Why are some runners so ignorant ?

carterusm wrote (see)

Wilkie wrote (see

Do you nod or greet people you pass when walking down the street?  Why is it any different because your are running?

Because we have a shared interest with other runners ? As stated in a previous reply, dog walkers in the park tend to stop and have a chat with another dog walker or at least acknowledge them as well. I'm not saying that every HAS to acknowledge me, I'm just curious if it happens a lot to other people as well.

Clearly I need to learn not to be so sensitive about this.....

 

 

Agree with Wilkie, should a stranger acknowledge you just because you both happen to be running?

Do you speak to strangers at other events you have a shared interest in?

I often find myself "nodding" at people when out running, then think, why, this is odd!

 

Thanks for the comments everyone, some interesting stuff there.

Dont feel like you have to reply to this unless you want to 

I do find that dog walkers will greet each other if not stop for a quick chat, and cyclists generally nod and wave a lot more than runners. 
Agree with AgentGinger though, people seem to be happier to say hello in pouring rain or at stupid o' clock in the morning. 

I found that was one of the great things about running when I started. I ran down a canal tow path and got loads of hellos from fellow runners that made me feel part of something or other. Since then I've generally found a get anything from the breifest flicker of acknowledgement to a cheery "good morning".

The big exception to this was when I was in London for a conference and ran along the Regents Canal path. I got nothing from anyone.

It' pretty far down my list of reasons to run, but it's in there somewhere.

I have a number of acknowledgements in my repertoire depending on

a) what kind of mood I am in

b) what stage I am of my run

c) who it is

d) the other person's demeanor

I assume that other local runners are the same and therefore I never expect any form of acknowledgment and hope that they are the same!

Bear B.Hind wrote (see)

I follow the same pattern when running as I do when walking.  If in out in the wilds smile and nod to just about everyone I pass.  If in central London London where I will smile if I notice someone smiling, but won't automatically smile at other runners.  It's nothing to do with being unfriendly there are just too many runners around and what with dodging other path users, crossing roads, avoiding uneven paving stones, dog shit etc. there are just too many other things to worry about than the possibility of accidentally hurting someone's feelings.

This, basically.

During a typical run (in SE London) I may pass at least a dozen runners plus several hundred non-running humanoids.  Quite frankly it would be exhausting to display to everyone I pass how lovely I am by saying hello and waving all over the place, but being the nice guy I am, my default position with fellow runners tends to be "acknowledgement standby", i.e. catch the eye on approach and engage in the mutual nod - or even go so far as a smile if the other runner is bang-tidy - but I won't consider the other person rude or "ignorant" (OP's terminology) if I get nothing back.

I was brought up as a cyclist and acknowledging other cyclists was always the norm though it is less common now. I also drove a VW camper and acknowledging other veedub drivers was the norm. I find it less common when running. Certainly if I'm running on the roads in Stevenage I don't expect it but out in the fields it is more common. generally it doesn't bother me if they don't but i always say hello - it's nice to be nice. That said there is a woman I see most mornings when I ride to work. She runs on a cyclepath (not a shared one) and while I always give her the right of way (despite it not being hers) she ignores me everyday. That annoys the hell out of me.

Should you acknowledge someone who is wearing an iPod/MP3 player?

WiB wrote (see)

Should you acknowledge someone who is wearing an iPod/MP3 player?

No you just shout coming through!

Of course there is also the timing issue to consider. Custom dictates that once you've seen someone else at the end of a corridor/long road etc you studiously ignore then until the distance is such that you can exchange the greeting. If each person has a different contact distance in mind they may accidentally blank one another.

Think I need more coffee...

WiB wrote (see)

Should you acknowledge someone who is wearing an iPod/MP3 player?

And if you do, with how many fingers?

Until this question was raised as a forum topic, i never thought about it till now. When i am out running, which is always on my own, and with my MP3 player on, i do a quick nod to some people, i suppose all people, but it might be so subtle that a lot of people might not even see it. I believe in running manners when in a race, but during the training time, i do sometimes find that i am so focussed on my breathing, my pace etc, so dont worry too much about what is going on around me. If i nod, and the other person doesnt nod back, i dont think bad of that person, since i always feel, that i dont know that person, what is going on in their lives, and hence cannot judge them for being rude. I sometimes do run out my bad day, and one time i even ran past a work colleague without knowing, until the next day when they told me.

I think a lot of people do go into the zone. Its not being rude, but it can come across that way, but at the end of the day, how do we really know what that person is feeling.

Presuming it depends on the environment you are running in.  As has been said, running in a city people tend to ignore each other (not just runners but everyone!).  I run on country lanes and everyone tends to speak or wave.  That said, sometimes it can be half an hour and I haven't seen anyone walking / running / cycling / driving!

Motorbikers tend to all nod at each other too - can get a bit repetitive when there are a dozen bikes going past you

And it'll be even worse now the influx of 'I've got a place in the VLM' runners start pounding the streets....

Ignorant or apathetic? don't know and I don't care.

Podifer wrote (see)

I think we must be a fairly friendly bunch down here in Torbay - generally see lots of other runners up and the seafront and around the bay, and it's rare not to have that mutual acknowledgement, I think the comaraderie is one of the nice things about running.

kittenkat wrote (see)

Podifer wrote (see)

I think we must be a fairly friendly bunch down here in Torbay - generally see lots of other runners up and the seafront and around the bay, and it's rare not to have that mutual acknowledgement, I think the comaraderie is one of the nice things about running.

We are in Exeter too! I also run in the bay sometimes as I work there.

I'm in Newton Abbot and regularly run on the Torbay 10k/half route.  I'm a (recent) member of Teignbridge Trotters

PS, and off topic.  Why can't I do quotes from iPhone/iPad?

i've found that, in london, runners only greet each other in extreme weather conditions. in an absolute deluge on Hampstead Heath this week, we were all giving each other the old "aha, you're as bonkers as me!" look...something similar happened during the snow... as for public support, i did occasionlly get cheered In Hyde Park during the Olympics, but that's all over now

I nod, smile, grunt or raise a hand to nearly all runners I pass.  I give particular encouagement to those who appear to be struggliing.  Most will gesture back though those with Ipods/mp3s tend to be most anti-social.