Your Answers Questioned

In my post yesterday, I asked readers to answer a couple of running related etiquette questions and got some interesting responses. I just wanted to do a quick follow up on that post.

Most of the people who answered agreed on these points:

- When coming up behind a runner from behind, yell "on your left" before passing them on the left (except for Robyn, who yells "good morning!" I like it.)

- When running on a wider trail, path or a sidewalk we run on the right side. 

- When running on a street with sidewalks, we generally stick to the right sidewalk (going with traffic) but a couple of us run on the left (toward traffic). **And when Grace runs on St. Charles, she runs in the middle of the street. Literally.

St. Charles Ave, New Orleans

Some of the ones that had discrepancies were:

- Running on a road without sidewalks. Most people said they run on the left towards traffic. I have always been taught this is the correct way as well. Otherwise you can't see the semi truck that is about to hit you in time to jump out of the way into the bushes. I did a little research to be sure, and Running for Dummies agrees! Run against traffic!

- The other one which I had to look up before my first trail race the other day to make sure I didn't commit a huge faux pas was: who yields? Well folks, according trail runner's rules on the run, the runner coming uphill yields to the runner coming down (this site also has great tips such as: don't litter, which seems obvious but is not always, and saying "thank you" if someone yields).

- The one that confuses me the most is bike paths. I went running on the American River Bike Trail in Sacramento and was running on the right and I got cussed at (no joke! and loudly!) by a bicyclist. Afterward, I saw signs instructing runners to run on the left, as if the bike path was a car laden highway. This actually makes sense to me, since a "bike is a car" and is supposed to ride with traffic. This just assumes that the bikers are "traffic", so they stay to the right like they would on the road, and we stay on the left, like we would on the road.

However, I tried to find information about it and this RW forum only made me realize that strangely enough, it may vary from path to path. Some paths may post the rules; some may not. So I guess it depends. However, trail etiquette states that the faster person should yield to the slower, so in theory, if you are running on the right (and I hope you are running at the edge and not near the line) the bike should make their way around you, politely saying "on your left" and making sure you don't accidentally get run over. If you feel like a little extra reading, this guy sums up the rules quite nicely. I especially like where he says, "The bike path is where people go to exercise, so move".

Well, for a "quick follow up", this sure is a long winded post. I guess it's a sore subject, some of these people who run towards me and don't move, or stand three abreast taking to their friends and don't even look ashamed when I have to run around them into oncoming traffic. I get out of people's way and I would feel guilty if I didn't; I expect the same courtesy.

My favorite answers were to the last question I asked, which was: what do you do if three people (or a person with a long leashed dog) are coming toward you, taking up the entire path? Answers ranged from "nothing" to: give them the evil eye, kick them, play chicken and assume they will move and, my favorite by Missris, and one I have employed myself, is to  "accidentally" bump into them with your sweaty elbow. In my case it was a shoulder, but it still does the trick (the trick being making me feel better, not like it teaches them anything).

Thanks everyone for answering. I hope you are enjoying your weekend! Good luck to everyone who has a race today! And  even if you don't have a race, good luck to you too!

Does your bike path have posted signs about which side to run on? How do you feel about bicyclists (or, if you are a biker, how do you feel about runners)? Have you ever been hit by a bike/car/other runner?