Does anyone else feel slightly unwelcome as a faster runner?

Well today…

celebrating achievement = diminishing those who cannot achieve

so maybe think twice about excelling next time bud!!

Slow people get upset when you describe your runs as easy because they'd rather blame genetics than realize they need to work harder.

sub-sub-elite? Face the facts, you are a hobby jogger.

I offer nothing constructive, just here to damage your sensitive ego.

Runners in a major city aren't going to say hi to every single runner they pass. It'd be like driving your Toyota and waving at every other Toyota you see.

When I'm in my semi-rural hometown I might see one or two other runners on my loop, and I'll wave to them.

most people aren't expecting a random person to say hello to them. so probably they first think, is this guy talking to me? then, why is he talking to me? which takes a second for their brain to consider. by that time you are probably past them, so the moment has passed.

also many people wear earphones whilst jogging which you can't really see easily if they are wireless. when I run at the busy track near me, i wear big beefy headphones so that if people try and talk to me I can ignore them without seeming rude, because they will think I can't hear them.

excuse me. i run a 2:39 marathon. i am elite as you can see below

Elite and Subseed Athletes
The San Francisco Marathon
Elite Athlete Qualifying Times · Men: Full Marathon: Sub 2:40 / Half Marathon: Sub 1:18 · Women: Full Marathon: Sub 3:00 / Half Marathon: Sub 1:28 · Non-Binary+: ...

You are not unwelcome at all. But you have to realize that you are somewhat of a unicorn in the real running world. We have one 2:20ish runner in our hood and of course he sticks out because he is so much faster than the rest.

Lol, I’m 100% a hobbyjogger. I’m certainly not seeing a cent for my running. That’s why I didn’t call the other runners hobbyjoggers…we all are!

I think just in general most people aren't thinking about waving when they're on a path. We have a major bike path in Columbus and for the most part people don't typically wave. Maybe a head nod here or there but that's basically it.

I haven't really felt out of place in my community even as I've improved to a 2:23 guy. A lot of it is because I took a couple years of down time just jogging at local running/pub run clubs. Sure I'll have a couple new people here or there that will be a bit standoffish when someone tells them what I've run but I'll typically deflect and let them talk about their running and make them feel comfortable in our community.

Most people know by now that I don't take myself too seriously or try to show off in local groups. Obviously I take running pretty seriously but when we're in social running groups, the last thing I want to talk about is my own running. As long as you're approachable and want to be a part of the community, people are typically pretty receptive to it.

Why the hell would runners wave to everyone else? I'm not some idiot who decided to buy a Jeep or a motorcycle

I ran 2:33 and I Loved running in London for this reason: tons and tons of runners faster than me everywhere. It was cool having a community of people running for performance.

When I run my marathons I'm the only person on that entire route. There are no other runners or spectators - only water station attendants; and they're only for a cup handoff. I run every marathon as if I'm qualifying for Boston and anything that might ding me for 1 second is a no-no.

I definitely do not look at the mass of runners in front of me - especially on Boston, where the great mass of runners extending a mile ahead of me can be awful intimidating.

This is your Narcissism. Nobody really cares when they see you run. So if they don’t acknowledge you it is unlikely due to your pace unless it gives them less time to respond. Otherwise you are overthinking this one.

I can kinda relate to the OP. I joined a local running FB group a few years ago that just recently had a poll to see why people weren't coming to the group meetups. 50% said the paces were too fast at 10:00 miles. None of the faster people even chimed in because of the bad optics. We just don't do the group runs.

I still wave and say hi to all of the runners I see and get some responses, but I'm in the burbs where you see the same faces often. The people that don't wave back, I try to wear down over time until they submit to a proper greeting.

I'm not disputing this, but just letting you know that the one time I said this exact phrase, I got karma'd in short order.

All the best, and Good Luck in the next couple of weeks.

Ha - can definitely relate. There is this older lady that walks on the trail every single morning, so we see her 4+ times a week (going on near a decade now). No headphones or nothing, but no acknowledgement for years. She finally started smiling, nodding, and even waved once or twice before covid. Then, in March-Sept of covid time, she was gone. Then, she came back double-masked and running into the woods whenever anyone approached. Now, she still turns away and gets as far away as possible whenever we pass. No smile or wave or anything. A bit of a bummer, tbh.

re: the strava comment saying your "easy 7:00 run" offended them, they may have just been poking some fun in a self-deprecating way. No need to clutch your pearls over it.

Please tell me you people are trolling. Nobody is under any obligation to return your greeting. In fact at a certain point your demand becomes harassment so leave people alone if they appear to prefer that.

What a weird and glorified way to say you’re a hobby jogger.

You’re just being weird, you should know by now that most joggers are struggling and/or focused when they run and the last thing they’re thinking about is saying hello to some guy they probably didn’t even notice.

Also it’s crazy that you’re talking like that when you’re not even that fast, I know female amateur runners who work at night and train during the day who are faster than you, and I’ve never seen them being arrogant like that.