[pct-l] do you like to run on the PCT?

[JB de Anza]

I see this issue has uncorked the usual bottle of unpleasant anecdotes
(e.g., "I once or twice encountered a running event on the same day that I
chose to hike the trail in proper fashion and I didn't like those trail
runners one bit. Therefore, no more running events on the PCT...ever!").

Or maybe we can step back and ask some important questions like how many of
these events actually take place? How big are they? Do some events seem to
create fewer problems than others? If so, why? Do things like timing and
location make a difference?

Is it too much to ask that some individual trail users put up with some
level of inconvenience once a decade(?)...twice a year(?)...once a month(?)
in order to accommodate an entire group of PCT users who have a legitimate
right to use the public trail? If safety is a concern, are there ways we
might fix that?

I don't think we can resolve all of this here in this particular forum, but
one thing we *can* do is avoid using our anecdotal experiences to make
global indictments of entire groups of people who might make much better
allies than manufactured enemies.

JBD

On Sun, Mar 15, 2015 at 1:36 PM, Rod Belshee <rbelshee at hotmail.com> wrote:

>  ......could the trail running events in the SOCAL area be scheduled
>>  after the herd of hikers are past ??
>>
>
> Thru hikers are a small minority of the hikers on the PCT.  Why schedule
> trail runners and races around just this minority?
>
> I have encountered trail runners with no problems, including both just
> individual runners and a couple of small race days.  Maintaining speed is
> important for their workout or race time, and I have a more casual
> relationship with time so I just gracefully step to the side.  No worries.
>
> I haven't encountered steady streams of runners all day; that would be
> more disruptive to a hike.
>
> Steady
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