Graveyard Runnin' - morally/socially acceptable?

Ed Whitlock has been doing it for years

I had a teacher in high school who ran in the nearby cemetary almost every day. Before taking up running, he had several health problems which could have become life threatening. He said that he ran in the cemetary to keep from living there.

Nothing wrong at all with running in a cemetary. However, if there is a funeral going on, turn back out of respect for the mourners.

I don't think there are many funerals in the early AM. However, if you are going really early, you might have zombies and goblins to worry about.

dean moriarty wrote:

I don't think there are many funerals in the early AM. However, if you are going really early, you might have zombies and goblins to worry about.

Goblins aren't real.

i used to do it routinely; never had a problem. before you do it, you may want to check to see if a particular cemetary has rules about it - but the workers i've seen when i'm running in cemetaries were friendly and, i used to see some of the same people out there and they'd wave or say hello. obviously, as you said, avoid funerals.

Hehe, yeah, considering carrying garlic and a wooden stake....maybe some silver bullets? Maybe if I strap on some flats I can finally outrun those damned vampires that tend to loiter there in the early AM :-P

Actually, cemetarys were built as places for families to be able to spend time together with thier departed. Play was part of the plan.

There's a graveyard near me which has signs posted that you cannot run thru it. Look out for those, otherwise I don't see why not.

I did it last Summer for several easy doubles.

I always felt that one of the employees of the cemetary

were going to tell me to cut it out. Never happened, but

it bugged me.

Mt.Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto, some of the best graveyard running this side of Ed Whitlocks stomping grounds.

Hmmmm. I don't know. There is a cemetery near me. I've run through it on rare occasion when I was trying to avoid a longer route with more hills. No funerals were in progress. Had they been I would have steered well clear or turned around and left. I do get a little weirded out by being there, but then I just think maybe all these folks who've passed away wouldn't mind a little company and seeing a different face. So I say a little "Good morning," to them all in my head and that makes me less weirded out.

This reminds me of a similar question about running at high school tracks. I'll start another thread for that one.

I think goblins are real, what proof do you have that they are not?

In high school, I ran at a cross-country meet that took place in a graveyard. To me it was fun, but I always thought it was creepy too.

Play was part of the plan??

No it wasn't you retard.

Goddamn yer stupid.

Digger

There's a large graveyard near me that is a common recreational area and has trails off the back. I love running there and have never been spoken too negatively about it. Workers, families, etc. all ignore me or say hello. I try to be respectful, of course, even going so far as to always wear a shirt there, even on hot summer days.

it's a great place to work out, 2 miles around, tons of unpaved roads, little traffic and quiet. i think the local hs team used to race there once or twice, even, although i thought that was a little weird. they stayed on the dirt/grass roads.

Graveyards have some of the best running you'll find. Not all of them, but enough of them to make it worthwhile searching one out. The quiet roads make them

Having run in graveyards in about 10 different countries, I can say that Americans are the most likely to put up signs restricting "jogging." I'm not sure why. Never seen such signs elsewhere, though admittedly my Chinese is not great, so I couldn't tell what the signs in Hong Kong said, and my German and Norwegian is patchy too so if it said "Zee joggeng eez verboten" I didn't see it. And really, my sample size is probably not large enough to be definitive proof. But still, only in America have I seen the signs, and only in America have I been asked to stop "jogging."

If there's no sign, consider yourself free to run. Just don't run on the cremation lawns -- it's like running across the graves which would be bad form.

In general, it also pays to check any closing hours if the fences are imposing. (Though the OP seemed more concerned about the early morning.)

The traffic might be light, but some of the drivers have other matters on their mind ...

Have fun.

We run through a graveyard, but only on the roads through the graveyard.

Didn't Pre run through a graveyard?

At my university, nearly all of our runs finish through a cemetary that abuts school property. There is a sign prohibiting skateboarding/rollerblading and driving lessons, but our team has never had any problem with the cemetary staff, and guys run through probably 300 days a year. As long as you don't get in anybody's way and don't act like a jackass (doesn't sound like you will) I can't imagine anybody taking offense.

Enjoy,

Peter

I always whistle when I go through or by them.