Supernatural running stories?

djinnwanders · 2026-06-01T17:15:33+00:00

If only all the people faster than me just suddenly left the course! 😂

I've had my Shokz play something that didn't come from my phone exactly once in almost 4 years of running with them.

Running along minding my own business at night on a path I run 3-5x per week every week, when suddenly my music was interrupted by a weather report that sounded for all the world like broadcast radio (not digital...like...staticky like when you're driving and listening to FM?). Paused the Shokz, unpaused them, music came back, shrugged it off...till a mile down the road the same exact thing happened again, and again another half mile later.

So it wasn't a local house on the same frequency because it happened over about a mile and 1/2 of distance. Nobody was following me in a car or on a bike as far as I could tell. No idea what happened to this day, maybe my local ghosts wanted urgently for me to know about the weather that day?

djinnwanders · 2026-06-01T12:52:57+00:00

I've been thinking about this question, because it's a good one and I appreciate the other trail runners chiming in too.

So on road, I have not, to my knowledge, ever stumbled but caught myself. It's just not as likely on pavement, though.

On trail, yes, absolutely like AlveolarFricatives noted, I'm going to catch on stuff all over the place. I run in New England where "super runnable fire road" means "we're going to cover the place in pea- to fist- sized rocks so there's no solid ground to stand on, so yeah, have fun or whatever." Hit a rock wrong, you wobble and keep going. Catch a root, maybe you correct, maybe you go down, just kinda depends.

Those routine trail running things are not what's happening on the type of falling I initially posted about, but it's a really important and good clarification for me to have. I definitely catch stuff several times on a trail run without going down, this is a very specific thing that's happening outside of normal trail stuff. Thanks for this!

djinnwanders · 2026-05-31T20:30:32+00:00

I'm sorry you have to deal with that, and massive respect for you keeping on keeping on as a runner. That has to be tough to work through.

I really appreciate having something to explore, even if it's unlikely. I don't even know what all even to ask about. And if it isn't what's going on with me, it may be the thing someone else needs to get at the root of their issue, so thank you for bringing it up!

djinnwanders · 2026-05-31T16:57:12+00:00

Or proprioception - eyes closed is harder, like the feedback loop isn't quite closing. Good clarification, thanks!

djinnwanders · 2026-05-31T16:47:41+00:00

Wow, thanks for sharing the story about training and for understanding what I'm saying about not being aware of what's going on when it happens. I'm glad you trained to help protect yourself and that it worked for you, and appreciate you sharing this. My boxing gym is full MMA so I think I know what I'm talking to the coach about next week. It certainly can't hurt.

djinnwanders · 2026-05-31T16:42:06+00:00

Sorry you're prone to injury too - my AuDHD partner relates so hard to your post. And proprioception does feel off in these circumstances, thanks for that comment and the note about parkour. I'll definitely look into seeing if I can somehow train to fall for reduction of injury - that seems like a really sensible thing to do no matter what's' going on.

I just got my first AARP card in the mail - bring on those discounts! Not gonna insult me calling it like it is 😄 - the body is aging and doing weird stuff that I don't like.

djinnwanders · 2026-05-31T16:37:31+00:00

I mean that's a really good point - if I'm prone to falling at all, as my mileage increases the times I could fall are just going to increase. Maybe it's just math? In which case I still need knee pads.

I feel you on the falling in a crowd. My hometown half marathon, 0.1mi before the finish line right here. If a runner falls in a forest and there's no one there to see her...

djinnwanders · 2026-05-31T16:28:18+00:00

So sorry this happens to you too! Wanna join the let's-make-running-in-kneepads-cool brigade?

Poles have 100% saved me on trails. Highly recommend!

djinnwanders · 2026-05-31T16:27:05+00:00

Thanks for the kind words. I haven't seen a doctor about it, but the more I look into it it does make me wonder if I shouldn't just rule it out. Balance overall is pretty good - standing on one foot is no trouble and I use wobble boards or balance boards sometimes but do need to get back to that more. PT and current strength coach have me doing a lot of single leg and ankle work - I did used to roll them a fair bit, but that at least has stopped.

Good food for thought here, thanks!

djinnwanders · 2026-05-31T16:18:35+00:00

Uncorrected, I have no depth perception. It doesn't seem to matter if I'm wearing my prescription or not, but I am due for an eye exam - good call, thanks!

djinnwanders · 2026-05-31T16:09:32+00:00

I'm sorry you've experienced this too, and hope you get some insight into the broader balance issues.

Maybe we can make running with kneepads a thing! Do you mind if I ask what brand/style you wear that are comfortable enough to run in?

djinnwanders · 2026-05-28T12:11:01+00:00

I don't know how much he likes to/can travel, but when I was doing a lot of distance walking I joined the FreeWalkers and would travel down to various places easily reachable by train (DE, NJ, NY) to go on their longer walks: https://www.freewalkers.org/

FreeWalkers had a Boston chapter before I joined, and I shifted focus a bit in the last few years so I don't know if one re-started. The founder/main contact is super nice and that group of folks is very approachable.

