Obviously, with the nicer weather, there’s no point on running on the treadmill (although, I enjoy running on the treadmill…but that’s because I can watch reruns of “Friends” on Netflix while running on the treadmill).
When I go on a run, I’m big on the, “I-Wave-to-People”…or “At-the-least…-Smile” when I pass people. I just find it to be courteous…and something humans would do.
I decided to try 4 different paths…2 of which I run on all the time…1 of which I’ve ever run on (and never will again)…and 1 that I will start running on more and more.I
I set out to prove which path has the nicest “path people”…a.k.a. “People of the path” .
Here’s the quick 15 second video of how I presented myself to to everyone that I passed on the path.
See…friendly…happy…trying my best not to throw up.
The 4 paths (parts of paths) that I test-ran on were…
- Gray’s Lake
- Greenbelt Trail (in Colby Woods, from Hickman to Douglas and beyond)
- Greenbelt Trail (from Hickman on through Windsor Heights, past the Walmart, and so on)
- The trail (I don’t know the name) on the side of Hickman, as you go from Clive to Waukee.
For my running…to keep as many variables constant as possible. I ran 3.5-4 miles each time.
This was my playlist for each run…(to keep my mood the same…again, variables…Drake education…that’s right).
Stars Will Lead the Way – Simple Minds- Take Me to the River – Talking Heads
- The Passenger – Iggy Pop
- Broken Glass Park – Simple Minds
- Ghost Dancing – Simple Minds
- Search and Destroy – Iggy Pop
- Kick It In – Simple Minds
- Garageland – The Clash
- Heaven – Talking Heads
- Chelsea Girl – Simple Minds
- Stay Free – The Clash
I ran between the times of 11:30 – 12:30…again….keeping as much the same as possible.
Here are my notes from each run.
As you can see…so much detail. A true “scientist”.
I applied the scientific method…and it went like this:
I would wave and say “hey” (see above video) to 30 people as I passed them…then I would count who smiled back…who waved back (or nodded their head)…who ignored me, and then those that looked at me, but started at me.
It was through this method that I was able to discover which paths (sections of paths) have the nicest path-walkers/runners/bikers.
#1 – Gray’s Lake
- 30 People
- 23 Smiles
- 17/18 Head nods/hand waves
- 4 no looks
- 3 stares right back at me.
My observations:
- I think I might have been the only guy running who didn’t have his shirt off
- Des Moines is pretty.
- Can I catch E. Coli from running around the lake?
- I would argue 98% of bikers/runners said “On Your Left”!
- It’s definitely the place to be seen.
- Seriously, I’m the only guy with a shirt.
- I need to run here more often…do I drive to run?
- People prefer to hear their music play through the speakers instead of wearing headphones. Why am I stuck behind the guy playing “The Strokes”…Ugh. I was fast enough to catch him, yet now, he and I are running at the exact same pace, and I can’t pass him.
- The look of the business-person walker is khaki for mens….with their work badge hanging from their belt.
2. Greenbelt Trail (between Hickman & University…near the 8th Street Walmart…etc)
- 30 people
- 17 Smiles
- 10 No look
- 3 Stare
- 10-11 Nods
- The left policy? Only about 50% of the time. This needs to be improved.
- I did receive 4 “HEELLLLLOS”…bellowing hellos. I will count this as extra points.
- Business people with a purpose…and where are they walking to?
- The 4th grade class enjoying their recess was not nice to me…they kept yelling at me to “run faster” and “pick up the pace”. Not technically walkers/runners, so it will not count against them. Just a reminder that kids are mean 🙂
- Both ways I ran seemed to be on a slight incline…how is this possible?
- 2 dead bunnies within 10 yards of each other. Something terrible happened here, and now I’m looking for bears.
- Passed 3 people twice…both times not even a glance. You acknowledge me…I”m a human being!
- Where does that bridge go across Walnut Creek? It just stops on the other side. Maybe that’s what happened to those two bunnies.
- I was 0-1 on high five attempts. That poor woman…she probably had no idea what was happening. I’m sorry.
- The deer do not fear me.
3. Greenbelt Trail (between Hickman & Douglas…Colby Woods area).
- 30 People
- 21 Smiles
- 18/20 Waves & nods
- 5 Ignores
- 4 Stares, No smiles
- 1-1 on high fives! That nice elderly lady…so sweet. I told her what I was doing and asked if she’d be okay taking a selfie with me…she replied “Oh, thanks, but I don’t want to be part of whatever a selfies (with an s) is”. She’s very sweet.
- I’m faster than dog walkers…take that dog walkers. Pick up the pace!
- This trail needs more traffic…I had to run extra far to find the 30 people. Deduct points.
- Every tree I pass I assume is an ash tree…and every bug I see on a tree is an Emerald Ash Borer. I would make a terrible herptologist…no, that’s snakes…I’d make a terrible insect guy.
- Every biker said left and gave plenty of room.
4. Hickman Trail between Clive & Waukee (the one on the side of Hickman)
- 30 people
- 15 Smiles
- Only 8 nods/smiles
- 8 Stares
- 7 Ignores
- I should get a survival medal for making it through this path.
- This is definitely more of a bikers’ path…and they know it.
- Did Ragbrai start today? There are a lot of bikers.
- I didn’t count bikers in my survey…I get that they should keep their hands on their handlebars.
- I felt safer running on the grass.
- Cue Chandler Bing: Could it be more windy out here? It could try to be more windy…but it would not be successful.
- Where am I going?
CONCLUSION:
1. Most friendly: Gray’s Lake…there’s just a sense of togetherness out there. People seem happy…whether it be that they’re running or biking…or that they’re just happy to be out of the office for awhile. Once I have the confidence to ditch my shirt while I run, I’ll fit right in.
2. Greenbelt Trail between Hickman & Douglas…. – Friendly folks…and older path-walking crowd. I’m sure many of them thought I was unemployed. What’s this 37 year old man doing running at 11:30 on a Wednesday morning? Shouldn’t he be at work?
3. Greenbelt Trail between Hickman & University – I was expecting higher results.
4. Least friendly: The Hickman path between Clive & Waukee. There just wasn’t any fun interaction there. Now, of course, that could be that us non-bike-riding folks were too busy fearing for our own lives than to be able to smile and wave to each other. However, we could definitely work on our smiles & nods out there…waving back doesn’t make us friends…it just makes us human, right?
Yes… I do need to run more paths on the North, South, and East side…and I will…all in the name of science.
There ya go….SCIENCE!
AWESOME is as AWESOME does!
