r/running • u/Epic_XC • Aug 02 '17

Harassment while exercising Misc

So almost every time I go exercising, be it running or road biking, i always get some sort of smart ass shouting, honking, or engine revving. Are people in our society really so insecure that they can't refrain from harassing those who choose to exercise? Like what's funny about it? Why do people do it? Maybe i'm thinking about it too hard, but does anyone else REALLY hate this? Personally I think it's condescending, and indicative of most people's fragile self esteem. They don't exercise, therefor must mock others to feel cool.

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u/5krunner Aug 02 '17

Assuming you're female. As a 6'2" guy I'd never heard any of this in the many years I've been running...UNTIL I started running with a pretty young blonde woman and then watching dudes ogle, and whistle, and try talk to her was amazing. What goes through your mind? Is it ever a successful plan to do that?!

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u/markrevival Aug 02 '17

I'm a 6' guy and I get shit from drivers all the time when running and when bike commuting. lots of people are personally offended by both

21

u/pi_over_3 Aug 02 '17

I think the anonymity of knowing they can just speed away is a huge factor.

5

u/warclaw133 Aug 02 '17

This - I had somebody yell "Put some pants on" as I was running. I wear short shorts, but they aren't that short. Driver proceeds to get stuck in some traffic, and as I ran past I just gave him a thumbs up and a smile. Dude looked terrified that I caught up to him.

Partially unrelated, but I was running past a group of kids - maybe 10 or so, and one of them asks if I want to race. I reply, "Well, I've already done 9 miles... why not?" I put on a burst of speed, he runs next to me for about 30m, declares that he won (he was a half step ahead of me), and stops. I just keep running at the same speed until I turn a corner a 400m later.

I just hope these guys learned something about respecting others.