I was a resolution runner one year ago, doing the C25K program. It's likely that I didn't respond to every wave I received because I was too busy trying to breathe or listening for the "beep" to indicate it was time for a walk interval. I like to think I'm friendlier now, because I actually enjoy running. (Most of the time. Some days it still s*cks.)
Why is it that we who are supposed to be a supportive community say resolution runners in such a snarky way. We all resolved to run one way or the other. Are we truly that snobby here.
You not from 'round heah r ya?"
Anymore, I think that people just simply are less inclined to say hello to each other, regardless of setting. Here at work, people can pass each other in the hallway (in some cases people who work in the same functional areas), for days and not say one word to each other. It's a very wierd feeling to be waiting your turn to get a cup of coffee and have 7 people staring at the ground, wall, etc. and not say one word. So if I pass a runner who doesn't wave or say hello, I've come to expect it.
Mmmmm...beer
FWIW, I forgot to mention that I wave to everyone I see, runner, walker, cars, bikes, whatever. I wave to other cars/people when I'm driving through my neighborhood, something I picked up from living in the country, never hurts to be friendly.
-Dave
My running blog
Goals | sub-18 5k | sub-3 marathon 2:56:46!!
curmudgeon at large
Actually I've been lurking for quite a while. I wave at everybody, especially the cotton trucks right before they run me off the road.
Run Like a Mother
I agree that the amount of people who acknowledge you depends on the area where you live. Around here, almost everyone acknowledges you when you pass. I lived in Spain for a while and no one there (the city I lived in, don't know about the country as a whole) would speak to anyone if they didn't know them. They thought I was "the weird American girl who would smile at every one". I rarely see another runner out running unless I am on one of our recreation trails, which I don't run much in the winter. But the people who are out always give me friendly "good morning". Even most drivers wave. I think that is because I watch them so closely to make sure they see me, so once eye contact is made, it would be weird around these parts to not smile and wave.
I wonder if some of the "newer" runners aren't waving b/c they are so focused on what they are doing. I know when I started, it was painful, and it took all I had to just keep my feet going. Who knows who I passed without really realizing it. I think we should give the obviously newer runners even bigger smiles and waves, and remember they are working REALLY hard....just starting out really is not an easy thing!
Smaller By The Day
I'm not concerned with bears - its the geese I have to look out for!
Oh man...I hate geese. They're big aggressive birds.
I wave at people, and they frequently wave back. If not..oh well. Haven't noticed a difference since the calendar changed though.
Improvements
Weight 100 pounds lost
5K 31:02 Sept. 2012 / 23:36 Sept. 2013 (Same Course)
10K 48:59 April 2013
HM 2:03:56 Nov. 2012 / 1:46:50 March 2013
MARATHON 3:57:33 Nov. 2013
Bjørnmannen
I don't know how you interpreted anything on this thread as snarky. Calling someone a "resolution runner" doesn't have any such connotation in my neck of the woods.
[Edited to add]: i also didn't wave when I started running again but did when I began to notice that every other person would wave to me in my neighborhood. I think "the wave" is pretty common here. No one ever waved when I would run in the Midwest growing up.
I have lived near 2 popular bike paths that have a lot of runners. I am more likely to get a greeting from a runner on the streets that lead to the paths than on them. Same thing in the less populated western part of MA bike paths when I stay with my in-laws. When I lived in the regular burbs most runners greeted each other which is still my first reflex.
The only weird comments I ever got from friends were when they saw me running in the winter, and 1 person who thought I should be smiling more out there.
I don't notice any resolutioners at the gym or on the road so far this year. But the waving thing, I think at a friendly places like here (a small city suburb in the south), most people will respond with a smile/nod/hello/waving when you wave (bikers are quite friendly too. But I tend to ignore them). The response rate is 79.1% on the bike path of the park I run at, I'd say.
At the subdivisions near my neighborhood, people are even more friendly. Drivers will wave at you when you're out running in the weekend morning. I now wave at most cars that run past me on my morning runs(not very early). I feel bad if they waved at me and I didn't see it to wave back.