Wave/nod at other runners - yes or no?

I'll go ahead and start. In Belgian it is very common to greet other runners.

However, I really mean runners. It seems like the slower you run, the more difficult it becomes to nod or wave.

i always give a small wave to other runners that I think are gonna wave back to me, sometimes you can tell when a person is starring at their feet the whole time and isn't going to look up and see my wave.

Depends where I am. At home, I run on an urban path where you are passing other runners every 2-3 mins. No waves unless I know the person, or they greet me (I'd be spending all my time waving).

If I encounter someone out on a trail or in an area where I don't expect to see someone else, I usually greet them.

So basically....tons of runners around = no greet. Few runners around = greet.

Pete wrote:

So now I'm in Oslo, and yesterday (first daylight run) I passed many runners on a jaunt around a park. I'd say 5% of other runners made eye contact, and two or three people (out of maybe 200 runners I'd guess) returned my wave.

I live in Seattle, and a topic of frequent discussion on message boards and online forums here is the "Seattle Chill". Many newcomers find the natives here aloof and unfriendly.

This is often attributed to the fact that we have a large population of people of scandinavian origin here. People from that part of the world are famous for their reserve, which can be taken as unfriendliness... So your story isn't that surprising to me.

I usually give the head nod. Sometimes I'll give a little wave.

belgian wrote:

I'll go ahead and start. In Belgian it is very common to greet other runners.

However, I really mean runners. It seems like the slower you run, the more difficult it becomes to nod or wave.

I've noticed the opposite. I'm in the suburbs in Connecticut (the northeast, fairly near the coast if you don't know the US), and usually if I'm on an easy/recovery day people will be more apt to wave/nod and people I know driving by honk or yell more.

When I'm going at a faster pace, it seems like any other runners make an effort to avoid eye-contact. I'll ask friends why they didn't beep or anything when they mention they saw me running, and they usually say something about not messing up my focus.

I'd suspect a large part of it is the nonverbal body language. You can usually read if someone is going to say 'Hi' or not. Though, I'll occassionally nod only to be completely rejected.

In Michigan where I'm at the runners will acknowledge each other with a wave or a nod. I don't pay attention to walkers cyclists or roller skaters unless they're attractive. The people on recumbant bikes make me sick.

I like to give other runners the Ovett wave as I pass them

Runners nod/wave back - usually

Joggers - occasionally

Cyclist - very rarely What's with this? Will it make them crash if they do a simple nod back?

I'd say 5% of other runners made eye contact, and two or three people (out of maybe 200 runners I'd guess) returned my wave.

If you're running in an area where you'll pass 200 runners, I'd imagine not many will wave because they'd spend their whole run waving. That would be like me waving to every driver I see on the way to work.

When I run, I may see 10 other runners on a long run. Maybe 2 or 3 on a shorter workout. So waving is a little more common.

In Minnesota there is Scandinavian reserve, but also an innate politeness. In other words, if you wave first, you'll get a reply. I'll raise a hand in greeting to pretty much any runner who glances over (I'm not originally from around here), and if they catch the gesture they'll reciprocate. But it is rare that they'll initiate. I do notice more and more people in the last few years who do not even glance over, lost in their own little Ipod worlds.

I'll do the head nod to other runners if I'm out on a trail, and I'll make eye contact with everyone if it's in a more isolated area. But like other people have said, I don't wave to most people on the popular running path, because I'd be doing more waving than running.

I live in the South so there is ALWAYS a greeting. We've institutionalized politeness here to aptly be able to discern when we have a Yankee in our midst.

Hi had a very similar experience in the UK. I grew up in a small town, whenever I passed a runner you'd get a wave and normally a cheery hello, though admittedly the running community was small enough that I knew most other runners by sight. When I moved to Cambridge, still not exactly a big city, people chose to state straight ahead instead. In London, where I now live, any more than the slightest raise of the eyebrows and people would move to avoid you.

pumpkin wrote:

I live in the South so there is ALWAYS a greeting. We've institutionalized politeness here to aptly be able to discern when we have a Yankee in our midst.

LOL. "Institutionalized" politeness. That's the best way to describe it.

And yes, I also live in the South, so I'm always giving a little wave or nod on runs. Interestingly enough, now that I think about it, I only passed one other person on an 8 mile run yesterday. Strange.

The same goes for driving. My wife is from California, and she thinks it's weird how other motorists and myself will exchange waves on the road. She'll say, "Did you know that person?". I reply, "Nope".

I always adjust my package when I pass a runner.

pumpkin wrote:

I live in the South so there is ALWAYS a greeting. We've institutionalized politeness here to aptly be able to discern when we have a Yankee in our midst.

My sister is an Aggie, so she says "howdy" (typical Aggie greeting) to everyone when we run. I get a little embarassed with this, especially if the person does not return the greeting. Of course half the time, I don't think the other person is an English-speaker in the first place. When I am running by myself, I will try to make eye contact with runners coming from the other direction. If they look at me I will smile or say hi.

If by "institutionalized" politeness, you really mean "fake", than I would say that is true of the South.

i've just recently arrived in Oslo too and am concious of the same phenomenon, i.e. most runners choose to igore you as you pass them.