A Passion for Running

Okay, just so you are prepared, I am about to get dramatic…

Today at lunch, Corinne and I set out for a run. I wasn’t feeling great (I imagine from lack of sleep) and was unsure if I’d be able to hang in there for our planned four hill run route. We met up and Corinne promptly told me she’d only be able to go about half the distance due to a meeting after lunch. We headed down Bellamy Hill and made our way toward the Walterdale Bridge but were stopped by a very disturbing sight at Telus Baseball Field (only a hundred yards or so from the bridge).

A runner had collapsed on the road and it was someone I knew. I didn’t know his name but he runs every day out of the same gym as I and we often say “hi” in the locker room or exchange a nod while running.

Corinne and I approached and saw that he was laying unconscious on the ground nearby a car that had struck him. I could also see that he had a very badly scraped and bruised hip. We stopped long enough to hear the gal who hit him crying into her cell phone saying, “all I heard was a thump…” and then continued on since there were 5 or 6 witnesses and we felt we’d just add to the chaos if we stayed.

I was bothered after leaving since I thought I was likely the only person who’d have known where he worked and, if he wasn’t carrying ID, (very likely) that his co-workers and loved ones might have no idea what had happened. However, we continued on past Telus Field, across the bridge and up Walterdale Hill and the runner never left my mind the whole way. At the top of the hill, Corinne went her own way and I continued on. I spent the rest of the run saying a prayer for the fallen runner and being thankful for being able to run since it was likely this unfortunate soul might not be running for a while.

I got myself onto Saskatchewan Drive replaying what I’d seen in my head over and over until a break from seriousness came in an exchange with another runner. I was trucking along pretty good and, over the course of a few minutes, had been gaining on her until I got about 20 feet behind. For a few moments I was unaware that the 20 foot gap was taking a LOT longer to eliminate than the previous couple hundred feet had. Finally it occurred to me that she was resisting being passed so when I got beside her, I decided to take a chance at being friendly and playfully asked, “did you speed up when you heard me behind you?”.

She laughingly replied, “ya” paused and then said, “at least I’m being honest - I just thought if you were going to pass me, I’d make you work for it!”.

Too funny - I laughed back and thanked her for the challenge and moment of levity and continued on my way with thoughts of the fallen runner once again returning to my mind.

When I got back to the gym, I immediately sought out Gina - the manager of the fitness center and asked if she knew about the incident. She instantly pointed me to the medical room where I saw him awake, sitting up on a bed with his back leaned up against the wall. What a relief - he was ok! The ambulance personnel had checked him out and given him a clean bill of health. We chatted for a few minutes and I found out his name is Micheal. He showed me his mangled shoe and a very bruised and cut up foot while he described the accident.

Apparently, he was running across the street when a car approached. He and the driver had made eye contact and he was convinced she was stopping but, at the last minute she sped up and tried to beat him across the intersection! He tried to stop and managed to avoid the front of her car but ran into the side where she ran over his foot forcing him to slam into the side of her car where he collapsed and stayed until the ambulance came and the police had charged her.

I was so happy to see him there even if he did shake like a leaf the whole time we talked.

It just goes to show you how careful we runners (that goes for bikers, motorcyclists too) have to be and how quickly things can go badly when we aren’t.

As the head sergeant from Hill Street Blues used to say, “let’s be careful out there”…