Appropriate response to neighborhood driver yelling, “run on the sidewalk!” ?

Run om the effing sidewalk if there is one.

A couple of thngs:

1) I've been running on the roads for 35 years and I've never had anyone yell that to me. I've heard worse things, had beer bottles thrown at me (twice), and the occasional slight swerve with a grinning face behind the wheel. Ignore them. You have better things to be worry about.

2) Avoid running on extremely busy streets or roads without adequate shoulders. Get on the sidewalk in those situations.

3) In most states, if not all, you are a pedestrian. There are generally laws requiring motorists to keep 3' of distance where obviously achievable, (same as if it were a cyclist along the side of the road or someone getting into a parked vehicle, etc.). In other words, use your head.

This reminds me of a story related in a running magazine about 30 years ago. (A doctor was telling this story at a convention of psychologists):

Seems he had stayed at a hotel on the edge of town and was running along the shoulder of a road leading out of town, running a short out and back route. Some kids, obviously driving mommy and daddy's cadillac, first screeched loudly at the doctor as they passed by him. A while later they came back again and this time yelled obsceinties at the man. The third time, as the doctor was returning back to the hotel, they came by him again and threw a beer bottle or something at him. By this time the doctor was pretty upset, but just up the road the doctor noticed traffic was at a standstill due to an accident with attending police officers and an ambulance. The punks in the car saw that the doctor catching up to them from behind while they were fully stopped. As he approached their fancy vehicle the doctor stepped up on the bumper, and onto the trunk landing hard with both feet, then to the top of the car with both feet, and finally onto the hood with both feet, leaving double dents in all three locations. Jumping off, he felt satisfied knowing the kids would have a tough time explaining all of that to mommy and daddy. The doctor got a standing ovation at the convention for his story.

Problem is, 30 years later in today's world, the punks would probably pull out a 9mm and shoot the doctor dead. So, let's be careful out there. (And that wasn't really fair to mommy and daddy, doc).

I’ve lived in nyc for 16 years, run in the fancy areas and murder row, almost never use sidewalks (primarily for convenience but also safety) and have never been yelled at by anyone except bikers. I have however been randomly punched in the face twice - both while in pedestrian paths! (SW corner of Central Park loop at 6pm in walking/running lane and 430 am on sidewalk of 114th and Malcolm x)

None of that ever happened, except in your mind

To all of the posters that said, "Run on the sidewalk," ....

Take the example of running in the Midwest or Northeast after a large snow, and most if not all of the sidewalks are now plowed. The snow plows have plowed the roads, kicking up piles of snow at the end of each driveway.

You cannot run on the sidewalks, and especially cannot do intervals. I am not talking about running down the main 4 lane road all the traffic uses coming and going to work and errands, but streets through neighborhoods.

I remember running repeat 600's on Forest Avenue, "trying" to hit 1:36 to get ready for the Millrose Games 3000 meters, and a snow plow drove by and rolled his window down: "It's too cold, time to go home!" Yes, it was 22 degrees but had to get the work in.

One may think, "go do your intervals on the indoor track!" Indoor tracks you can use, are very limited in the Midwest. And, finding a 200 meter indoor track in the Chicago area is zero. A high school may have one, but limited access. Also, by running intervals on an indoor track, you are sharpening and getting rhythm established, which could lead to a March peak. If you are trying to peak at the Worlds or Games, you don't want to be speed fit early in the year.

Run on the roads.... wave when they yell to not encourage devious behavior....enjoy the process of training.

js

Forest ave in Portland ME?

Drivers kill 20+ cyclists and 100+ pedestrians in NYC each year. If this is "fantastic blending" you have very low standards.

Trollminator wrote:

Ok you’re not a New Yorker. This absolutely does not happen in the city. The way cars blend with cyclists scooters and people is fantastic. I run in the side and middle of the road all the time, no issue. Non-car toad traffic is the most common thing here. You have no clue.

"Try to make me, asssshole"

Running on sidewalks is a last resort should the road feel truly unsafe to run on.

Any good runner knows road running is where it's at.

Hobby joggers dodge the mailman and strollers on the sidewalk

Oh, I so do not recommend jumping on the car ... the kind of guys who throw beer bottles at runners are not likely to take this kind of thing lying down.

I had a running buddy do this once in NJ when we were running together: the offending car was pinned between two others at a light and he ran across the hood of the car. Well, the guys in the car would have beat the crap out of us if they could have caught us. We were able to outrun the two pursuing us on foot (with a head start and being pretty decent runners) and the two pursuing us in the car were thwarted by a closed road that we happened upon in our flight. I spent the next few weeks or months on the look out for that car and those guys.

Life is a repeated game, people.

Oh, your stories are just awful! When I lived in New York I ran around a pretty decent neighborhood and never encountered anything like this. Although there was massive traffic on the streets and the drivers sometimes honked at me, but I did not pay any attention. Then I moved out of town to a beautiful place where there are fewer cars on the streets, but sometimes local bikers yell at me. They don't always act civilized, especially after a couple of beers. It's a huge contrast between a lovely neighborhood with cozy houses, beautiful garden design and tiled driveways, and angry and aggressive people around. I also tried running on the stadium on the resin surface and it felt amazing. I'm thinking of resin floor installation in my backyard where I play basketball. Check it out. https://www.walshlandscaping.co.uk/services/driveways-design-build/

Chicago Sunroof.

ChapnDu wrote:

Oh, your stories are just awful! When I lived in New York I ran around a pretty decent neighborhood and never encountered anything like this. Although there was massive traffic on the streets and the drivers sometimes honked at me, but I did not pay any attention. Then I moved out of town to a beautiful place where there are fewer cars on the streets, but sometimes local bikers yell at me. They don't always act civilized, especially after a couple of beers. It's a huge contrast between a lovely neighborhood with cozy houses, beautiful garden design and tiled driveways, and angry and aggressive people around. I also tried running on the stadium on the resin surface and it felt amazing. I'm thinking of resin floor installation in my backyard where I play basketball. Check it out.

https://www.walshlandscaping.co.uk/services/driveways-design-build/

Hold up, y'all. The way this guy plays 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon to pull this thread into a discussion about resin surfaces is pretty impressive. I'd give him a raise.

I don't think I've ever been yelled at from a car while out running, at least not that I can remember anyway but I'm old. I do remember several times getting yelled at by cyclists to get on the sidewalk though. They always yell when I'm running into oncoming traffic (like we're supposed to) but there's also a bike lane and I'm in that. Hard to argue with 'em and I do try to jump out of their way if I can when we pass. Bottom line ... who gives a crap, let people yell.