You know who you are…

As a frequent runner of the Silver Lake Reservoir for over five years, I have observed a wide variety of behaviors… a cat on a leash, a bunny in a tent, balloon gnomes adorning 15 trees in the meadow, etc.  Most behavior is neighborly however this is a gentle reminder for the few people that need it.

Walk/run on the right side of the trail.

It doesn’t matter how many people are in your group or if you have a stroller, you get half of the trail. Kindly move over and let people by if you are taking up more than your share. It also helps to pay attention to those around you and move over before someone has to say “excuse me” from three steps away.

Additionally, please stay on the trail and not run on the road, especially at night. I also drive around the lake twice a day and when people run on the road at night they are impossible to see because there are no street lights on the trail side of the road. Unless you want your nice jog to be interrupted by a trip to the hospital, stay on the trail.

No one wants to hear your phone conversation.

You may think that because you’re outside, no one is paying attention to your conversation or that no one can hear it. You’re wrong. Most of the time people talk louder when they are on the phone outside, which means others runners or walkers can hear it all, yes even over their own music. It is a nature trail, is it that hard to take 45 minutes away from your phone and just enjoy nature?

No one wants to hear your music being played on speaker.

Headphones were invented for a reason, this is one of them. I once had a woman run directly behind me for at least half a mile listening to her music on speaker. It was so loud I could hear it through my headphones. She did not notice my annoyed glances  and she made no effort to run a little faster to pass me. I finally had to stop and wait for five minutes so she would get far enough away from me that I couldn’t hear her music. I still don’t think ever got it.

Personal space is still a thing on the trail.

Let’s say that the woman in the last example wasn’t listening to her music on speaker, it would still be incredibly annoying for her to be 10 feet behind me for half a mile. The trail around the Silver Lake Reservoir is 2.2 miles long, that is a lot of space to spread out. When you are passing someone on the trail, please make sure you get far enough in front of them that they do not then have to pass you. I have experienced this plenty of times. Someone will run really really fast to get in front of me and then start walking about five feet in front of me. Guess what, now I have to pass them because I don’t want to stare at the back of their head for the next mile.

Please keep your dog on a leash

I love dogs, I even love it when they come up to me and want to be pet. But when I see dogs running around without a leash, I panic thinking that either #1 they are lost or #2 they will run into the street. For everyone’s sanity, please keep your dog on a leash.