When I am running and I meet people who are out walking or especially running I tend to greet them with either a nod or a "hello". Not many repond and not many greet me before I have the chance to do so.
I have always liked the culture of sailors, no matter nationality or boat size or type - sailers wave and greet each other when they meet at sea or in harbour.
I would love for this phenomenon to be adopted in running circles, so I will continue my greetings to my fellow runners, whether they remain unresponsive or not.
My dad despises having his concentration interrupted while he is running. When I was a boy I got a lot of serious tongue-lashings for trying to say hello to him as he ran around the track. Of course, part of that was he only wanted me to interrupt him if it was an emergency.
Re:My dad would hate it
jonasbn on 2007-07-05T16:32:55
It sounds like your dad is a serious runner. I must admit I have to be in a incredibly bad mood if I snap at my kids for doing something as innocent as saying hello. A hello from a kid is in my book an sign of politeness and good upbringing.
I am in that situation that I am not exposed to my kids when running. I run 5-10 km. and this is simply not within range of a zero and a two year old, unless accompanied.
I met my 2 year old the other day when running - he was walking with his grandmother and I used this break to go for a run - he did not take evem the time to say hello eventhough I stopped, perhaps it was due to the icecream his grandmother just bought him.
I do not care if people do not greet when running, I only tend to runners running in the opposite direction, I do not greet people I pass by when running faster.
I understand some runners do not have the sufficient air to utter a greeting, then a nod should suffice. This also works great for head phones. I was in that situation months ago and this proves my point, we are runners, we have something in common, hence we should be able to greet each other.
Runner who do not return my greetings, I just consider them a sourpuss and is on my way, since I probably have more kilomerters to go, and after all it is only a greeting - nothing to get all excited about.Re:My dad would hate it
jdavidb on 2007-07-05T17:31:20
It sounds like your dad is a serious runner. I must admit I have to be in a incredibly bad mood if I snap at my kids for doing something as innocent as saying hello. A hello from a kid is in my book an sign of politeness and good upbringing.Well, I don't think he snapped the first time; I think it was more like "Okay, we're going to the track, and you boys can walk, and I've told you before that you're not to disturb me unless it's an emergency, so remember this." And there I go, waving at dad yelling something when he comes around
..... Oh and for the record, after posting I did realize that today, as an adult, if I happen to see my dad running down the street while I'm driving (happens maybe once or twice a month, actually, as we live close) he doesn't seem to have a problem with my tapping the horn and/or waving.
Re:My dad would hate it
jdavidb on 2007-07-05T17:33:32
And I was probably at least ten or so, and well-acquainted with the fact I'd been specifically asked not to do anything to distract him. I was one of those kids who had to do something a couple of hundred times before I finally resolved to start doing as I was asked.
:)
