Wildest Training Run Encounter

scared wrote:

galloway started gallowalking after me and tried to beat me to death with the penguin.

THE BEST ONE YET!

OK so several running encounters taking place in NYC's Central Park:

While running the random trails of Central Park, myself and my running companions came across several odd occurrences in the duration of a single run. They were as follows:

1. A group of about 7 hispanic men offerring a glimpse at their sole female companions breasts in exchange for money, but at the sight of us, donning short-shorts and no shirts, offered us a free sample

2. While exploring new, unknown trails we weren't familiar with, we see two overweight, middle-aged men, one black, one white, we see the white guy one his knees while the black guy stood pleaurably with his pants at his ankles. About 15 mins later, despite our best efforts to avoid this part of the trail, we came across the same couple, still going at it, luckily, they were corteous enough to have switched roles.

3. An old man sitting on a rock, throwing a beat like there was no tomorrow

Keep in mind this all happened over the course of a single run through Central Park... I <3 NY!!

(Milwaukee, 1993ish)

A teammate (Jack) and I were dogging a 10-miler and throwing snowballs at random objects in late March. One glanced off a tree branch and hit a pickup coming in the opposite direction. We soon saw that he was pulling a u-turn in the middle of the 4-lane road. We took off along the 10-mile loop's route (unfortunately we were in the middle of a long, gradual incline) and then ran into the entrance of a local park area. He followed us in there, driving like a maniac, and got further into the park than us, and got out. We then turned for the exit, and started running across a field back to the main road. Without vocalizing it, we split up and he headed for the woods separating the park from the main road and I was headed for the road out.

As I said, this was in March in Milwaukee and the grass was wet and muddy from slush/snow. The guy decided to chase me. So, I'm going as fast as I can, while trying to remain in control so as to not slip and fall. The whole time I'm thinking, "just get to the road, just get to the road". He was probably only about 10-15 yards behind me at that time, and telling me what he was going to do if he caught me. I don't recall saying anything, but it was kinda fun and scary at the same time. Once I was able to reach pavement, I put a little more distance on him and I think he figured out he wasn't catching me. I spent the next 5 miles of my run back to campus looking over my shoulder for this guy, but also for Jack.

I didn't see Jack until I was showered up, and he finally came back to the locker room. What happened was, upon entering the wooded area, he had to jump a large ditch, and when he landed his shoe got stuck in the mud, so he just kept running without it. After determining the coast was clear, he had to go back and get his shoe before running back to campus via back roads to as not be seen by the crazy guy.

We laughed about that run for a long time.

GREAT story. Love it that you checked your watch at the finish line.

I was trailed by a pack of coyetes will running in Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego. Scared out of my mind. Didn't know if I should run faster or freeze. Then, they just took off into the golf course like a flash. They weren't really interested in me after all. Just happened to be going the same route I was. Still scared me though.

while out for a runout one day a car almost hit me pulling out of a parking lot-i cussed at him, gave him the finger and kept going. 4 or 5 miles further into the run in see the same car in a parking lot-the same driver was in it but it was parked. i felt like being an as so i took one giant leap off one foot, my other foot landed on his hood, my next step was on his roof, my next step was then on his trunk. i then kept going-he got out and yelled at me to which i flipped him off for the second time during that run.....

Come on, I know there are more stories out there to keep me up too late reading.

Since you were near the MT/WY border, perhaps they were looking for the "grand canyon of the Yellowstone."

CO-Runner wrote:

While in college I worked in MT during the summer. While out on a training run in the middle of nowhere near the MT/WY state line, a car load of senior citizens flagged me down and asked me for directions to the Grand Canyon. ... for those of you who are geographically challenged ... that would be in AZ. ;-)

i got chased by a moose w/ two babies last summer, bigger then a horse

bump

I love this thread.

I was running in the mountains of Utah one afternoon, and feeling pretty good. It was hot out, and I was wearing only running shorts.

Much to my surprise, I saw Kip Kangogo running on a trail parallel to mine a little lower down the mountain. He was wearing a full Lycra suit and sweating like a madman. He was running FAST.

