Jogger tried to not let me pass him on my run today

'What do you call a person like this'

As you rose to the challenge, the same as you. He changed his pace and you changed yours. It's called being competitive

"It's called being competitive"

I don't agree. Not being able to get passed on a training run is a sign of low self esteem and lack of understanding that not all want to compete on training runs but rather keep their preset pace and by starting to follow them/not letting them pass you interfere with that.

I am with the OP here. Though if I was in his shoes, I woud have never passed him. Instead, I would have ran directly behind him, gradually increasing the pace. I wouldn't move to the left or try to change lanes, I would stay directly behind him, with my penis slightly grazing his ass. If he tried to change lanes, I'd go to that lane. If he tried to go back to the right lane, I'd stick to him. After feeling my hot breath getting more and more intense on his neck, he would realize I was going faster and he would have to go faster also to prevent a colission and/or my penis from penetrating his ass. He would then be forced to speed up to match my pace to try and lose me. Of course, I would speed up faster, and faster. Eventually, our pace would reach sub 5min and the jogger douche would have to stop his run due to exhaustion.

While I pass him by, I'd give him a condescending look and say "Get on a treadmill. Leave the track to the big boys, hobby jogger." He'd know that I was superior. Superior as a runner, of course. But more importantly, superior as a man. He would know that I owned that run. I owned this track. I own this sport. And if the need be, I'd own him too. Any time. Any place. After giving him my disappointing gaze, then I would drop back to 6:30 pace and continue my easy run with a feeling of pride and accomplishment in my heart.

cheetodust wrote:

Not sure what the big deal is here. Whenever this happens to me I just say 'Hi' and continue on at my pace unchanged. If you are so fast, eventually he will drop off. It's not like he's shoving you off the trail. Get over yourself

+1

So, slower than Molly Huddle then...ok.I'm not one to make fun of your times as anyone under 16 minutes even shows some talent, and while I won't be as mean as some of the other posters to you on this subject, they ARE right...you are really the same as that other guy...not fast enough to make a living doing it, so you fall into the hobby jogger category just like that other guy though I'll call it 'hobby runner' for both of you.Asking someone to meet you in a race when you're slower than American women who run the 5,000...well, that's a little silly.

I don't get it wrote:

trailrunner68 wrote:

op is Mr. hotshit 6:30'er making fun of a 7:30'er. Wait until a 5:30'er dusts you and makes fun of you.

I don't see myself as "hotshit" whatsoever. I do see myself as competitive though. (14:56 PR)

Keep it on the trails, sir. If you're in the NY/NJ area, meet me in a race and we'll see whose hotshit.

maybe he was doing a workout wrote:

Don't be too quick to pass judgment. Sometimes I do repeat workouts on the trails around here. I'll do something like 2 minutes easy, 3 minutes hard. Occasionally, I'll find myself in a awkward position where it's time to start my hard portion just as someone is getting ready to pass me. I'm sure I look like I'm just dropping the pace to keep from getting passed, but it's really just a coincidence.

I agree, that has happened to me too. Kind of funny, actually, but just to sort of let people know I'm not competing I very obviously fiddle with my watch as if I'm starting an interval rep. But if the 7:30 is his recovery part, his harder part would be more like 5:00-5:30, not 6:30.

I take it as a compliment if someone "races" me. I figure they think I'm fast enough for it to be worth their while. Doesn't happen so much as I get older. Didn't happen all that often when I was younger. ;)

Now more people pass me than vice versa. No big deal. They do their workout. I do mine. I get what I need from my run. I hope they do the same.

This is a little different story than the OP because it is a teammate, but we always got a kick out of it. One of my teammates in college who was a several time All-American, ran all of his runs at sub 6 pace, usually quite a bit under. Every year you would have one of the young runners trying to prove their toughness by running with him on an easy day, despite being told by the coach and teammates to run THEIR pace on their easy day. When this would happen, the All-American would very sublty keep picking the pace up until eventually he would be close to five minute pace. Obviously the new runner would hit the wall, sometimes stopping or just slowing way down as they struggled for home. I always thought it was a nice lesson to someone who won't listen about how important easy days are and that you should run your own pace, not someone else's.

Any time a runner or jogger is getting passed by someone going a minute or more per mile faster than them and they pick it up and start running with them without saying anything, it is definitely a dick move. You can decide how you feel about the OP based on his picking the pace up to drop the guy, but you can't defend the 7:30 pace guy that picks it up for no reason.

