The Bad Boy Of Running

I have never liked a tattletale. Starting in kindergarten, when I stole the kid to my right's blue blocks and secretly gave him all my pink ones, I have always been somewhat of a bad boy. Enjoying to live life closer to the edge than to the middle, I prefer doing what I want to do rather than being told what to do. Predictably, leading a lifestyle similar to mine own, you oftentimes come in contact with those who can't put one foot in front of the other without getting permission first. People who live life by a strict interpretation of all rules and regulations. People who oftentimes clash with people of my ilk. And, when push comes to shove, these permission-seeking people often run to their mommies or other persons of authority and tattletale about the goings on with the bad boys. At the very least, the tattlers will at least bring to the attention of the rule-violators that their are actively engaged in the breaking of a given rule. While these types of encounters, at least in my experience, have been limited to educational settings and happened more frequently when we were all younger, I have started to notice that these instances have unfortunately been slowly increasing in my current running life. And I'm getting tired of it!!

In a past post, I wrote about the traffic rules governing outdoor running. If you'll remember, while the law states that runners must run against traffic (i.e. run towards oncoming vehicles), frequently runners tend to ignore these rules and run with traffic (which, in my opinion, feels more natural). I have never seen roads so congested with runners that this rule violation ever amounts to anything. It's a given that cars will be annoyed at runners no matter what side of the street they are running on. It's also a given that bikers will make rude comments and direct evil stares at runners no matter if they are running on the street (the legal side or not) or the sidewalk. So, the only people who would have a problem with me running on the wrong side of the street would be other runners. And, as Chris Farley so accurately pointed out in the acclaimed movie, Tommy Boy, "Brothers don't shake hands. Brothers hug!"

But that has not been the case these days. Whenever I am running on the wrong side of the road, and I pass a fellow runner who is running legally, too many of these goodie-two-shoes have begun pointing out the error of my ways to me. They'll either yell across the street at me (assuming their message will be loud and clear despite my wearing headphones) or, if they are on the same side of the road as me (thus, coming towards me), won't budge even a centimeter from their line and will force me to move aside. Some even, possibly being influenced by the jerk bikers, ogle me with hate-filled eyes and shake their heads in a negative connotation. While most of these runners tend to be on the older side, this fact does not provide enough reason to justify their rudeness. With so much aggression and hostility directed towards runners already, we don't need more coming from our own.

To be clear, I am well aware of my violating the letter of the law whenever I am running with traffic. That said, come on!!! The rule doesn't really make sense and, even if it did, there is no reason to be so hostile towards violators. For the most part, there is a great sense of camaraderie among outdoor runners. We wave to each other. We make sure a stopped runner is ok. But every now-and-then, we need to be reminded of these fact. Because, at the end of the day, we are a band of brother and, as Farley noted, we should be hugging.