Written by Steve Jackson
Car back!”
“CAR BACK!”
“CAR BACK!”
We recently have been celebrating the phenomenal growth of our club, 200+ members! It’s a great accomplishment and no doubt a result of our welcoming ways. As our group runs have grown, I have noticed we often get lost in conversations and don’t hear warnings about approaching cars, we start to run 2, 3, 4 people abreast, we take over the road. There are laws that require motorists to give pedestrians and bikers a wide berth in order to keep us safe, but we also have to be mindful that motorists also have a right to the road. Here are a few rules of running etiquette to consider as our group runs continue to grow, keeping us safe and respectful for all who use the roads and trails.
1. Run against traffic. Running towards approaching vehicles allows you to see them and for them to see you. This provides you the ability to know if you need to be defensive in getting out of the way, harder to do if the vehicle is coming up behind you on the same side.
2. Skinny down a large group. Don’t take up the whole road, lane, or trail. Keep a large group to no more than 2 abreast; single file on narrow, limited sight roads. Often drivers have little time to react when coming around a turn and seeing a group of runners in front of them. Consider also that drivers maybe heading into the sun or on an unfamiliar road.
3. Stay or move onto a sidewalk. A runner is considered a pedestrian and needs to follow the same rules as a pedestrian. Use crosswalks with caution, look both ways, use “Walk” lights and also don’t encourage “Hey, I think we can all beat the light”
4. Be friendly. Acknowledge drivers who let you cross or give a wide way with a wave, smile or thumbs-up. Avoid aggressive language or gestures, be an ambassador for all runners – not all drivers who come close to you are a jerk, they may not have seen you (see number 2 above)
Saucony did a campaign back in the 1980’s called “Share the road with a runner!”, runners also need to be reminded that we share the road with cars, trucks, bicycles and other pedestrians!
Again, I did some googling: “running etiquette” and quite a lot of sites came up advice for road, trail, and track running and also for race day. Here are a couple:
https://www.marathontrainingacademy.com/running-etiquette…
https://www.fleetfeet.com/…/the-rules-of-running…
