Good Questions
Does Track Etiquette Dictate a Direction?
- Track (via Vitamin C9000)
A query just in from oh_totally: "I have a really nice high school 400m track across the street...and it's open to the public in the mornings....There is always one dude who runs the opposite direction (i.e. clockwise) on the track. Cool or uncool? Keep in mind, this track is used by folks in the neighborhood...It's busy. I understand the physical need to want to go the other way (ow, knees) but I have to say I find this dude very disruptive." Good question, oh_totally. Track users of the world, what do we say? And if, indeed, Mr. Counterclockwise's choice of direction is in breach of track etiquette, what's oh_totally's best course of action?
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Comments
There is definitely a standard direction on tracks and this guy ain't it! I do get the desire to reverse directions sometimes - when I used to do long runs on the track and got really desperate I was known to go against the flow occasionally, but only around the very outermost edge to minimize interference (and I still felt like a jerk when I did it.) If he's doing it every time he clearly has no such qualms - either he doesn't know there's a convention he's breaking, or he's happy being a jerk.
Unfortunately my only strategy for dealing with etiquette breaches is to give the perpetrator the stink eye. Not terrifically effective, I'll own - but it makes me feel better!
Submitted by reganh on 04.21.10 at 01:29.
Those running in the "correct" direction (to the left) get the right of way; those who wish to run in the opposite direction need to stay all the way to the outside. While I'm at it, slower runners/walkers/folks walking 3 abreast (AUGHH!!) should also stay to the outside to let those moving faster take the inside.
I am a COMPLETE LUNATIC when it comes to trail/path/track etiquette. I run on a multi-use path in a very bike-centric town and I am seriously a total nutjob about: a) staying to the right; b) announcing your presence when you intend to pass someone (I do this as a runner but I am particularly looking at you, cyclists); c) not taking up too much space on the trail when I'm in a group. And I'm totally the person who yells "WATCH IT BUDDY" when a stupid guy on a stupid trick bike isn't paying attention and nearly runs me over.
Which is all to say: If that guy running clockwise isn't staying out of your way, run him over!
< /rant >
Submitted by librarianjess on 04.21.10 at 01:30.
at my track we have people going both directions. it seems to work out, as everyone stays out of each other's way. but maybe i'm just lucky.
Submitted by sandyliz on 04.21.10 at 01:45.
Speaking of cyclists - what about jaywalkers who walk in the bike lane? Renders bike lanes useless. Last weekend when I was walking uptown there were three women abreast w/ their roller bag luggage in tow walking the wrong direction up the midtown Broadway bike lane while there was plenty of room on the sidewalk. Granted, since so many people walk in this lane, no sane cyclist can bicycle in it. But three people abreast w/ heavy luggage? A hazard for even the slowest of bicycles. So, uncharacteristically, I saddled up next to them, and told them what they were doing was dangerous and asked them if they would move to the sidewalk. They got really pissed off and called me a pain in the ass. I hate confrontations. What are you going to do? Bottom line: in spite of positive propaganda, a lot of the new bike lanes are not working as intended.
I think cyclists get a lot of blame while there are jaywalkers who don't look where they're going and cars who turn w/o signaling or looking beside them. In a city as dense as NY, it would seem impossible to practice "share the road" etiquette.
I am all for saying "on your left" (or "on your right" if need be) - common courtesy even if it does feel overboard or futlle sometimes.
Submitted by spindig on 04.21.10 at 03:27.
There's a direction BUT there's also a reason why some people run counterclockwise - going around the outer circles of the loop puts pressure on your left leg, and, if you're doing high reps, you will feel that strain after awhile. It can create a muscle imbalance. Sometimes I'll run half normal, half counter to keep balance in check (but I always stay out of people's way)
Submitted by erikka on 04.21.10 at 03:31.
Oh and spindig, as a bike commuter I am SOOOO with you. I don't bike on your sidewalks, don't walk in the only place in the ENTIRE CITY created solely for safe bike passage. It's a lane with fast moving traffic, just like the street, so be aware and don't act a fool. People who do that and complain they "almost got mowed down" are so clueless I don't even know how they function in life.
Submitted by erikka on 04.21.10 at 03:37.
wow, I seem to have hit a nerve here! Sweet! First, I totally agree about the bike comments. Don't even get me started (I am an urban planner--I'll talk your ear off about transportation issues, especially in NYC--but do think it comes down to a lack of both enforcement and common courtesy, both deficiencies in our fair city).
Re: the track, this guy has been doing it for years. He does sometimes switch it up for a few laps, though he is oblivious to the stink eye. To add insult to injury, he is a very fast, very strong runner, so there I am, jogging in my slow little way on the outside, and suddenly there he is, upon me yet again, barreling down like a high-speed locomotive, causing a ruckus. I definitely understand the physical need to go the other way but feel like when it's a crowded track that's dominated by walking ladies from the neighborhood, he should be a little more courteous. Maybe I'm just jealous that I suck at running.
Now can we talk about escalator etiquette? I kid, I kid.
Submitted by oh_totally on 04.21.10 at 06:22.
I should clarify my earlier comment: the people who tick me off most on the multi-use path are the runners and walkers, not the cyclists. I do get peeved when cyclists whizz by me without so much as a bell, a horn, or a polite "on your left" (because sometimes i truly don't hear them coming and they startle me) but generally the folks that drive me BAT SHIT CRAZY are the people who are obliviously walking in the middle of, or on the wrong side of, the path -- especially when they're in groups.
I will actually play chicken with people who are walking/running on the "wrong side" of the path, provided that I'm all the way over. I just barrel towards them. I've discovered that most people will move :)
oh_totally, if that dude is running FAST in the wrong direction in the outside lanes, that just would tick me off even more! You hold strong; you have the right of way!
I'm also a nutbag when I'm at the grocery store so this space consideration thing is obviously a big deal for me. I guess we all have to take out our aggression somehow, eh? ;)
Submitted by librarianjess on 04.21.10 at 07:11.