Thursday, June 01, 2006

Bump Draft

Is it a bad thing to follow someone if they're running at a good hard pace for you? Last night on the small loop in Central Park, I was doing just that. For the first few minutes, I was really motivated, pushing myself just to stay close. We were passing people left and right. It felt great!

Then she started to drop off, and I thought, what the heck, I'll keep going and maybe return the favor (is that being presumptuous?). But after I passed her, she kicked it in and quickly re-took the lead. A few minutes later, the same thing happened again, and then again 2 or 3 more times. Finally, she kept going north, and I turned off to stay on the small loop.

So what's the right etiquette? Stay back and she thinks I'm stalking, or run up and she thinks I'm racing? Hey, I just want to run fast!

6 comments:

Jack said...

I'm not sure about proper etiquette, but during a shorter race it's a pretty good strategy to keep the speed going. I do it all the time during my 10K races.

Deene said...

so as to not feel like a stalker i usually just tell them and keep going.

Morrissey said...

Not too sure about the proper etiquette, but if it helps to keep you going, why not? Anyway, i was at CP last night and i couldn't even complete the full loop! The torrential downpour was a bit too much! Crazy eh?

Unknown said...

Never mind etiquette... Just say "hi, you're running really well. Mind if I pace with you?" or, "race you to 72nd street!"

Rich said...

Thanks for the comments ... I would've said something but she was running with music and earplugs on!

Rhea said...

I agree with Josh. Saying something friendly such as, "Nice pace!" or "Thanks for pacing me" lets other runners - especially women - know you mean no harm.