Courtesy Check

by Leslie Aronson — May 14, 2008

I have a bit of a bone to pick. Beware: this will undoubtedly sound like a rant. While running recently, I've noticed a distinct lack of friendliness on the part of other fellow exercisers. I'm not sure why this is, or if it's merely a fault of the trail I like to run, or perhaps people in my town are just that unfriendly (which I don't actually believe but am beginning to think since this trend is so unnerving). There's no reason why, when smiled at or greeted by a fellow runner, the recipient of the smile or greeting shouldn't return it. This is just simple courtesy. There's no reason why groups of two or more should span the entire width of a trail when they know others are using it - it's simple common courtesy to go single file. I know you want to talk to each other, but make room for the rest of us. There's no reason people walking their dogs on a public, often-used path should leave dog poo in a place where it could obviously be stepped in. This is common courtesy. Not to mention a gross health violation when not attended to. It doesn't matter if you're an elite athlete or if you're just starting out. If you're intimidated by/jealous of/unnerved by your fellow exercisers, this is not a reason not to return a smile. We're all just trying to be more fit and lead healthier lives: our goals are all very similar, regardless of the pace at which we move. There could easily be an attitude of solidarity and unspoken kinship among runners/exercisers/what have you - we could easily take advantage of sharing a trail to increase our love of humanity. Take it as a personal challenge to smile at the people you pass or come across while out and about. There's too much other nastiness in the world to not take advantage of the opportunity to be friendly.