Running with a Side of Laughter

Welcome back to the Running Report. Today I thought I would share some of my funny, crazy, and cute running stories. Whatever sport you do, I am sure you have some funny stories of your own, so feel free to contribute a story below.  I hope you enjoy!

1. I’ve got your back

When I was in undergrad, I would often run between buildings for my classes. The buildings were 5km’s apart and I could get a decent run in for that distance. I had a little running back pack that I would throw a pencil and paper into and head on my way. There was a shuttle that went between the buildings as well, but I liked getting my workout in. I was about 1km into my run when I came to a stop sign. There was a car there that didn’t look before it started to drive again. Little did I know the shuttle was right behind me. The shuttle honked for a really long time to get the attention of the driver, and they stopped before hitting me. The shuttle driver yelled out the window to ask me if I was okay, and I responded with a “yeah” as I continued to run. When I got up to class, the driver had parked and said, “I’ve got your back.” After class I returned back to main campus to the rumour that I was basically hit by a car! I was very confused, but laughing because from the angle of the driver, that’s what the incident would must looked like. I told people that situation was basically a daily occurrence, but that I appreciated people looking out for me. From there on out every time the shuttle passed me, I got honked at.

2. The Hood

So, this story wasn’t funny at the time, but now I can laugh about it. I went to Miami with my friend and we were going to run with each other. I had mapped out a route and figured because we were running towards a landmark, we would be in a safe area. We started running and every two blocks would switch between really nice, and then really run down. In one rough looking area,  my friend asked, “Uhm why is that person chasing us?” The only word I could get out was “run!” We started sprinting and the person chasing us just laughed. Eventually he stopped chasing us, we turned around, and ran back to the hotel on the other side of the sidewalk. Later that day we went to the cruise terminal, and as we were recounting our story to the security guard checking our passports, he asked what way we ran. We pointed, and he said, “Oooh, you guys ran in the hood” We both looked at each other and my parents looked at us. We started laughing because the security guard was laughing at us. Well we made it out of the hood of Miami, and laugh about that incident now.

3. Poop and Praise

This is by far my favourite story, and something I will always associate with my first marathon. If you’ve never run before, I have some gross news to tell you. Sometimes, people get the runner’s trots and can’t control what they have to do… which might mean stopping mid-run to find a bush to go to the bathroom. In my first marathon, we were running in Gulf Shores, Alabama where there aren’t bushes, just some knee high grass. At about mile 18, there was a group of guys in from of me and one peeled off to go over to the grass. He found a spot, pulled down his shorts, and started going to the bathroom. His lower half was hidden, but his upper half was very visible. As I ran past him, all I heard was, “Good job, keep it up!” I didn’t know how to respond because I couldn’t turn and say thanks, so I waved while trying not to laugh in front of him. Him  encouraging me as he pooped is a moment I won’t forget.

I hope you enjoyed some of my stories and have been able to think of some of your own. I can’t wait to see you next week for the Running Report!

Thanks,

Steph

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