A middle aged man sprinted to stay ahead of me on my run today - is this common?

Strava segment! Sucks for you that you are behind an old guy for all the world to see.

Funny, for me that's the best variant. Gives me a chance to socialize a little. Gives the other runner some encouragement and motivation. Builds comradery.

Sounds like you're on your way to understanding that not everything is about you.

He probably is some ignorant casual hobby jogger who has no concept of pace or endurance. His victory, in his mind was "showing that little punk.." for the 45 yards he was ahead of you.

Awkward is your middle name.

Probably a good time to learn that it's camaraderie.

Little did he know that he was passing one of the best master's runners in the country.

Honestly, i think it is rude when i am on a path or trail and an immature runner tries to pass me. My PRs are way faster than your average Joe yet I have removed myself from the competitve scene. I simply go out and run to decompress. Moreover, I go out and run to be by myself. So when someone creeps up on me I get annoyed because I can probably go much faster but I am just trying to enjoy.

Give people their space. Respect other runners. If you can go faster be the bigger person and go a different route.

This kind of thing is not uncommon and it is preposterous to give it much thought. If you were ever on a collegiate team, for example, some runners would "win" the workout but not fare as well in the races. Some of us could win any time we wanted to, but the race is what mattered to us.

f56 wrote:

He probably is some ignorant casual hobby jogger who has no concept of pace or endurance. His victory, in his mind was "showing that little punk.." for the 45 yards he was ahead of you.

Sometimes those little daily victories are more meaningful and uplifting than winning a plastic trophy at the local 10K.

fartlek maybe wrote:

But again, in general, there is a type of guy, not age related, who simply does not like being passed. It's likely they act the same way when driving.

Agreed. That used to be me. I have solved it for running, "every run has a purpose" now. But every once in a while I still catch myself doing it behind the wheel. Still a work in progress there. I'm not sure it's an ego thing. Definitely some primitive part of the brain is taking control. It's a little embarrassing to be so easily provoked.

Tired eyes wrote:

Honestly, i think it is rude when i am on a path or trail and an immature runner tries to pass me. My PRs are way faster than your average Joe yet I have removed myself from the competitve scene. I simply go out and run to decompress. Moreover, I go out and run to be by myself. So when someone creeps up on me I get annoyed because I can probably go much faster but I am just trying to enjoy.

Give people their space. Respect other runners. If you can go faster be the bigger person and go a different route.

Then why should you care if a hobby jogger wants to show off his skills?

To answer the OPs question. Yes, I think it's very common that he gets geezered on his runs.

The way to handle this is to sprint and grab one or two bottles from his belt as you pass, and then to start running backwards just out of his reach, squirting him now and then when he gets close.

ukathleticcoach wrote:

So you got turned over in your home patch by an old guy.

thats all im really getting out of this

Nyet! Comrade wrote:

Just wow... wrote:

Funny, for me that's the best variant. Gives me a chance to socialize a little. Gives the other runner some encouragement and motivation. Builds comradery.

Probably a good time to learn that it's camaraderie.

Probably a good time to learn that it's ALSO camradery.

Tired eyes wrote:

Honestly, i think it is rude when i am on a path or trail and an immature runner tries to pass me. My PRs are way faster than your average Joe yet I have removed myself from the competitve scene. I simply go out and run to decompress. Moreover, I go out and run to be by myself. So when someone creeps up on me I get annoyed because I can probably go much faster but I am just trying to enjoy.

Give people their space. Respect other runners. If you can go faster be the bigger person and go a different route.

Wait. You are saying that it is rude to pass another runner in any situation? That is an incredibly odd statement. I am rambling along a trail, and all of a sudden, I am supposed to just turn around. You'd have me run maybe a mile or two back to another trail. What if there is a slow runner going in that direction on the same trail? Do I just ping pong.... eh, nevermind. You are an idiot.

Yeah. He is an idiot. If somebody gets passed, they get passed. Sometimes when out for a walk I have been passed by somebody walking. Were they supposed to alter their route too?

Moderator #3 wrote:

maybe i cant read?? wrote:

Wait. You are saying that it is rude to pass another runner in any situation? That is an incredibly odd statement. I am rambling along a trail, and all of a sudden, I am supposed to just turn around. You'd have me run maybe a mile or two back to another trail. What if there is a slow runner going in that direction on the same trail? Do I just ping pong.... eh, nevermind. You are an idiot.

Yeah. He is an idiot. If somebody gets passed, they get passed. Sometimes when out for a walk I have been passed by somebody walking. Were they supposed to alter their route too?

Exactly. I think if someone was passing me when I was out on an easy run, I would rather slow down a little bit to make it happen more quickly. I understand that it seems a little odd to hang really close behind someone when out for a normal run, but to me, it makes sense for the faster person (who was closing the gap) to speed up a little or the slower person to slow down a little.