I saw in the distance that the two trails intersected, so I looked down at him and started to match his stride.

Soon enough, I was running right next to him. I couldn't believe how little he was. I turned to him and asked him how far he was going, and he responded with gibberish. I couldn't understand a word he was saying. I asked him again and he gave me a confused look. I thought he was messing with me.

So we continued to run, but it was really awkward. After about five seconds, he picked up the pace, and I went with him. It was then that I realized that this poor guy probably thought I was a psycho.

Just when I came to this realization, a dog came crashing out from behind a bush. I was a little startled, but Kip screeched like a banshee. I have never heard a man scream like that before, and it seriously scared the crap out of me. Much more than the dog did, anyway. I sort of jumped away from him in surprise, and almost crashed into the dog, which immediately flipped out.

I was in a standoff with this dog, which was growling and barking as if it is going to tear me limb from limb.

Kip starts sprinting away, full speed. The dog's owner comes up and apologizes, but Kip is off in the distance, looking back every ten strides or so.

It was by far the weirdest ten seconds of running I have ever had.

The only cray encounter I had was being attacked by a hawk. I was running along and I fell this swoosh over my head and then I look up and see it circling again. So I dove into some bushes and tried not to move at all. After about 5 min. of coming within 2 feet of me he left, but then I came out of the bushes and he started to follow me from a way off so I sprinted the final mile and I don't think I've ever gone faster.

suffering from a case of bumpitis...

Bird stories: about 15 years ago I was running the 3rd Creek Bike Trail in Knoxville on a hot summer afternoon, wearing my Cincinnati Red baseball cap, when I suddenly felt the cap lift off my head and watched it fly away in the clutches of a big-ass owl, which dropped it 50 yards down the trail.

During my HS xc days my team and I would go through this calm residential neighborhood pretty much everyday en route to whatever workout/run we were doing that afternoon. The neighborhood led into this private school called Bishop Kenny (one of the top programs in the history of FL HS XC) This always led to a few stories.

1) Once, about four of us were just warming up for a tempo one when this slow driving car followed us for a couple minutes while we continued to look back at it. These two stoner looking kids would always just gawk at us like they had never seen kids doing anything productive in life like running. So we begin to start the tempo and pick it up a little bit casually when the car zooms past us and proceeds to church a half full coke can at not one, but TWO of us. So after being like what the hell and attempting to chase the car around we stop the tempo and wait to see where the car goes. Turns out the kid lives in a cold de sack right next to the entrance of the school..we tell each other to remember the house number. The following Friday night at what must've been 1am or so, we come back to the little bitches' house and tee-pee that son of a gun and top it off with a light egging on the driveway. We felt pretty good about this one although we would later get caught..

2) Another time we had just turned onto this road when we see this old lady pulling her best gumby impression on her driveway with her leg twisted back in a disfigured kind of way. Needless to say, she was moaning and agonizing in pain so we sprint up to her and she's crying and explains she slipped on some leaves and to call her daughter who's in the back of the house. We end up calling 911..we continue our run. We return 40min later at the end when we see the lady being put on a stretcher and carried away...she looked alright..minus the whole being unconscious thing.

There's a good bit more encounters involved. Trying to remember..

1. One not very good story, one better story.

2. For future reference, the term is "cul de sac", not "cold de sack"

commenter and grammarian wrote:

1. One not very good story, one better story.

2. For future reference, the term is "cul de sac", not "cold de sack"

Thanks for the help, but how bout you contribute by adding a story of your own?

Wasn't while running, and wasn't all THAT wild, but here goes:

Going for a bike ride while out with an achilles injury. Cruising along and suddenly I see a squirrel start to dart out in front of me. I hit him, but don't think I ran over him. My best guess is that he ran between my tires and then I hit him with my pedal. In any case, the squirrel dashed away and I continued on my ride. The end.

chased by a pair of baboons during an early morning foggy mountain run up above franschoek, south africa last summer...spooky

MF