For those that say maybe he was doing a workout, I have had the same thing happen to me where I was doing a fartlek workout and someone passed me on my recovery part and I just rearranged my route a little so I didn't go flying by him looking like I was trying to make it a race or something. Pretty simple.

I like the way you're a runner but the other guy is jogger.

What you actually are is an arrogant dick.

lamb cannon wrote:

I like the way you're a runner but the other guy is jogger.

No that's letsrun law.

Anyone, even a second slower than you is a jogger.

Anyone faster than you is on drugs.

the smartest letsrunner wrote:

cheetodust wrote:

Not sure what the big deal is here. Whenever this happens to me I just say 'Hi' and continue on at my pace unchanged. If you are so fast, eventually he will drop off. It's not like he's shoving you off the trail. Get over yourself

+1

This is what I do. I usually slow down a little while passing and say something like "Good morning, great day for a run, huh?" They usually huff and puff an answer. It usually disarms them that I can converse so easily and then I speed up and say "Have a great run!".

I have been on the other side of things as well. In the last few miles of a long run, if a faster runner comes up on me I'll say "mind if an old man tries to hang with you these last couple miles?".

This is probably foreign to most socially awkward letsrunners though. Being friendly and social.

I live in Boston, and depending if I'm going hard/moderate/easy, I could easily be the guy blowing by other runners or being dusted by meatheads in basketball shorts.

Maybe I'm just used to years of running by/with/through dozens of runners on a given run, but seriously, you guys notice that shit? If I'm out jogging along because I'm sore, I could care less that some meathead is going to brag to his girlfriend about passing me. If I'm doing the latter half of my long run nice and steady, I couldn't care less if anyone tries to run with me. Oftentimes I'll say good morning, how far are you going, etc.

Training is training. Racing is racing. I never race my training, and I never "train" during a race. My ego isn't so fragile that I change my training based on some rando I meet out there.

(Once, though, my friend passed a girl, who tried to race him and ended up striking up a conversation. One thing led to another and he took her out to dinner/drinks a few times, dunno if they ever banged tho)

This.

I don't know why people are bashing the OP. He was challenged, and he responded by asserting his dominance. For once, a distance runner broke the mold. Most of you guys are too feminine and nonconfrontational (probably a result of regular middle school beatings and/or being stuffed in a locker) to step up to the challenge. Well, not the OP. He showed the hobby jogger who owned the trails.

Like Jay520 said, you assert your dominance and leave the trails with a heart full of pride.

Just FYI, it's about the funniest thing in the world when someone comes on here calling the OP or whoever a "zit or pimply-faced teenager." NEVER gets old. LOLs.

This scenario is an awkward one.

Often, you just want to do your run on your own, at your pace.

Normally, when you approach a slower runner you just go by and continue your pace. You may pick it up slightly to get by quicker and be on your own.

What to do when that person picks up his pace to keep up or even keep you from passing?

Ideally you just keep running your own pace and run with that person for a bit.

But this is weird sometimes and you want to just be on your own.

I can see the urge to pick it up and free your self. You get a little adrenaline, too.

Maybe you smile, act friendly and enourage him.

Say "let's go" and continue your pace.

Or "thanks for the pacing" if he stays in front.

Give him a wave when he drops off.

I understand how the OP handled it. It was a bit of a reflex.

Was he a heel striker?

Were you relaxed?

I had an All-American on my team too. He would always run with the team and encourage us, what a jerk he was!

I think it's most awkward when your pace is very close to theirs. If someone's a minute or two faster or slower than me I barely notice them. It's the people that are 5 or 10 seconds faster or slower that I end up changing my pace for, otherwise I feel kind of creepy following 5 or 10 yards behind a stranger for minutes because our paces are so close.

I am not with the OP and am puzzled by his and your thinking. The slower (7:30) runner in this case maybe should have been wanting to train at 7:00 but got lazy (as can happen when training solo without anyone to pace/motivate him). Then the OP came up from behind with a more challenging (challenging is good) pace, and the slower runner used it as motivation or at least someone to pace off of. What is wrong with that? I certainly don't get why the shower runner should have to ask permission to run with the 6:30 runner as you suggest. I'm sure there was space on the trail or road for both of them and I don't at all get why having someone running within a reasonable distance of you should be annoying (don't run road races if such proximity is an issue for you). And the annoyed OP apparently did the same thing using the new challenger as motivation for him to pick up his run to a 5:45 pace (nothing wrong with that either). Seeing he late said he was a sub-15 5K guy, I suggest he probably needed the motivation that day as the 6:30 pace he was doing seems way too slow/soft for someone this talented.