #3.....
PRs:
5k - 20:51 - 9/5/15
10k - 47:00 - 5/25/15
15k - 1:10:19 - 11/21/15
13.1 - 1:42:25- 4/25/15
26.2 - TBD (someday)
uʍop ǝpᴉsdn sǝʇᴉɹʍ ʇI
I see two people ALL the time but they are speed walkers. They actually were part of my motivation for getting started in the first place. Every day when I drove DD1 to school I would see them speed walking, rain or shine. Over the months I noticed them losing weight. I didn't need to lose weight but it was one of those "If they can do it I can do it" types of things. Since then I have introduced myself to them and told them they helped get me started with my running. They are Rick and Robin and we always stop for a chat. I have seen them at the store and coffee shop and we chat there as well.
Apart from them I only recognize a few people on road bikes. We live by a well known road used by bikes, Glendora Mountain Road (lots of YouTube videos on it) so we get a lot of bike riders in our neighborhood .Most of them never wave or acknowledge runners so I don't know any of them.
In a one week span after the great snow melt of 2015, I saw an unscathed Mounds bar on the ground, a half eaten apple, a headless squirrel (WTF?) and was startled by a large maple leaf that made noise as it scooted across the ground behind me aided by the wind!
As far as characters....my neighborhood is full of 'em. My one neighbor is usually out washing his cars, motorcycle, boat, etc. He is like the mayor of the street and knows everyone's business.
There is a guy who walks his two labs, DH has talked to him & he walks up to 6 miles per day with them. Usually I saw him walking by our house, he's lost lots of weight, while the labs look like they enjoy plenty of food. It was a complete reversal seeing him on a different street this winter.
Last summer I would always see the 2 hot, usually shirtless male runners. Sunglasses are a good thing.
It was always interesting to see what was going on at the house next door. Not in a good way. We had neighbors from hell, who fortunately finally moved in the fall. One of the more interesting was the renter they had who would lay out in the backyard. At 5pm. The back of the house faces east & is at the bottom of a hill, so there was no sun. He was only wearing tighty whities. And then he would do some yoga or other abs work.
There is also a house that has two gray pitbulls. One is an older puppy. They both just stand on the deck with their heads out the rail watching me go by. Typically the small one follows the big one, so if he walks away, the little one follows. That is also the house I want to scream at the owners to fix the damn fence. There is a missing section that was taken out when the PREVIOUS owners moved in more than 10 years ago. New owners have been there over a year.
delicate flower
I see a lot of the same people on the rail trail:
The old man and his dog. He's an old guy with a dog and he's always out there.
Sam Elliott and his bicycle. He must not have a job because he is sitting on a bench every single time I use the trail.
The old Asian couple. She always walks about three steps directly behind him. Kind of weird.
Tugboat. If you were fan of 80's wrestling, he looks and walks like that Tugboat guy.
Weird Guy. This guy is always out walking and he walks fast, head tilted to the side but looking down at the ground, and he doesn't swing his arms when he walks.
The Running Couple. Judging by how they look, he is holding her back.
<3
Team TJ
At 5am, it's just me...
Running for TJ because he can't.
Run to live; live to run
The old guy down the street that thinks I run too much and should take a break. He us Greek and hard to understand. He walks a few miles a day and I will see him sometimes
The guy that wears a hat and long sleeves and gloves even when it is 100 degrees out as he walks his dog. He always says hi
various others that talk or wave. Some are irritating as it may be when I'm doing intervals. Just cuz I'm paused and walking in a circle for a minute doesn't mean I'm done and want to talk
Marjorie
Strange this came up today, I was working in an office today and a man asked me If I jogged and I said yes, and he asked where. Truns out we run into each other on the trail all the time.
Others I see;
The man in black, black sleeveless t shirt black shorts always.
Can man, old guy walking around with his cane and a plastic big going through trash cans for aluminum cans.
Groundskeeper, usually has handfuls of trash he's picked up in the park.
My mom, she reminds me of my mom, I've even passed her on early morning in the dark.
Bat man, always carrying a short bat.
Bike man, he's ridden with me for a while and talked about running and what I was training for. He used to run now rides, his daughter runs.
Pack man, marches around with a full back pack, towel wrapped around his neck , short shorts
There's also that park that I never see. Who goes to the park at 5 in the morning besides crazy runners.
That is just awesome - I can't stop laughing!
I know the dogs better than the people in our neighborhood. Just about everybody has at least one dog. I know where the dogs live and many of their names. The only people whose names I know are the neighbors on both sides of us, plus a couple of others that we meet more often while walking the dog. There are not a lot of obvious crazy people in our neighborhood. I think the neighbors think DH and I are very strange, but they wave at us anyway. (We walk the dog twice a day, rain or shine, no matter how hot or cold it is. All those folks who drove past at 11 p.m. when it was 5 degrees and snowing remember us well.) Plus, I frequently run past all the parents waiting for their kids at the bus stop (so they don't walk the 1/2 block home). There are at least four people on the block who run, but I almost never see them when I'm out running and only one does races.
I live in the boonies, so I rarely see anyone.
This.
But, there is one lady whom I see several times a summer out here. She carries a fanny pack with speakers in it, so she is Fanny Pack.
At the park, there is Non-Acknowledger. She is seriously fast but never seems to wave, nod, speak. Last time I passed her going opposite directions, I smiled and said hello (almost sarcastically expecting no response), and she said "hi" back. I nearly fell into the ditch out of shock.
At the gym, there are tons of interesting regulars!
Patchouli Man - his stank overpowers all mortals. When he enters the cardio room, everyone wishes for gas masks.
Terrible Mom - lets her kids run amok on the indoor track, getting in everyone's way.
Hat Guy - fairly normal, but noteworthy in that he is one of few who also does lots of quality miles on the TM
Elliptical Fox - Rick coined this nickname. So. Hot.
Smash - one of the few lifters who also runs, I can hear his footfalls and not have to confirm that it's him even with my headphones on.
Diesel Chick - could beat up all the women and most of the men. At the same time. Guys stop and stare when she's on weights.