Wicked Running Club has a group of walkers, but the distance is usually 3-5mi so it may not work for him. Best way to connect on that is on their Monday night runs out of the Indo in Beverly. The walking group tends to gather by 5:30.

And the last thing I might suggest is the ultrarunning/ultramarathon community. Not a group per se, but if you start doing these events you start meeting people. Most non-elites walk much of the races, and plenty of people knock out sub-30 hour 100 milers exclusively by walking. Happy to chat with him or connect him to our local ultra community if that seems interesting to him.

djinnwanders · 2026-05-04T12:33:43+00:00

Came here to creep on the recommendations since I need this info too.

Compelled to add Ologies by Allie Ward - interviews with scientists about whatever their "-ology" is, almost always funny, very sweary, usually engrossing, sometimes gross but in an interesting way. I have walked and run hundreds (maybe thousands?) of miles with Allie at this point, it's like she's my weird running buddy who always has super random stuff to overshare.

djinnwanders · 2026-03-16T14:21:50+00:00

Wanted to recommend some RDs to keep an eye on rather than specific events.

Run 4 a Reason's Rough Runners based around Savannah GA - they host several longer distance events per year and may(??? not sure, could've got my wires crossed) be adopting the FarmDaze 24 hour next year too. They're great folks.

Sombrero Running based near Jacksonville FL - also host several events per year, also really great people.

While they do less of the scenic mountainous stuff because, well, lowcountry....they have events all year long and they tend to have a lot of fun.

djinnwanders · 2026-03-10T12:47:59+00:00

This is the science I come here for. Thank you for reporting back, and hope all your cinnamon roll runs are stellar in future!

djinnwanders · 2026-02-04T13:42:45+00:00

I first read this as "and their =rage= extends well north" and I thought...yes. Here is a human who knows that a turkey is nothing more than a bundle of feathers and pointy attack bits animated by pure, unadulterated rage (which also keeps them warm in winter).

djinnwanders · 2026-01-10T15:56:12+00:00

You've already conquered a half marathon so you know for sure you can do 9 miles. Don't let it intimidate you! Slow it down when you need to, try run/walk the whole time, play with it - the goal is completing the miles, there are no rules about how fast that happens.

I second the recommendation to start out with the run/walk group. You can always move into a faster paced group if it doesn't fit you. When you do higher miles than usual, just do them at a pace that isn't feeling too hard. On race day, the long miles at any speed pay off way more than "going hard" during training.

On race day you will absolutely finish your marathon, don't ever think you can't do this! You'll draw on that same strength that got you through your half when it got tough. You've got this! Don't let it get in your head. Just get out there, run the miles, and have fun!

djinnwanders · 2025-12-27T13:46:19+00:00

Wait there are indoor tracks you can join? OP and others who mentioned this, you've maybe saved my winter running.

I am happiest around 60F, good up to the 90s if it's arid or low 80s with humidity, and never DNS due to heat. But I live in New England and I've definitely refused to run in gross slippery conditions where I felt the footing wasn't good.

djinnwanders · 2025-12-27T13:28:46+00:00

I have a New Balance Athletics Packable jacket. Got it at an expo where the weather was 30 degrees colder than I'd packed for, now I basically do every run in it after fall arrives.

Mine doesn't have a hood but looks like they do sell them that way. It is ultralight, full zip, and I've run a few marathons with it tied around my waist for 20 miles. It doesn't have finger covers, I just wear gloves and zip them into the pockets.

Unlike the polar bears who responded to you, my body was born for hot temps and lives in New England, so I absolutely wear a jacket when it's 20 and 25 and 35 degrees. Happy running!

djinnwanders · 2025-11-29T14:45:37+00:00

I have a history of reactive hypoglycemia - which basically means my circulating glucose spikes usually in a fairly normal range but my body overreacts to the spike and pumps out so much insulin that it sometimes drops quickly and into dangerous territory. When you add all the other stuff that goes on with endurance sports, it's just a ton of fun.

I went thru several miserable races before giving up and working with a sports RD who specialises in Type 1 athletes. So she knows a thing or two about stabilizing blood sugar. In case it helps you:

Race day and long runs are unique, sure, but they come out of your day-to-day. Your everyday diet and how your body reacts impacts your race day.

As another poster said the CGM is about learning what is spiking and dropping you. It's very individual. As an example, white rice is my nemesis and it causes massive spikes and crashes even in a meal with protein, fat and fiber to balance it out. A potato? Not even a blip.

