Stranger runners that race you while you easy run- what’s your problem??

Sounds like you’re just slow to me

Gggg wrote:

Yesterday I went easy running on the street. Another runner passed in front of me. Then I heard footsteps and noticed it was him behind me.

You mean you got lapped as you jogged around your block and you felt humiliated?

Youre slow wrote:

Sounds like you’re just slow to me

Very funny

I run a fairly popular path in my 'hood and it's extremely rare that anyone passes me, even on an easy day. 7:50-8:00 pace is enough to keep me virtually unchallenged.

My theory is that anyone running faster than that has most likely invested some time in running and is, by definition, competitive. In other words, they're fair game.

You come stepping to me when I'm in the zone, and you better be ready for a battle. I don't go looking for trouble, but when I sense that I am being challenged -- an intuition guided by experience and testosterone -- I will throw down. If you're a 5k specialist with speed to spare, I will hunt you down like a persistence hunter hunts its prey. If you have the long game in your pocket, it's on, mano a mano. Whether I trample your ego beneath my Saucony's as I sail past you, or push you to the darkest regions of exhaustion and desperation, you will experience a pain like you had never known. I don't care who you are. I'm going to call your bluff and make you show me your hand.

I do this for your own good, for it is competition which drives us to achieve our goals.

Let me leave you with one final thought: is it an "ego thing" or a lack of self-confidence which causes you to be bothered by the guy who turns around to challenge you?

With my cycling background, I can answer that. Most of the people you see out there running, cycling, swimming, etc are NOT competitive racers.

1) 90% of people - don't race at all, just jog or bike because it's fun and to stay in shape.

2) 9% of people - they might do a few bike races or some 5k/10k races for fun a year, but don't tryhard or follow a training plan.

3) 1% of people might be actually interested in improving their performance and follow a training plan.

So 99% of people out there don't race much, don't need to taper or anything. So when they get passed, they hang on, they wanna experience the crazy speed of someone running 8 min/mile pace or cycling 23 mph. For them it's a race-like effort, which isn't bad, they go out of their comfort zone and end up being much faster than usual. Sure they might be toast for a few days after, but they are having fun.

If you are annoyed by someone hanging on you, there are enough ways to get rid of them. Just a few examples:

1) Constantly increase your pace, testing what their limits are. 7:50.. 7:30... 7:10... 6:50... 6:20... most will stop here already, but feel free to go faster if someone is really dedicated. By the time you run 5:20 you will have dropped just about anyone. Once they are gone you can get back to your 8 min pace or whatever you ran, they won't show up anymore.

2) Insert frequent surges. This destroys them mentally... They hang on and are so thankful when you finally slow down, letting them recover. But then you already pick up the pace again. Then you can insert a longer recovery interval, so they think you are finally done before adding another surge. At that point they are probably completely broken and will have lost their will to hang on.

3) Turn to a hilly route and keep your pace - 8 min mile pace - on the steepest hills you can find. They will be gone in an instant.

4) Go to a downhill trail. They won't have the mechanics to keep up with you and either risk tripping or need to give up.

Why are you so bothered by it? It sounds like you're the one lacking self confidence. Who cares what someone else is doing? They aren't hurting you in anyway.

Not to mention, people have a tendency to assume that the actions of others revolve around them even when they don't. I was out running a few days ago on an out-and-back path. Just before I reached the halfway point for the distance that I planned to run, I passed an attractive girl coming towards me. As I hit my planned turnaround, I turned around not far behind her and passed her again. She probably assumed (wrongly) that I had turned around at that point because of her. That's just how humans are. She's an attractive girl and probably has guys going out of their way to do things to get her attention or be around her all the time. But nevertheless, in this case if she assumed that about me she was completely wrong. It was just coincidence that I hit my pre-planned turnaround at that moment.

Maybe this guy you're talking about turned around because he reached his planned halfway point, and he may have been running some strides and wasn't trying to race you at all.

