What is the fucking problem with jogging on the sidewalk? At 6:30 a.m. in a suburb north of Chicago there are no hazards on these sidewalks, but you still insist on getting your daily exercise in the street. No pedestrians, no motherfucking lemonade stands, no potholes, no goddamn sidewalk parades, yet I have to steer into the oncoming lane to avoid you because somehow you feel entitled to jog there? Young, old, fit, out of shape, male, female – your selfish, dangerous dumbassedness knows no demographic. What, you pay taxes on those roads therefore you can use them any way you see fit. Choke on it assholes, you usually don’t even squeeze over to the side when a car is coming at you.
I know there are bigger problems out there, but hitting you on my way to work would really take a shit all over my week.
If the street in question is surfaced with blacktop, the runner may find that blacktop is easier on the joints than a concrete sidewalk, due to the fact that asphalt is softer than concrete. It’s not very noticeable when walking, but it makes a difference over the course of a several mile run.
The joints thing may make sense - why don’t they jog on the grass? Or if their joints are so bad that the asphalt seems so much softer - pick a lower impact type of excercise. We have a rather large lake a few blocks to the east.
The way they roll their eyes you would think I was driving on their personal excercise track.
The grass is often very uneven and you can’t always be sure where a hole is. That said I jog on the sidewalks in the NW suburbs of Chi-town. But good God, could the lady power walkers not wear so much perfume that it makes me choke when I run through the cloud 2 paces behind them?
Runner checking in. Don’t do much street running anymore, and I tend to stick to paths. But, in a pinch when no paths are around, I’m running on the side of the road.
First, I guess I wouldn’t run on a road narrow enough that a car would have a hard time passing. But, if a road is narrow enough that the runner on the side is actually an issue, I would guess that it isn’t exactly the type of road that you’re supposed to be cruising along at 50 MPH anyway. So, if you have to slow down from 15 to 10 for the three seconds it takes to pass a runner, well that probably accounts for you getting to where you are going 0.2 seconds later. Factor five runners into your commute and allocate the extra second.
I run on the side of the road (note that unless the runner is an idiot, he/she is not running in the street, but the side of the road. You know, like where bicycles are supposed to ride also) because there are obstacles on the sidewalk. Try running just a mile on the sidewalk, and you’ll find that you have to swerve into the street a half dozen times anyway. A couple walking hand in hand, an elderly person with a cane, garbage cans, cars blocking the sidewalk, cars pulling into driveways, people with strollers. All of these things block the sidewalk, and cause one to have to swerve into the street. It’s likely easier for you to avoid a runner that you see for a few blocks ahead, than it is to avoid one who has to keep entering the street.
Somehow I factor the inconvenience factor to the driver pretty low. Are there dumb runners? Yup. But, to say that joggers as a blanket rule should stay out of the street because of the dumb ones is similar to saying that drivers should stay off the street because of the inconsiderate ones.
Ok, you guys make some good points, especially Fiveyearlurker. Just to clarify, I am not speeding down streets, and most joggers move over when they see a car - it’s just that this morning there were two “powerwalkers” who were in the middle of the lane (one of whom was just before a bend in the road) and I really don’t want to hit these people.
I am not pitting all joggers, or even all street joggers, but goddamit be smart about it. When it’s dark, wear reflective clothing, move over a bit, go on side streets. These people are on Sheridan Road for Christ’s sake!
Maybe I should have just pitted these two dumbasses. Didn’t mean to ruffle any feathers.
I find most joggers to be self-absorbed assholes. Not only do they hog the street, they are so intent on maintaining their optimum pace and keeping their heart rate up, most refuse to stop at intersections or yield to cross traffic. They way they run through traffic without even looking, I am amazed there are so many of them left; I would have though Darwinian pressure would have thinned the herd much more by now.
I walk my dog at a public multi-use equestrian trail that is also frequented by joggers. The other dog walkers and day hikers are pleasant, talkative sorts who respond when offered a greeting. But the the joggers are in some sort of endorphin-induced trance which prevents them from saying “hi” or acknowledging you if you say hello. And heaven forbid if they should have to deviate from a straight line to avoid a slower walker (on a 10 foot wide path), they brush by as if everyone is in their way.
When I come upon a jogger who thinks the public roads are his personal running track, I resist my urge to mangle him under my tires, but I do honk loud and long when I swerve around him. I do get some satisfaction from seeing them dive into the gutter. If you are offended by my generalization, tough shit; maybe you should associate with a better class of people.
Public streets are just that - public. That means that provided they are obeying traffic laws, they have just as much right to be in the streets as automobiles, bicycles, motorcycles, and anyone else who wants to use the public street.
Fear Itself, I was just about to go looking for the NYS version of those rules. Sidewalks are there for pedestrian traffic, in order to get the pedestrians off of the street where it is safe and drivers don’t have to avoid them. If the sidewalk in your neighborhood isn’t good enough for you, tough shit, find somewhere else to run. The world is not your personal track where you can run wherever you feel like.
