Whilst spectating at a local road race recently, I was able to engage in several hours of high quality people-watching and it dawned upon me that at times, the behaviour of runners can be quite frankly odd! With that in mind, here’s a few funny things that runners regularly do that would in all honesty, be socially unacceptable in any other context:
1. Blowing your nose on your T-shirt
Hands up, how many of you confess to this sin? Now I’m pretty sure that the vast majority of us wouldn’t dream of using our clothes as a snot rag if we were ordinarily walking down the street, yet somehow when out running it seems perfectly fine to blow your nose using the bottom of your T-shirt! Running can be a wonderful natural decongestant so it seems fitting that running apparel should make for a handy hanky!
2. Firing snot rockets and spitting
Spitting and firing snot from your nose would almost certainly be classed as anti-social behaviour anywhere else but sometimes as a runner you just have to do these things! Just be sure that you are courteous to others when you do. If possible move to the side of the road to expel your spit ball or snot rocket or try to wait until there are no other people in close proximity. Beware of the wind direction too though, the last thing you want is to be wearing your own snot or spit all the way home!
3. Covering yourself in Deep Heat
The smell of Deep Heat muscle rub is pretty synonymous with running races. It’s the familiar old smell that greets you as soon as you turn up to the race HQ to collect your number. It is however potent stuff and not the sort of thing you’d want to be wearing on a first date or in fact anywhere else other than with the company of other runners!
4. Using nature’s bathroom
I would imagine that there are very few runners who haven’t been ‘caught short’ at some point. Nature often calls when you’re out running and more often than not there isn’t a toilet in sight! Most runners I know have long stopped worrying about their dignity and decorum and will take to the loo ‘al fresco’, something that nearly all of my non-running friends would be mortified by! You’ll quickly learn to perfect your moves so that you don’t get caught with your pants around your ankles by some unsuspecting stranger walking their dog!
5. Stashing energy gels in various places
Casually storing energy gels in your bra or down your shorts would definitely be deemed as ‘weird’ in any other context, yet most runners won’t think twice about tucking a spare energy gel or two into a sweaty crevice somewhere about their person! Plus, when else in life would you actually look forward to consuming a gloopy, sticky, pure sugar mess?!
Picture credit: a katz / Shutterstock.com
