It has been a few years since I have backed off on my running and moved on to more walking. And I have been writing this column for a number of years so my name and an old photo makes me somewhat recognizable around town. It seems that all that running is about the one thing that when I talk to people the comment from them is, “I recognize you from seeing you running around town all the time.” I can remember when I did my long runs training for a marathon I would run out to Hunter and back, then head out to the Holiday Inn and along the access road down to C. M. Allen near the Little League ball fields and then around the Square and on home. It measured about 22 miles. I never thought much about it until I was talking to a person and they had seen me out on Hunter Road, then later while they were shopping downtown, and later while getting gas they see me running along the access road. They were curious enough to ask me how far I ran and were amazed to see me at so many different locations during the day just running down the roads. I guess I never thought much about how other people look at runners. I have to admit that seeing a runner around town is a somewhat unusual sight for a non-runner. And then to see a runner at several locations is a little bit beyond their comprehension. It doesn’t take long for a runner to be recognized by quite a few people over time.
Then when they see you in a store, at a party, on the street, or at lunch somewhere and instantly have a long-lost friend to talk with. They will have seen you many times and know you quite well. You have never seen them before and almost panic with the thought that you should know this person on a first-name basis because they know you so well. You start a conversation with the hope that they say something that will help you remember why you are supposed to know them. They know you because you run by their business several times a week or on a street in their neighborhood. I wondered how many runners notice all the different people they pass when they are out on a run and remember them when you see them again. The runner is one person to see and know but the spectators are many and, for the most part, do not stand out.
It becomes even more difficult to recognize a person when they pass you in a car. They honk their horn and stick an arm out the window for a wave. This is okay if you recognize the person’s car. It gets tougher when you are out on a country road, your eyes are looking down looking for pennies embedded in the asphalt and you hear a honk, see the wave, can’t see a person because of tinted windows and it is only a very quick glance. If the car is one of those low sports cars it is even more difficult to see inside. The recognition game is pretty much in favor of the passing person, or the person standing inside his or her business, as you go running by.
