A group of some of my running friends were sitting around telling old stories about some of our more fun runs. Most of the retelling of the adventures were humorous and memorable runs. The topic changed course when one of the friends told about a couple of runs he had that were less than fun. We all had similar stories where we were harassed by drivers passing by. There were a few instances where they were targets for a thrown beer can. It seems there are a few people out there that do not like runners trying to get healthy.
Whether it is this positive outlook on life that some people take offense to I am not sure. It leaves you on the angry side knowing that a single mistake in aim, or control of the wheel, can mean a serious, if not life threatening, injury to you. My story was a time running against traffic heading back home on a country road. A lady on a bike was on the opposite side of the road and the car behind her slowed down to pass her. The car behind the first car was impatient and tried to pass. What he didn’t realize was the first car slowed because there was an oncoming car coming toward them. The second car did a 90 degree turn in front of the first car, almost hit it broadside, and fishtailed back and forth down the road. The back end of that pickup was a direct path toward me. I jumped off the road and the truck straightened out and went on down the road. How that truck kept from rolling over sideways I will never know. But, I never ran on that road again.
It is not a regular thing in running but it happens often enough that causes concern with runners. Women runners meet with these same hazards as well as meeting up with problems that men seldom experience. The harassment and cat calls from passing cars occurs much too often. The car or truck will pull up alongside them and the occupants begin a harassment that may escalate into more derogatory remarks. The woman is somewhat at the mercy of this harassment because if her desired comeback remark is made it may antagonize them. The possibility that the individual will get out of the car and physically hit her or attack her is very real. It takes tremendous will power to ignore the comments and continue on running with the hope the intruders will become bored and drive on.
