'Curious' Why Some Runners Don't Use Sidewalks

WBZ

It's that time of year – the hard months for people training for the Boston Marathon.

You've probably seen them pounding the pavement – putting on the miles, but Julie from Melrose doesn't always like what she sees.

She went to WBZ's curiosity page and asked: "For several months leading up to the marathon, I drive past packs of joggers. Why do they insist on using the street?"

We don't like runners in the street, and yet, we love our Boston Marathon. It's the oldest, it's the best, it's… in the spring, so winter is prime time for training, and a time when the curb can be an ankle breaker, and the sidewalks are slippery.

Carly Shea, a two-time marathoner, picks the street. "I am very aware of the traffic that is there and I try to hug the shoulder."

Here's another reason runners don't want to be up on the sidewalks. The material they use for the sidewalk – in this case, concrete – is much harder than what's used on the street. It's bad for the knees, so out on the road they go.

A few weeks ago, a jogger in Methuen was killed. Flowers now mark the spot in the road.

Michael McGrane and his running group know the risks. "A 140-pound boy is no match for a 2,000-pound car."

"It can be scary if they don't see us," said another runner with the group.

And yet, they're hard to miss in the run up to the marathon. "It's only four months. I hope people can deal with it," Shea joked.

Drivers, you get your road back in April.

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