elviejo wrote:
Fed-Up Old Runner wrote:I don't know who these people are...but I'll tell you who I am and give you my point of view on this nonsense of mocking fitness runners. I'm a former highly-competitive runner, who now in my late 50s has become a fitness runner, or your so-called "hobby jogger" due to a myraid of chronic injuries & OA of the ankle. And because of this, I've now been regulated to a pathetic 15 mpw and maybe, if I'm lucky and the stars are aligned right, a short speed session at the track or tempo run once a week or so. And some days are so bad I run like an 80 yr old man with gas pains! 😄.
Anyway, on the course (open space park with dirt trail loops) that I regulary run on, I invariably always seem to encounter rude "hot shot" elite/sub-elite type runners (you know the young cats with their shirts off, ultra-short running shorts, pricey sunglasses, ballcap on backwards, etc.) . As I see them approaching at their sizzling pace, I always move out of their way, though many of them wave their hand violently at me to move over while giving me dirty looks. And if they're approaching from behind, many have yelled "move out of the way chump!" as they rocket by me.
One time there was a young Buck stretching down in the parking lot who told me; "Hey old fart, I saw ya out on the trail and you're a sad sight for sore eyes...why don't you take up a bike or something" 😄. I agreed with him and said I should probably wear a sign pinned on my running shirt that says "Caution..old fart - broken down - runner...please pass with care." (what can you do - argue with these cats? So, I just agree with them and laugh it off).
The moral of the story? I know there's many hot shot elites/sub-elites who think old, broken down fitness runners (i.e., "hobby joggers") like me are a joke and shouldn't be out running in public or showing up at a race. But someday you'll be old, and maybe also broken down, and you'll come down to the reality of what aging is all about (a lot of us broken down cats were once pretty good in our heyday). So, I wouldn't be so arrogant to mock fitness runners as you very well may become one some day 😕.
Where they hell do you run? I want to make sure I never go there.
I was wondering the same thing. Sounds like some dystopian world dominated by gangs of skinny young guys terrorizing the old and the infirm. (Although the retro language -- "cats," "chump," "sad sight for sore eyes" -- sounds more like the Sharks and the Jets in "West Side Story.")
My own experiences have been quite different. A young runner may make a friendly comment out on the trail, after which one of us gentles the pace a bit and we run together for a few miles, talking about running, life, and whatever else works its way into the conversation. A couple of times, when they've told me their name, I've looked them up and discovered that they've already written a blog entry about their enjoyable afternoon run with an old guy on the trail. It's weird to see myself described that way, but it's perfectly respectful and not at all condescending.