what happened?
what happened?
Yeah, actually, I've done it twice. I ran down a pursesnatcher. It wasn't too tough; he was a VERY messed up junkie. And another time I ran down a bicycle thief and got a woman's bike back.
Nothing heroic. What WOULD have been heroic is if I'd gotten a third guy, another pursesnatcher. I was closing in on him, but he made this leap from the street we were on over a stonewall and down to a park that was, well, at least 40 feet below. I took a look at the drop and had to tell the woman whose purse had been taken "sorry, can't help you."
Ran down a kid trying to steal my brother's bike once, I was 17 and the their was about 12 so I caught him pretty easy and he gave up once I caught him
My friend worked at a shoe store and a kid ran out of the store wearing some $200 basketball shoes. My friend ran out the door and just followed the guy saying "Dude, you aren't gonna outrun me. I can run for hours at this pace."
I was a manager in a running shoe store in a big city - pack of youths came in, did the usual - spread out and wouldn't leave.
One finally grabbed a pair of shoes and ran out the door. I chased him into the subway shouting for a police officer. Hey, there was one! in plainclothes. Little brat was handcuffed, arrested and paraded in front of my store. he was crying, which made me feel good. Officers gave us a polaroid picture of him.
Another time a grownup took a pair of goretex pants and ran. I followed him - no police showed up - I walked next to him, berating him as we walked, jogged up the street. The guy had 100 pounds on me - I wasn't going to touch him.
I asked him why he took them - he said 'because I am poor.' No officers were around, he got in a cab - I asked the cab driver not to drive the guy away because he was a thief and had my stuff, but he did anyway.
My running ability helped me make my get-away a couple times.
didn't catch a theif did save a old guy's life though. It was snowing he slipped and fell off the bridge. Hanging the leadge I ran and helped him up. He was like 80. It was a twenty foot drop. I think he would've died if I wasn't there.
I didn't catch a theif, but one afternoon in college my roomates and I were sitting around the living room of our house. Suddenly a bottle came crashing through one of our windows. My roommate (800/1500 guy in sandals) and I went outside to see some 12-13 year old local hoodrats. They were already running, so just for sport we ran after them. They separated, but he followed one and I followed another. I didn't catch him right away. I thought I'd let him suffer a little first, and I let him know he wasn't getting away from me. We did a mini-tour of campus before he finally gave up. Although separated, we both told the kids we caught that if they if they ever pulled something like that again .. blah, blah, blah. I was pretty close to campus police when I let him go. I went into the office and told them about it, and they said there was nothing they could do.
Like someone else said, over the course of my life, I think my running ability has been put to better use getting away.
I kind of caught a thief once.
I used to work in a grocery store in high school. I was in the back stocking shelves along with this other kid I knew from school. Anyway, this pretty big guys comes in and grabs a couple of armfulls of packaged steaks. He then smoothly moves toward a lady that was looking at the packaged chicken. The guy grabs the woman's purse out of her cart and starts "running" toward the front of the store. I say "running" since given all the crap he was carrying, he couldn't have been going much faster than a 9 minute pace.
I look at my friend and say "You get him, I'll get the door". So my friend starts "chasing" the guy, really just as a distraction. I sprint to the customer service desk at the front of the store and turn off/lock the automatic doors. Big guy's chugging along looking backward trying to increase the distance between himself and my friend "chasing" him. He must have assumed the automatic doors would open automatically. They didn't. He slammed into the closed doors and went down pretty hard, cracking his head on the concrete floor. The lady got her purse back, but the steaks were a lost cause.
He actually stayed in the store on his own free will until the cops came. He tried to talk his way out of it by claiming that he'd paid for the steaks and the woman agreed to loan him her purse. In retrospect, I think he was probably on something.
What is with you people chasing thieves out of the stores? That is a class A no-no.
Do you want to get shot?
Don't risk your life so that a Fleet Feet doesn't lose a pair of Sporthills (that can be claimed through filing a claim).
I understand getting back a purse, but a package of steaks from a grocery store? NOT WORTH IT.
Why were the steaks a lost cause if they were pre-packaged?
This story has more to do with my throwing ability, but does include my running ability. I rode my bike to the park with a firend, we are playing catch (baseball) and a kid steals my bike that was laying in the grass. I run after him but can't catch him. As he begins to open a gap on me I throw my glove, hoping to hit his face, but the glove lodges between the rear tire and the break caliper.
The back wheel locks and I win!