wrong-way track runners

Rickshaw · Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2004 9:53 pm

Despite the fact that I rarely go to the track, whenever I do I always seem to have a problem with "Wrong-Way Jane" and her friend. Somehow the people at my local track don't realize that you should run counter-clockwise, and so there's usually an equal mix of people running both directions. Now as crazy as that might seem, the wrong-way runners and walkers usually move out of the way when I come by.

But Wrong-Way Jane and her pal hug the inside lane like their lives depended on it, walking along at a leisurely pace. That forces me to swing wide into the outside lane to pass. Keep in mind that the only reason I'm at the track is to run accurately measured intervals, and you can understand why stepping out of the lane is annoying. I'm also moving pretty fast during the intervals, and since we're moving in opposite directions, I pass Jane and her friend twice per lap, more often than once every minute. That's a lot of passing.

I've tried playing chicken with them, but I usually lose. Once I was forced to step off the track into the infield to avoid a collision. I've also tried making various "please move over" looks with my eyes that accomplished nothing.

Anyone else have a similar problem? I really don't want to have to come up to these ladies before my workout and say "excuse me, could you please move?" But it may come to that. Or I could paint giant arrows on the track...