Yeah I am hoping that's all it was, but my spidey senses were tingling, and they have usually served me well, so I did what I did. But I will still be friendly and wave and nod and such. Not going to stop me.

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

Marco, women are advised to look men directly in the eye and give off a "don't mess with me" vibe when they are running alone. Because they don't want to be messed with.

That's really too bad, but, I fully understand. I wanted to check out this post after my ride tonight. I wave and say "hey" to everyone. I passed about 8 people tonight, four of whom were women. Only one of the women (the one female on a bike) acknowledged me. I get it, it is just too bad that women running alone have to be so cautious.

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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR

Marco, women are advised to look men directly in the eye and give off a "don't mess with me" vibe when they are running alone. Because they don't want to be messed with. I came upon a dude pleasuring himself behind a tree one day and know other women who have had weird experiences with flashers etc. It doesn't take much to make a woman less friendly.

I was out riding my bike one day alone and smiled and said hi to a dude out riding by himself. He hung on to me for the next 20 miles trying to chat me up and then wanted my email address even though I spoke about my husband several times.

I'm a friendly person and will chat with all sorts of people but there are some clueless types out there that make you want to keep to yourself. If you can get the creeps in order then I bet all sorts of gals would smile at you.

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What a sad reflection on society today.

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"How bad can it be?" - SimpleS

I live in a small town and one of the first stories I heard was about a male cyclist who faked a mechanical issue in one of the local parks and then attacked a woman who stopped to helped him. Despite knowing that, I saw a dude walking his bike down the road last winter and offered him a ride home. He was embarrassed and grateful. Think about all of the violence that happens against women and then weigh whether or not you think they should be comfortable being alone with strange men.

Just a few years ago, about 5 blocks from where I work, a college age woman standing in a parking lot at 11am was abducted and never seen again. The man probably asked her for directions or something similar and then grabbed her. He had attempted to grab several other women in the days leading up to her disappearance and I heard about one, just two blocks from my apartment. They were women walking to school by themselves. You can't even walk down the street in broad daylight without some tiny amount of fear that a dude in a van is going to kill you.

I think most women know that a guy in a running outfit waving at women is probably 99.9% harmless and most women will never have a violent experience in their lifetime. But what if... it's not a good way to live.

Very true, and it's not just females that have to be alert.

It's really a matter of being vigilant but not choosing to live in fear. A fine line between the two.

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"How bad can it be?" - SimpleS

A few years ago, my boyfriend objected to me running through one of the bigger parks in Toronto alone at night.

I told him statistically he was far more likely to be a threat to me than a stranger I might pass in the park.

I run alone all the time (I actually don't really like running with people). I run at night, I run in parks, I run on trails, I backpack solo multi-day trips. I used to run a trap/neuter/spay/return program for feral cats, and trapping necessitated a fair amount of time hanging out in alleys in downtown Toronto, often alone, at night, b/c that's when the cats are most active. I'll be damned if I change my life because I'm a woman.

I thought of this thread Monday, I was running on a rail trail, out and back, and saw 2 other runners, both men, doing out and backs the opposite way. One looked upset but waved back after I waved to him and the other one ignored me completely. Maybe I don't look hardcore enough to worthy of wave returns, I don't know. But it's not just women who don't acknowledge other runners!

I'll nod, but that's it. Most of the time here in NY, people just ignore each other in general and I'm not in the city!

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Twitter: @jayasports
Web: http://www.jayasports.com

You all need to move to the midwest or even georgia. Everyone here goes out of their way to say hi. I had a cyclist the other day ride next to me for 2 miles chatting while i was running. I had to politely ask her to keep moving on, i was running out of breath tryin and keep up a conversation and put in a hard effort.

It's true... when we travel, people are so much more friendly than here!

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Twitter: @jayasports
Web: http://www.jayasports.com

Unless you're racing, whether you're a guy or gal, just make a tiny hand gesture at least. It takes no effort and is simply rude otherwise.