The Judge is in.

An interesting side effect of running, is your judgements of other people. When running on the side of a road, drivers that slow down and give you a wide girth are noted and appreciated. Drivers that also smile and wave get even more points. Drivers that speed past you way too close for comfort are now seen as complete jerks. This gets interesting when you live in a small community and know all these people.

My run the other day was filled with many wonderful people driving slowly around me waving, some even rolled down their window to exchange pleasant greetings and encouragement for what I was doing. These are the people that make me fall in love with our little community all over again. Some on the other hand were rudely close to me, as if THEY were annoyed I was running on the side of the road (Note here that I said the SIDE of the road, I too find it obnoxious when runners run down the middle of the road and do not move to the side to allow for traffic). These people that wiz past me are the parents of my son's classmates, some are people that frequent our winery, some are neighbors, but all are now on my not-nice-list. Not that that adds up to a whole lot, but it does allow me to judge their character.

This judging is broader than just the road manners though. This judging stretches into conversations too. You sleep walk through talking to someone until they mention running and then suddenly you want to talk to them for hours! It isn't that you mean to be disconnected, but here is the thing, when you are training it pulls your mind into focus and nothing else matters, it spills over into all other areas of your life. Suddenly everything is referenced to running, can you meet for lunch, let's see...when am I running? What would you like to eat, let's see...what's best for my running? Going shopping, let's see...what running gear do I need?

You judge other runners too. Not the way you are thinking, the running crowd is actually very supportive, especially when you enter the world of Ultras (which I do vicariously through my husband and the races "Fueled by Vivác" sponsors). Ultra runners are by far the most interesting, modest, supportive group on the planet. It kinda makes me want to run one just so I can hang out with them more. No, no we don't "judge" other runners, we judge each other by way of sorting people into categories: is this someone new to the sport needing encouragement? Is this person a badass deserving a great deal of respect for their running history? Is this someone I could run with?

Then there is my favorite. The discovery that someone you have known for a while is or was a runner too. It takes your assessment of this person and bumps it up a notch.  Squeals of excitement erupt as you squeak "I didn't know you were a runner!!", as if this person instantaneously just became far cooler than you had once thought. Your judgement of them has changed, for the better. It is really fun when it happens to you and you recognize that gleam in their eye, their judgement of you just went up. I must admit, I have sold a lot of wine in moments like this.

You don't have to be "good" at running to be a runner. You don't have to be fast or go that far. Being a runner is being a part of a family. Races are events that help you connect with other runners and share in the communal judging. It is a time to stand shoulder to shoulder in your ridiculous running outfits complete with insulating trash bag and judge people.

So, just know, if you know a runner, they are judging you.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.VivacWinery.com