Hitting the pavement running? How to avoid hazards

By: Steve Davis, Knight Ridder Newspapers
Posted In: Health & Fitness

In a better world, convenient places would abound where runners could traipse blissfully along, unworried by trouble and harm.

No need to fret over menacing scoundrels. No reason to play dodge-the-Lexus on busy roads. The ornery canines all would be safely penned.

The trails would be pancake flat and Sesame Street friendly, and the polite bicyclers would wave and smile from their own private byways.

Heck, as long we’re dreaming here, we may as well add playful cherubs, tossing tulip petals along our utopian running way.

This Shangri-La for runners may indeed be out there. We just haven’t found it.

The reality is that bad people, bad dogs, bad roads and other instruments of potential injury and impairment do exist.

Still, your three-miler need not devolve into “Survivor: White Rock Lake!”

Just be careful out there, eh? Here’s how:

BAD GUYS

Running is like wrestling. It works a lot better if you have a partner. Partnering is a significant deterrent against potential trouble.

When it comes to protecting yourself against the bad guys, most of it is common sense _ and overcoming that runner’s tendency to put training ahead of caution.

If you run in the daylight, avoid isolated areas and don’t make easy pickings of your vehicle, your chances of a brush with nefarious types fall dramatically.

So says Dallas Police Officer Perry Skidmore, who is something of a specialist on running safety. Officer Skidmore, 51, a runner himself, is on permanent special assignment at White Rock Lake.

Runners who stay aware and stick to high-traffic, paved paths are generally safe, he says. Since runners typically present a strong image, they aren’t the first targets for rascals.

Mace or other protective devices? Officer Skidmore says they are more likely to be turned against the runner.

He says walkers or slow runners may want to tote a whistle or a personal siren. If something does happen along a trail, his advice is to yell and fight in the open rather than be pulled into a more isolated area.

Finally, mind what you do with your car keys. Some runners put them on a tire or under a bumper instead of carrying them.

Thieves may see you do it, and next thing you know, you’re doing the new-car-buying dance.

The lowdown:

Run with a partner if possible.

Stick to high-traffic paths and tracks.

BAD DOGS

Sam Bernal runs on the rural roads around his house in Farmersville, northeast of Dallas. He’s had problems recently with a pack of wild dogs.

These ornery canines seem to see Samburgers whenever the avid runner comes cruising by. He’s even started carrying Mace and has some advice if you do the same:

“Make sure you’re downwind,” he says. “It comes out in a big cloud. If you’re upwind, it’s going to get on you. Then you’re just food with hot sauce for the dogs.”

Office Skidmore advises against Mace, but says it’s a personal decision.

Bernal’s best advice if you’re not packing Mace and do get sideways with Cujo: “Try not to freak out.”

Good call. If you turn and run, the dog may give chase.

So keep an eye on the predator mutts. Don’t act afraid. Don’t do anything that makes the dogs think you’re playing with them. If you happen to be carrying a ball, avoid tossing it and using phrases such as “Go get it, boy!”

Some folks advise repeatedly yelling “No!” as loudly as you can; others say “Go home!” sometimes does the trick.

The lowdown:

Dogs are a bigger problem in rural areas.

Don’t turn your back on Fido.

BUSY ROAD, BAD ROAD

In more pedestrian-friendly places, drivers may slow down and patiently concede the right of way to runners.

“But in Texas,” longtime running coach Terry Jessup of Bedford, says, “they hit the accelerator.”

Bottom line: Runners and cars don’t mix.

Will Craven organizes running programs for Run On! in Dallas. Pay attention and pay heed to some simple measures, he says, and you’ll live to dash another day.

Run facing traffic. In Texas, it’s not only smart, it’s the law (assuming sidewalks aren’t available).

Try to make eye contact with drivers. Don’t “doze off.” Stay alert.

Are you ever distracted while you drive? Well, so are they. So assume people don’t see you, says Craven, 55, a retired Dallas police officer.

Jessup’s best advice: No matter what’s right legally or morally, always give cars the right of way.

