For a more serious answer, I’d suggest that a person in fear for their life is probably running faster than they normally would and is therefore more likely to trip. The only other situation where a person is likely to be running at their absolute fastest is during an athletic competition and those runners have lots of practice and are on a surface designed for running.
I despise this meme too, and I’m arrogant enough to think I would 1.) not fall and 2.) if I did, I’d get up FAST and keep running. I’ve not (yet:p) had to run for my life, but I was once out after curfew (WAY after curfew) and was pursued by an Air Police officer. I was about 14 or so and I easily outran the guy, and the 8-ft cyclone fence topped by barbed wire, the soft ground in the walnut orchard and the mud in the drainage ditch did not slow me down for one second. I flew.
Adrenaline (inspired in this case by my anticipated punishment by my parents) is an incredibly powerful drug.
What I hate is when women in films/movies are running for their lives for an extended period of time, IN HEELS.
Hello, ditching the shoes (taking off or stepping out of them mid-stride) would be really high on my list of things to do, there. Even if you’re used to heels, you’re not going to run as efficiently in them as you are in bare feet.
Most of the time I can fall and get right back up if I need to. However, there was one time where I slipped and fell in a parking lot*. I had no awareness it was coming, it was so sudden, and as I fell I hit my knees, wrists, and my FACE (chin). I was stunned and the sense was actually knocked out of me. If a monster was coming to get me he could have eaten me up. However, I wouldn’t have been looking back at him in stupefied terror.
I think, however, you are overestimating people. I would put this in two categories. One, a person is being chased by a bear or something. Yes, I absolutely think they could get up and run. Two, they are being chased by some sort of eldritch abomination. I bet the sheer horror - not terror - would have a good chance of keeping them immobilized.
*It was the Saturday after Good Friday. There were approximately 900 people in the parking lot. I knew it was bad when no one laughed or even smiled as they came over to help me; they looked somber and worried. And yes, I wore a big scrape on my chin for a couple of weeks after.
Not if I was successful!
It depends on how close to me the killer/bear/evildoer was when I fell. If I knew he was just ‘back there’ somewhere, I’d probably get up and continue running. But if he was right behind me, I’d probably figure “if I get up now, he’ll be on me while my back is turned, and that will pretty much be it. But if I stay here and turn around, I’ll at least be able to face him and put up some sort of a fight”. And I’d perform all of this reasoning in a microsecond, right before the minor character from act I jumps out from behind the old barn with the crossbow and puts one right between the killer’s eyes.
I am a real live person who fell down while ‘‘running for my life.’’
I was 13 and at Cedar Point (the best amusement park of all time.) They kicked everyone off the Disaster Transport (indoor coaster) where I was. They wouldn’t tell us why, they just threw everyone out of the building.
I went outside, and people were not behaving normally. I looked up and saw a water spout coming toward shore. So we all ran the opposite direction - oh, look, there’s another spout, coming up just behind The Raptor. People were freaking out. We were all trying to cram into the bathroom for safety, but it was filled to capacity, so we were sort of huddled in the outside corridor. But then I looked up… straight up… and realized that a huge-ass funnel cloud was about to drop right on top of us. That wasn’t no freakin’ water spout. My mouth runs dry just remembering that instant.
So, we ran for the arcade (yeah, the arcade was not a great choice, but options were limited.) I was freakin’ terrified. And about halfway there, I fell. Someone immediately helped me to my feet.
Nobody was hurt, by the way. But there ended up being a total of 8 spouts and 2 funnel clouds (Cedar Point is built on a peninsula.)
I am a very clumsy person and a terrible runner, so I’m not in the least bit surprised that I fell down while running for my life. I try to avoid bears.
So if I’m hanging out with you, I really only have to outrun you, eh?
Link please? Need answer fas
Moved to Cafe Society.
If I was running for my life for more than a half mile, I wouldn’t have to worry about falling down. I would have to worry about gasping for air.
I don’t know that I’d call it running for my life, but I had rounded second base and was going for third when I simply fell down – didn’t trip, didn’t turn an ankle, just fell down. I got up slowly and felt everyone looking at me as I walked back to the dugout.
The next day, the entire upper half of my leg had turned purple and stayed that way for about six weeks. Adrenaline or no, a torn hamstring is going to stop you cold.
At Disneyland I was running up an escalator going down in a race against my stepson. You know when the escalator changes from flat into steps right at the very top? I misjudged the step, went down and dislocated my knee. The escalator was two stories high and my only thought was that after making it this far there was no way in hell I was riding the escalator down so I crawled as quickly as I could and finished the race.
Unless it’s the last item.
I was running to catch a child who was about to fall down a set of concrete stairs once, and on my way I tripped over my own feet and went crashing down onto the pavement (and still caught the kid, btw). I tore up my knees pretty badly. I know this isn’t exactly what you were looking for, but I was definitely pumped full of adrenaline and highly motivated to reach the baby before she plummeted head-first down the stairs.
And then hit the ground that much harder.
Smart instincts on your friend: most of the people who get wounded or killed in the Pamplona bullruns are wounded while trying to stand back up.
I may have a cite for this. Sadly my memory is shite and I can’t remember every detail, but there was an American show on TV where actors would re-enact crimes to see if anyone watching could help the police solve the crime.
In one episode they related the tale of a young woman who was accosted in a car park by a man who forced her into the passenger seat of her car, he then drove her to a liquor store, threatened to kill everyone in there if she moved or called for help, then got her to drive around while he drank. At some point they stopped near some woodland and she got out of the car and started running - he ran after her. She fell and he caught up to her and shot her in the face. She survived the injuries she sustained.
Never did find out if the crime was ever solved.
Haven’t been running, but once a bus knocked me off my bike as it was going around a corner. I was a bit stunned, and could only watch as the rear wheels of the bus went by close to my head. If they had been closer, I would have been a goner.
Ran from an enraged bull once. Was momentarily shocked into stillness, but then the family dog made the bull chase him, and I was able to run for the fence while the dog distracted him. But that moment of paralysis was real.
So maybe it depends on how your nervous system is wired, and what kind of training you have done. Many prey animals freeze, hoping to escape notice through stillness. The shock of a hard fall could trigger the paralysis. The person who fell on hands and knees was perfectly positioned to jump up right away again. People who have been trained, like military or martial artists, can also jump up right away again. But regular people who are non aggressive in nature? Not so much.
Yeah, I’m guessing fight or flight is what they’re trying to convey.
I’ve broken my leg once, IIRC it was due to a hereditary disease and the effects kind of accumulated over time. I’m not sure if I passed out exactly, but I may as well have. Would not have been able to limp or crawl for the next minute at least of trying to stand on the bad leg.