Acknowledging other runners… Do you?

Vanilla posted an interesting article over at Half-Fast today about the fact she always gets the urge to shout encouragement at other runners when she’s in her car.

I must admit, I also get the urge to shout at people from cars… but 9 times out of ten it’s to point out their general bad road manners!

With regards to acknowledging other runners when out training, I always make every effort to say hello or if that’s not possible (due to the need to use what little air I can inhale at the time for breathing), then I’ll always raise my hand in that hello-but-not-a-wave type way. It really annoys me when I don’t get the same response…. although I have to admit, the majority of the time the acknowledgment is reciprocated.

The whole thing is a tad more uneasy when you are actually overtaking someone though. I mean, it’s a bit easy to be taken the wrong way when you speed past someone and just say “hello”. It could almost be sarcastic!

When I was cycling and not running I found it was much more accepted to acknowledge other cyclists. But not having the best riding technique did lead to a lot of tricky hello’s as I’d lift my hand from the bars and wobble into the pothole that I was previously trying to avoid.

I think cyclists are a different bread though… almost like motorcyclists. A cult almost. A tribe. A kind of us-against-them mentality. Which I guess is emphasized by the fact they have to share the road with the ‘them’ in their ‘them and us’ relationship… i.e. the cars! I think there’s a ‘let’s stick together’ mentality with cyclists, whereas a lot of runners are more of the attitude that they’re getting away from things and are in the ‘zone’… and don’t see themselves as being part of a larger ‘club’.

Or maybe it’s just that I don’t look that friendly when I’m puffing away and trying to mumble a ‘morning’ or a ‘hello’?

Right, note to self…. ensure a smile is attached to any passing acknowledgment!