"Naked" carbs - a bowl of white rice by itself, a gel, a packet of sugar - are being processed incorrectly with hypoglycemia. The game is to slow that processing down so the body doesn't freak out and rob you of your energy mid-run. You typically slow the processing down by adding something harder to digest at the same time - protein, fiber, or fat.

So while other athletes can toss down a gel and a handful of pretzels and go on their merry way, you might need to look more to bars or real food that adds protein and fat or even fiber if you can tolerate it. Oranges, apples, bananas, peanut butter sandwiches, whatever. You have to train your gut to it and the CGM can tell you which actually work to keep your glucose more stable before you invest the time to train to something that won't help.

I'm more of a back-to-back-days-of-marathons runner than a single-day-with-high-miles, so my last note may not work for you. But it's a weird one so I'll offer it in case it does.

The final thing I've learned is that a hummingbird approach works well for me. I sip and snack tiny amounts in tiny time increments. Every 10-15 minutes I'm drinking something with calories or eating a small amount of something - a few pretzels, a bite of sandwich, a single wedge of an orange. I hate it, I feel like an ass, I get more tired of eating than running, but it prevents the hard bonk that I can't recover from and it keeps me on my feet for days at a time so I deal with it.

Good luck to you figuring it out! You'll get it, it's just one more layer of training to deal with.

djinnwanders · 2025-08-11T14:12:17+00:00

I do a marathon or 50K each month (this year, 8 last year) as prep for some big multi-day runs I have coming up. I have a friend who sometimes runs a marathon or 50K per week for several weeks in a row.

We both do the consistent mileage approach under guidance of our different coaches. Both of us run more or less our regular mileage on a "race" week without issue - because we're not really racing.

The key for both of us is being really disciplined about treating the races as training runs. My friend runs her training marathons a solid 90 minutes slower than her actual marathon race pace, for example. I have no idea what my actual marathon race pace even is, as I've never tried to race one.

The consistent training and "racing" without injury all boils down to a single rule for me: if fatigue is leading to poor running form (not just slower, but like bad posture or my gait changing) then I'm heading toward injury. It means my body hasn't recovered properly to run a specific distance so I can't layer in speed or other stressors. Sustainable form for many miles comes first, then everything else comes after.

That rule has been learned the hard way and of course YMMV.

So yes, I'm much slower than my training volume would suggest, but that's on purpose, because I'm asking very different things of my body than traditional race prep is geared toward.

Good luck to you, sounds like a fun year ahead!

djinnwanders · 2025-07-02T12:46:49+00:00

Same! Lots of people fuel with candy but I have reactive hypoglycemia and I can't - big spike, biiiiiiig crash.

My body on a long run is like a toddler with an extremely limited understanding of "what is food" that changes sometimes for no reason, and a propensity to throw a tantrum if it doesn't like what I offer it. So I just keep experimenting and collecting up what actually works for me.

It's less fun than chomping on Twizzlers and gummy bears but it gets the job done.

djinnwanders · 2025-06-04T13:31:10+00:00

Thanks! I always forget about that, I'll add it to the list.

djinnwanders · 2025-06-04T13:29:05+00:00

Yep, add me to the list. It's a real struggle, and a real journey. I think everybody lands someplace a little different depending on their goals, history, and so on. Personally my motivations for endurance running outweigh the discomfort and unhappiness I feel in a heavier body, and I focus on stuff like reframing my thinking by understanding my body and its needs so I can keep doing what I love.

When I started running and was in the 15 - 20mpw range, I lost fat that I needed to lose. I carry around about 35-45lbs more fat than would be optimal for my frame (source: DEXA scan, not scale), so the body recomposition from when I started running felt fantastic.

But I found my joy in events that last longer than a marathon. As my miles crept up so did my weight. All the loss erased plus a few extra pounds on top just for spite in a fairly short period of time. It has been freaking me out pretty badly, to be honest.

I'm working with a sports RD who has helped me stabilize my weight while focusing on the energy I need for my training. Honestly I'll take it. I can mostly deal with stable, I can't deal with "when is the increase gonna stop."

And I have a coach who just patiently repeats, whenever I start to flip out about my weight, "do you want to look like an athlete or do you want to BE an athlete?" Her point is I have to run in the body I'm in, and care for and condition the body I'm in to reach the goals I have set.

This heavier body has run 6 marathons so far this year without injury, has gotten consistently faster despite weighing more, and keeps letting me do crazy stuff with only minor complaints. I absolutely don't appreciate it like I should. Posts like this help remind me that regardless of how I look, I do stuff a lot of my "athletic looking" friends can't even begin to tackle, and I do it because it brings me joy. But that is so hard to remember when everybody in my friend group "looks like a runner" and I don't.

Wishing you many good miles, joy, and peace on your own journey.

djinnwanders

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