I'm not a naturally competitive person when it comes to most things, running being one of those. The sport focuses mainly on yourself and what you have the ability to do. Sure, when racing you are competing with individuals around you to get the best time overall, but you are mainly fighting yourself in the whole process. It's totally okay to be friendly to your competitors, let's face it- they're suffering the same course you are.
First off, when passing someone or running alongside them, it doesn't hurt to breathe out a "good job" or "keep it up" to help motivate the poor guy. It's not easy to race and it doesn't help your confidence to get passed. Yes, I understand that if you're racing hard enough you may not have the breath to even mouth good job, often because you may be foaming at the mouth. But once you cross that finish line, acknowledge the runner next to you. It may soften the blow of getting a worse time than you expected or feeling really awful.
Second, if you're going to listen to music (while just on a run or during a race-permitting it's allowed) do not sing out loud the lyrics to the song. It implies that you believe this run is easy, which it may be, but often someone near you is struggling and they will perceive it as teasing and take personal offense. Singing aloud the lyrics to a song is also like disturbing the peace of the sound of footsteps and heavy breathing, which some runners look forward to in order to pace themselves and lessen their stress. The song does not sound the same to your ears as it does to theirs, especially if they can't hear it. Finally, the song may be messing up someones pace, as some runners (such as myself) rely on certain music to set their footstep's pace, and are trying to run without music to influence their pace.
If you're going to throw up, please throw up on the side of the course or trail. Nothing's worse than stepping in somebody else's vomit and getting your shoes dirty with the juices from somebody else's stomach. Yes, if it's a cross country race it's understandable that you may throw up, but don't do it in the middle of the course where other runners are. Run off to the side as you throw up to minimize the damage you may put on other runners. Everyone has different thresholds of grossness, and some may not take a liking to you.
When crossing a street and a car is waiting for you, acknowledge their patience by giving them the simple wave or smile. It's possible that you were tired and could of used the break waiting for the car to catch your breath, but it's better to not stop during a run, so thank the driver patiently waiting behind the while for pushing your fitness level one step further, even though it may not feel like it. Being both a driver and a runner, it's tempting to honk at a runner who doesn't thank you for waiting, especially when you missed an opportunity to take a left into a streaming line of traffic going both ways.
If you're running on a bike trail or in a bike lane, don't think that you own the lane. Chances are where you're running, while it may be ideal, was not designed for you to run on. Appreciate the bikers going around you and not running you over by saying "excuse me" or "thank you" if possible. Imagine running around a tree in the middle of the path, it's not too much work, but a little frustrating and annoying. I would imagine bikers feel the same about runners on their bike trails and courses.
Look for more to see my continued version of running etiquette and how to be a more pleasurable runner to run beside and encourage. (661)
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