Weirdest running heckle yet...

[the_tea_fairy]

So I've been off grid (and off the road) for a while, but have started getting out again to fight off the impending winter blues, and had to return here to share this evening's encounter with a delightful youth, who decided that the appropriate response to a woman in a thermal vest sweating her way up the hill was to

1)throw a child's shoe at me and then

2) yell after me that I have a nice arse (yes. I know I do. I am disinclined to share any more of it with you after you launched footwear in its path. Call me uptight and all but there are other ways to charm a girl...)

Made me laugh, anyway.

Hope you're all well and strong and happy x

[MarkyD Graduate]

I trust that it was not one of your students

[the_tea_fairy Graduate]

Ha! No. They are (a bit) better trained 😀

[gary_bart]

That's the best way to handle heckling (or most of it) if you can: Just laugh it off. People are strange, and they get even stranger when they make malformed attempts at attention-getting. Mind you, if the comments are not complimentary, inviting the offender to come and run along with you for a bit is also a good bet (if a bit risky - what if he's on the football team, and could run a marathon tomorrow if he wanted). ... Hmm ... so no ... no, what you all need to do is carry golf clubs when running, and be violent with them when provoked.

[Purple_faced_woman Graduate in reply to gary_bart]

Carrying golf clubs while you run? It sounds like an upper body strength addition to the C25K training programme...or, do Decathlon sell holsters for those?

[poppypug Graduate]

Oh Tea , how bizarre !

Throwing a shoe ? Whats that all about ???

And yes, you do have a nice arse , at least he was right about that ha ha xxx

[Hidden]

What is wrong with people. I was chatting with three friends recently, all are runners and all have been heckled while out on runs at some point, two in very graphic terms. It's an odd way to behave.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Now, Freud said that an adolescent youth, throwing a shoe in the direction of a passing female runner and then commenting positively on parts of said runner's anatomy, is in fact exhibiting behaviour that can only be interpreted as, to put it bluntly....adolescent. Confusion and turmoil reign in the adolescent male brain, especially when confronted by a lycra clad vision of female physicality and perfection, gliding effortlessly by, in a manner which he can hardly comprehend, never mind hope to emulate. He did, as many of the male persuasion on this forum will admit we all did, during those years of turbulent emotion, he made a grand gesture followed up by a clumsy clarifying comment to explain the cause of his behaviour.

Your response was ideal. Next time a similar emotional outburst can not be contained, he may, as a result of your response, modify both the physical and verbal actions and in time his actions may, by a process of elimination , become somewhat less crass, puerile and adolescent.

But you should know all that TF!!

[Miles_Yonder Graduate]

Well that's a bizarre encounter if ever there was one!

"There's a runner. Hmmmm, I know, I'll hurl this child's shoe at her. She'll like that, I'm sure... "

Got to wonder what goes through the minds of some people!

[AndyD Graduate]

Are you sure that he wasn't carrying a wooden club on his shoulder?? I thought it was perhaps some neanderthal chat up routine??? In my days we bought flowers/gifts etc and slashed on copious amounts of Brut.... how things change

[misswobble Graduate]

You can't help but laugh at this pathetic, juvenile behaviour can you. You would be justified in throwing it back of course but glad you didn't. They're just not worth the effort.

[the_tea_fairy Graduate]

Haha, you're all fab! Specially enjoyed the Freudian analysis.

Lovely little run in sunny London yesterday with some very dear friends. I think (whisper it) I may be getting my running mojo back a bit.