As you are familiarizing yourself with the club, you will find many welcoming run groups of a variety of paces. With Winston-Salem being a designated runner friendly community, there is no shortage of groups to choose from or places for that matter. However, you may have noticed that a lot of the groups run in or on streets at some point. While parts of the Twin Cities are relatively safe to run around, it’s still important to take precaution whether you’re by yourself or with a group. Keep reading for things to keep in mind when running on or around roads.
- The car always wins. You are right that people have the right of way in a crosswalk, but in the end, it’s not the car getting hurt if a person and car collide. When in doubt, wait it out, just wait for the car to pass.
- If you hear any of these phrases: move off to the side, but here’s what they also mean
- Car up: Car coming in front of you
- Car back: Car coming up behind you
- Car!: There is a car
- There are several groups that take place in the evening and when it’s winter, it gets dark early. So that cars can see you in the dark, you should be wearing either bright clothing, reflective gear, a light on your body, or a mix. Downtown is typically lit fairly well, but parts of it and most of the suburban parts of town are not. Cars need to be able to see you.
- Winston-Salem is fortunately fairly walkable, but there are still a fair amount of areas that don’t have designated sidewalks. If in the event you are forced to run on the road, you should be running on the left side of the road, in the direction of traffic.
- Make your presence known when you are coming up behind a runner and intend to pass them. This can easily be done by saying, “passing on the left”, or even simply, “left!” (As the statement implies, do your best to pass on the left and let the slower runner move to the right.)
Following these tips will help keep you safe, healthy, and running on the roads for years to come!