One of the great mysteries I have encountered so far on my 1500+ miles on the road… is the mystery of the roadside shoe. While the roadside is littered with all sorts of various trash, the ratio of shoes seems too high for the law of averages. It is never a pair of shows either… just one. Do people drive by and just have the urge to chuck shoes out their window? Or do the aliens abducting our missing have distaste for them and hurtle them back to earth.
I my 8.5 mile loop today… I passed three shoes on the road (or one every 2.7 miles) There are over 4 million miles of roads in the US. If the ratio stands true… there are 1.5 million shoes out there on our roadsides! Personally, I have never tossed a shoe to the side of the road, and I am not sure in what state of mind I would need to be to feel the need to do that. Granted… I have felt so tired after a 20 mile run that perhaps… just maybe… I could crack and take my shoes off and throw them as far as arms would allow. But here’s the thing… they are not running shoes on the side of the road. Oh no… no runners. You would think with the speed at which runners can burn through shoes… there could potentially be a lot of running shoes out there.
Now… I am not the only one to ponder where these shoes are coming from… and if you are a runner… don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it at least once in your running journeys. Runners have a lot of time to look at the side of the road and think. Counting dead things is indeed a hobby every runner can use to keep their mind occupied on a long run.
Here is another take on the subject of the roadside shoes:
roadside shoes
No revelations however. The one thing I did read in my quest for the secret of the roadside shoes that does appear to make some sense… is the wedding car. Tying cans and olds shoes seems to be some sort of a tradition with marriages… and perhaps this would possible explain *some* of the shoes.
The next time you are running… and you see shoe… ponder its origin… and if you have any theories or breakthroughs… please… by all means let me know.
My miles times for today's run. Notice the meltdown again at the end. =(
8:14 149
8:11 142
8:17 144
8:18 142
8:17 145
8:18 145
8:17 145
8:17 145
8:16 144
8:15 145
8:20 145
8:18 144
8:27 146
8:17 149
8:20 151
8:33 150
8:59 146
10:03 139
10:30 136
2 comments:
Hmmm... They really should collect their shoes and donate them to One World so that they get recycled :)
we have some openenings... (McAfee Avert Labs) and there are a few running groups here. =)
In about 6 months I'll probably start looking around... I had Symantec in my list. I'll check with you then to see if you'll still have openings out there - then I'll be able to run HTC every year ;)
I'd tend to think that something bad happened. Someone running away from some danger, losing a shoe, not being able to stop to retrieve it. A fight. Someone drunk, losing their mind and their shoe. Something bad.
Post a Comment