Should I Wear A Body Vest When Running?

My heart goes out to the family of Christopher Lane, the 22 year old Australian who was gunned down by three teenagers in Oklahoma. Chris was out on a run. Probably in his zone. Enjoying a breeze on his face, feeling the exhilaration of pulsing blood pumping from head to toe, daydreaming of races to come, or life after college or perhaps a romantic interlude. Then BAM! He felt a searing tear into his back. His system went into shock within seconds. His legs continued to propel him forward. His brain desperately tried to identify where and what was the painful interruption to his run. … And it was over. A young life full of promise and potential. Gone.

Why? Because three kids were bored. And they had a gun. Oh … and they decided to kill somebody.

This wasn’t the first shooting of someone out for a run. It won’t be the last. In May 2012 Harry Stone, a Raytown, Mo. runner was shot and killed while jogging. Harry was my age.  In April 2011, Luis Fernando Duran, 33, was shot while jogging in his Amarillo, TX neighborhood.

So what do we make of this?

Last week, as I was running down my street, a neighbor was backing out of her driveway. She noticed me moving behind her. (I was on the other side of the street and out of her way before her back tires hit the street). BUT, she took this opportunity to flip me the bird and yell at me for being in her way.  

In the last 20 years I have been traveling on foot through neighborhoods, country lanes, city alleys and boulevards, parks, university campuses and distant villages. I have had

• Soft drink cups pitched my way,
• Gum spit at me,
• Trash thrown at me,
• Curses yelled and middle fingers flipped my direction,
• And two cars and one semi-trailer truck intentionally run me off the road.

On all of these occasions, I have been on a sidewalk or running on the shoulder. On each of these occasions, the persons offended by my running were in moving vehicles. I obviously was no threat to them. I interpret the above encounters to be senseless acts of stupidity.

It seems that in the last few years, such acts have been increasing. Are we becoming so intolerant of others? Must we keep moving to the extremes so that gunning someone down in the street is an option to boredom?

So, should I invest in a police vest? Must runners now not only dodge pop cups and gum, but also bullets? Should we fear anyone headed our way? Wear rearview mirrors as a part of headgear? Stick to an indoor running track? Quit? … in fear of a close encounter? From kids who are bored?

No. I will keep running. On the sidewalks. In the streets. In the parks. Through the neighborhoods. And I will not be buying a vest anytime soon.