If you have ever seen two motorcycles pass one another on the highway, you may have noticed them wave at one another as if they knew each other. "The wave," is an unspoken part of the motorcycle culture that demonstrates the common respect and comorodery that exist between those who ride on two wheels. I thought that same cultural practice was present within the running world, but have found my theory in need of adaptation over the past few weeks. I recently journeyed down through a prestigious portion of St. Paul where I knew many runners frequented and expected to be warmly welcomed by the other early morning athletes. I was sadly mistaken. Most people that I encountered along my route would look right passed me as if I was one of light poles that lined Summit Ave. I attempted to make eye contact, smile, and deliver a "good morning" to all those who ran by me, however, few and far between would return a greeting. I was shocked and disapointed by the cold shoulder that I recieved time and time again. Were these people not hearing me? Did they not see the smile on my face? Were they in the zone and dead to their surroundings?
I thought about this phenomenon for a number of days and sought out to test it again on Tuesday, in my neighborhood, on the trails of Roseville. The first runner I encountered I gave a warm smile and "hello!" Sure enough, they smiled back and greeted me with a "hello" in return! Maybe this was an issolated incident, but the next runner proved that theory wrong. Each runner, or walker, that I encountered would return my greeting with at least a smile, making me think that there is a difference between the runners who frequent local trails, and those who choose to run in highly touted areas of the metro. So I began to think, the people on the local trails run for the love of running and enjoy the company of a fellow runner, while the people running in high profile areas are running to be seen running. They do not care about the larger running community and the comrodery that we all share with one another. I hope that I am wrong, but encourage you to test my theory. The next time that you are out for a run, wave at all the fellow runners and walkers, and see what happens. Do they see you? Do they care about your shared passion? I am anxious to hear what you find, and hope that you can prove my theory wrong!
2 comments:
Eric, though I'm not a "runner" and can't test your hypothesis "at speed", I can say I've found walkers in highly urban environments to be pretty much "eyes forward" and reticent to make eye contact. I was walking around Greenlake a couple days ago so my observation is based on recent events. If you really want to experience isolation in a crowd, try the New York subway :)
Regarding the wave between 2 wheeled riders, I find many of the sport bike riders less inclined to wave than you Harley guys.
I noticed the phenomenon of being invisible as a walker many places in the US - particularly in metropolitan areas. The contrast with walking in Costa Rica is startling - there ALL the local people smile and say "buen dia" or "a dios". When I first heard the latter, I thought they were telling me good-bye as I walked passed them. It was only upon studying with a local Spanish-speaker that I learned they were saying "Go with God" to me. This is only one of the reasons I love Costa Rica.
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