The lowdown:

Run facing the traffic.

Assume drivers can’t see you.

DARK OF NIGHT

Next time you’re running in the dark, stop for a second, take a good look around and say to yourself, “Hey, I’m not Johnny Cash!”

So don’t dress like it. That is, stay away from the black.

Light colors are your pals.

In fact, there are plenty of products that make nighttime running less hazardous. (Running in the daytime is safer for a number of reasons.)

If you must run in the dark, it’s all about reflectivity.

Just about any running shoe worth having (roughly speaking, anything north of $80) is already emblazoned with reflective material.

Combine that with a jacket that has some reflective material and drivers probably won’t need night-vision goggles to spot you.

Other products with reflectivity include arm straps and clips that fit onto caps. And reflective vests are available. So what if you look as if you’re working third shift on the road maintenance crew?

Uneven paths or potholed roads also can extinguish the joy from after-dark dashes.

Such perils of the pavement can escape notice even in daytime. At night, you give yourself little chance to see that rise in the sidewalk _ the one that turns a pleasant 30-minute jaunt into an appointment with your personal physician.

The lowdown:

Wear light-colored, reflective clothing.

Stick to lighted tracks when possible.

MAN VS. WHEEL

This is the battle for the sidewalks and paths.

Parks, running paths, tracks and the friendly neighborhood sidewalks are friends to pedestrians and runners.

But even the A-list choices sometimes have issues. Most problems arise when these multi-use byways become, well, multi-use.

“Runners don’t understand that cyclists can’t control their bikes like they can control their bodies,” Jessup says. “And the cyclists like to go fast. That’s why they are on a bike.”

So watch for `em, check your stubbornness and get out of the way.

Inline skaters? See above.

Again, awareness is critical.

Faster cyclists usually stick to the roads, where they do their own battle with the honking four-wheeled menaces. Still, plenty of cyclists do their pedaling on the running-biking paths.

Craven says when paved paths are teeming, folks just have to be more courteous. For instance, running two or three people abreast isn’t a great idea. It works for high kicking in the chorus line, but it’s not cool when faster runners want to maneuver past.

And stay to the right. Think “highway”: Drive right, pass left.

That’s especially true on running tracks. Slow-goers should stay on the outside lanes (to the right). Faster runners need those inside lanes for intervals or other timed workouts. When it comes to serious runners, nothing fries their chicken like having to dodge the lollygaggers or walkers rehashing last night’s Leno in the inside lanes.

The lowdown:

Stay right.

Practice courtesy.

THE CASE VS. HEADPHONES

Come not between runners and their headphones.

But running with music or talk radio crashing through your ears can multiply the running perils, especially the most insidious ones.

“You don’t hear the bad guys coming to get you,” Jessup says. “You’re just not focused on safety.”

When it comes to sharing the paths, courteous cyclists and skaters announce their presence to runners and walkers. They’ll say, “On your left!” or “Passing left!”

But headphones diminish runners’ ability to hear the courtesy calls. It also decreases attention to traffic. In organized runs, participants caught wearing headphones can be disqualified.

Even the potholes become more troublesome, Jessup says, because you aren’t paying close attention to safety.

THE CASE VS. CHEAPNESS

You can protect against traffic, dogs and mean people. You can be vigilant on the watch for skateboarders and cyclists, and you can sidestep every pothole with nimble aplomb.

And you may still find yourself on the injured list.

Jessup says that all things considered, the biggest danger of all to runners is being cheap.

That is, folks don’t replace running shoes often enough.

Runners who regularly pound the pavement should get new shoes at 500 miles, at least. Replacing them after 400 miles is even better.

Too many folks, squeezing all the green out of a dollar, literally wear out their shoes’ cushioning.

And while a stress fracture or other overuse injury doesn’t make for a sexy happy-hour story _ far less exciting than, say, an ankle twist while fleeing a pack of wild dogs _ the result is the same.

“If you’re not taking care of business,” Jessup says, “you’re not running anyway.”

c 2004, The Dallas Morning News.