I saw a Runner's World article about annoying things runners hear. Some I never heard, but here's my take on the ones that ARE truly annoying:
1. "Run, Forrest, Run!" I don't hear this much lately, but 20 years ago I did, usually from a passing school bus of kids.
2. HOONNNKKKK! This is related to the previous and I've heard it a lot over the years. You don't have to be on a road either, just near enough for a bunch of punk kids to see you.
3. "Won't all that running ruin your knees?" NOPE, not if you didn't have an earlier knee injury (usually from playing a sport as a youth) OR you don't have an innate musclo-skeletal imbalance.
4. "It's all downhill from here." In a marathon with a lot of uphill and downhill, your legs accumulate soreness as the race progresses. Unless you are on the rare course with very moderate downhill, by the time you get to the "all downhill" section, your legs are too sore to enjoy it. You just want flat terrain.
5. "You're almost there!" People say this to encourage, but they really do not realize that unless you are close - in a marathon say a mile - that it is actually discouraging. Hearing it at mile 20, with sore legs and every mile getting slower, you know you've got six painful miles to go. BTW, most runners are pretty obsessive and they know exactly where they are on the course and don't need to be told.
6. I have never actually heard "Hurry up! They're running out of beer!" But I have been in races which promise beer, but don't have it when I get there. I've also been in races which ran out of food. I ran the Philadelphia Marathon nine times, but the last time was the first time there was also a half-marathon. The half finishers ate all the food. I got an apple and a bottle of water. I haven't been back.
7. I also have not heard "The guy in the banana suit is catching you." But I have been passed in races by people in costumes, people with masks on their faces. It is annoying to have characters pass you. One time at Boston, there was a guy in some sort of super-hero costume, near me for miles. People along the course kept calling out the name of the character. I wanted to get away badly and eventually I did. But I caught his website that he advertised as he was ahead of me and looked him up. He once ran in a race as a telephone booth. Now getting passed by that would have been REALLY annoying!
