Surprises on My Run

You never know what you’ll run into, literally. The world is full of oddities and surprises if you care to look around. As I pointed out in my recent post titled Don’t Wait – 101 Reasons to Start Running Today, running is a new experience every time. And as it turns out, some of these new experiences just might catch you off-guard from time to time. Truth be told, I’ve seen some unexpected stuff beyond my wildest dreams out there. Below is a list of the most memorable ones.

Accidents

Although accidents may not be the most bizarre of all things, they still catch my attention every time I see one. I have witnessed two accidents to date during my runs – two women on the ground, to be exact. The first lady was bumped by a car when she was crossing a street. Luckily she’d probably only suffered from some bruises.

The other incident was more mind-boggling. I once ran by a woman on the ground, mumbling words I couldn’t understand, while her husband (I think) was trying to drag her into a mini-van. I thought she was drunk for a moment. But her twitching limbs and rolling eyed convinced me otherwise. The weirdest part: that man said to me, “she always does this to me…please don’t call the police”. Right when I was trying to decide what to do, I saw an approaching ambulance and figured someone must have informed the authority.

Weapon

There are all kinds of crazy people out there, by my standards of course. But I specifically remember one man that made me turn my head when i ran by him. This gentleman, around 70 years old, was walking his dog with a pistol on his belt. I understand this is not so uncommon in some parts of the U.S. – but it’s quite a shocking sight in my neighborhood. I instantly felt safer after seeing this. Not really.

Backwards

I’ve also seen a woman running backwards. While I am aware that backward running has its fans – even races – I was quite sure this lady had no idea what she was doing. It looked like she was about to topple and fall any second. But at least she was out there exercising. So kudos to her.

Above

Trust me – you don’t want anything to fall on you from above. Nothing. I was once hit on my chest by bird droppings during my first ultra. Some people say it’s a sign of good luck; I say it’s utter crap. It can really distract you from what you’re doing for a while. My suggestion: avoid running under a flock of birds flying above you or perched on a tree. Or just avoid running under tress if you can – you won’t like whatever is dropping down from it.

Something besides bird droppings hit me from above. Last year I was running beside a few skyscrapers in my neighborhood. All of a sudden a searing pain shot through my left thigh. As I let out a short burst of scream and limped for a bit, I realized that it was caused by a burning cigarette, likely tossed off a balcony by a resident of the nearby highrise. This once again confirmed my belief that nothing good will ever drop on you from the sky.

What do you think of my list? And what are the most unbelievable things you’ve seen or experienced during your runs? Feel free to share in the comment section below.

Author Bio: Kevin Lu is an engineer, currently working in the field of orthopedic devices. He received his B.S. and M.S. in biomedical engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology. Science, technology, and running are Kevin’s passions. In his spare time, Kevin trains for and participates in races of various distances. In addition to Beyond Distance, Kevin also writes for iRunnerBlog as a contributing tech columnist. Find out more about Kevin here and follow him on Twitter.

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