Same thing happens all the time to me. It’s always some chubby girl that does some lame intervals to lose weight or something. I pass them casually and they immediately start running hard( can hear the breathing), or if they are on the other side of the creek I run, they keep trying to get the lead. 1/4 mile down they are walking. Must be a chick thing.

And what’s with chicks doing intervals wearing an ultra vest with a bladder? ?

Beat it, Camille wannabes.

These types of things come with the territory. Yeah, it can be mildly annoying or make a run interesting depending on how you look at it. I was doing mile repeats on the track the other day and saw this guy up ahead on a different lane waiting for me at the start line so he can race me. I think he think he thought I was doing 200m because he when he crossed the line he started celebrating like he kicked my ass.

These 2 posts. I love this website.

5) Let them catch up and drop some scary wet farts and accuse them of sharting. Reputation will spread like the fumes from your freshly greased butt crack. The desired solitude is within earshot.

Please, please, please tell me where you train so that I can come find you. I would absolutely love to come across you in your 7:00 to 8:00 ‘easy’ pace.

To the douche who significantly increased his pace as I caught up to you last Sunday and then couldn’t hang with me and cut right in front of me off onto another trail: F OFF and you need mental help.

Just happened to me this morning. Passed a guy on the trail. As I passed him, he upped the pace. He then hopped onto a road that paralleled the trail to try to keep up. I made a quick turn to see if he was following me, and he stutter stepped then back tracked to catch the same trail. Don’t worry guys, I threw in a surge and broke him after that. But it was quite irritating.

I think they think it’s cool and socially acceptable and that competitive runners do this all the time. They are of course pretty wrong.

Great writing!

My easy runs are in the 9:00-9:30 with workouts between 7:00-8:00 (5 x 1k would be at a 7:00 pace).

I don't usually try to catch someone in front of me, but if someone is coming up behind me, I usually pick it up and try to keep them from passing me. It adds something to a normal, easy run. Sometimes, I'll even do this a day after a workout - even while knowing I shouldn't be doing it, I still find myself doing it anyway.

I had one run about five months ago - it was supposed to be an easy 7 miles. At about 3 miles, I came across a running group that was doing an early morning workout and I heard a couple of guys coming up behind me, so I picked it up from 9:30 to 8:30 to 7:45 and then did a last mile at 7:10 before turning around at 5 miles and heading for home. As we passed each other, the two guys (about 30 years younger than me) said, "Nice job." Yes, it was three warriors of the road giving nods of mutual respect before going their separate ways...at that point, I just went back to 9:30 pace and finishing a 10 mile run.

I very seldom run with anyone else because it's hard to cross paths with someone at just the right time that is running somewhere in my pace range. Sometimes, if someone does come up behind me, I'll pick it up just enough to run with someone for a few miles (the other person will often slow down a little also to make it happen).

I'd bet that less than 10 percent of runners that I come across are running faster than an 8:00 pace, maybe not even 8:30.

BLthekid,

1. You’re slow.

2. You are exactly the type of annoying person that this thread is about.

Dkeic wrote:

BLthekid,

1. You’re slow.

2. You are exactly the type of annoying person that this thread is about.

And you're too embarrassed to post without doing it anonymously.

I used to have this happen a long time ago (1983) when I ran in this park (Sanam Luang) in Bangkok. Back then you rarely saw people out running. I would usually have kids come up and try to run with me. Most were Muay Thai boxers out doing their morning "road work". They would run for maybe 100 to 200m and then drop way off. Annoying at first but I got used to it. I wasn't going real fast but right around 5:50 - 6:10 mile pace.

You guys are doing this all wrong.

I purposefully run so that people think I am racing them ... if I am gaining on someone I'll try and pass them really slowly so they either gradually up their pace to try to drop me or throw down a surge. I won a few D1 xc meets in the early 2000s and have maintained reasonable fitness so I've never met anyone on my usual routes that I can't hang with.

It's fun watching people gas themselves trying to break me and then break themselves instead.

You should at least ask for permission before you interrupt someone’s run like this. You wouldn’t pick out a stronger guy at the gym and just start copying their workout.