Buy Walking VideosI Am Not A Pedestrian by Ernie Wallace
A long time reader, Ernie Wallace, sent this post to me and it was so good, I’m putting it here verbatim.
Before I started running, I would pass runners on the street and silently wonder to myself: “Why is he running on the street and not the sidewalk? Why doesn’t she get out of the way, so she doesn’t get hit by a car!”
Now that I run, I understand why. And there are plenty of reasons why I run in the street – safety, a path clear of tree branches or spider webs (I live in Florida), even footing to keep from stumbling. There is one sure reason why I run on the street, however, and I realized during one morning run that was later than usual so there were more cars on the street to dodge.
When I run – I’M NOT A PEDESTRIAN!
Merriam-Webster defines the word pedestrian as “going or performed on foot”.
Pedestrians are people who are walking from somewhere to somewhere. They are walking their dog, because they have to. They are walking to a neighbor’s house to borrow a cup of sugar (do people do that?). They aren’t walking for the sake of walking.
I run for the sake of running. I am out there just to be out there. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve run TO places before – because I needed to get there and it was within my running distance. Those runs different than my “running for the sake of running” runs.
So, why do I run in the street? Because (say it with me here):
I AM NOT A PEDESTRIAN!
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June 28th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
I walk in the street because there is no sidewalk – and yet cars still won’t move over or slow down. It’s scary to be in the road without a vehicle protecting you. But you are right, you have every right to be there just like cyclists. My grandpa is an avid cyclist and he taught me bike safety.
June 29th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Great blog, thanks for sharing!